STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kurseong, 11 August
The common people across the Darjeeling Hills have sounded divided in their opinions over the now
raging issue of creating smaller states in the
interests of administrative convenience, better
development and national
integrity.
Talking to the cross-section of the people, it has become clear that the majority considers formation of smaller states as the only cure to the developmental ailments plaguing the people living on the periphery of a state because of ethnic and other reasons.
Few persons, however said that going all out for splitting states in the name of socio-economic development would cast asunder the fabric of national integrity.
One, Mr Pemba Bhutia, said the step taken by the NDA regime to carve out three new states was in the right direction.
“Darjeeling Hills can be a case-study as to why smaller states are required to be carved out to accelerate socio-economic development,” he said.
“We, the ethnic minorities, are, as if, living in a twilight region,” Mr Bhutia added.
But another, Mr Prashant Rai, said that he supports the demand for Gorkhaland in the belief that it would usher in development.
“But the reality is that the anathema of under-development remains the same in the states that were formed by bifurcating some states,” he said.
“Things at their core have not changed despite the cosmetic changes on the surface,” he further said.
“We fear the same would dog us even if Gorkhaland becomes a reality,” Mr Rai said.
“Besides, small states might encourage
dictatorial impulses in its rulers. This would prove ominous for democracy,” he added.
Another said on condition of anonymity that the people here would not favour
severance of the Hills from the state if the state looks after them well.
“Who wants to leave home which is being well looked after?” he said.
“The state must make us happy. This is the only way to bring permanent peace in the restive Hills,” he also added.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Siliguri, 11 August
The Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha leadership and elected members of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration would hold a meeting tomorrow in response to the state government&’s message for selecting chief executive of the GTA.
Party sources said, the GJMM would adopt a resolution whether the party should agree with the state government&’s proposal for selection of a member of the GTA for the post of chief executive of the Hill setup when the chief minister gave a three-day ultimatum for calling off the bandh and decided to curb its statehood movement. A senior GJMM leader said the party would decide on the fate of the GTA tomorrow and party leadership may ask all GTA members to resign.
Notably, the GJMM chief Mr Bimal Gurung called on his party general secretary Mr Roshan Giri and other important leaders, who were camping in Delhi to manage assurance from the Central government for a separate state of Gorkhaland, to attend an urgent meeting to be held tomorrow.
However, the GJMM leadership is in dilemma over the GTA&’s fate and whether the party should dissolve the GTA at present to continue its agitation for statehood at present.
A section of leadership does not want to dissolve the GTA but a group of senior GJMM leaders want to select the deputy chief executive Mr Ramesh Alley as chief executive in appropriate time. 
Significantly, the GJMM called all political party meeting tomorrow to decide on the preset movement for statehood when a section on anti-GJMM political parties like CPRM has extended support to Mocha&’s statehood movement.
It may be noted that anti-GJMM political parties and organisations in the Hills, except the GNLF, have been demanding separate statehood and leaders who were protesting against an interim setup GTA, an alternative to separate state, want to drop the GTA. 
“The party leadership may ask all members to resign from the GTA to teach the state government a lesson when the chief minister is plotting to appoint her nominated member of the body,” he said.
“The decision would be taken tomorrow to offer a challenge to the CM how she can run the GTA with her nominated members and a few government officials,” he added.
Notably, it was learnt the state might appoint one of the nominated members of the GTA Mr Durga Khaler if the GJMM does not propose name of the deputy chief executive Mr Alley as chief executive to fill in the vacancy after resignation of Mr Bimal Gurung as chief of the GTA. 
Notably, Mr Durga Kharel and other members have already left their home after alleged threats and fearing attacks from the GJMM.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Siliguri, 11 August
The six-member delegation of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM), which had gone to Delhi to press the national leaders across the political divide on the demand for Gorkhaland, returned almost empty-handed today.
The party sought appointments from the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the UPA chairperson Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the Union home minister Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde but the party leaders could not get their appointments.
The GJMM leaders claimed to have got assurance from senior BJP leaders that they would support the Gorkhaland demand. “We met BJP leaders, including the party president Mr Rajnath Singh, senior party leaders Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and they assured us that they would support our demand of Gorkhaland,” said the GJMM general secretary Mr Roshan Giri at Bagdogra airport today.
When asked to comment when they were supposed to meet the Prime Minister, the UPA chairpersons and other central ministers, Mr Giri said they did not get the appointments.
“We sought the appointments from the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the UPA chairperson Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the Union home minister Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde but we did not get the appointments. Yet we met the Union minister of state of home.” he added.
“We had talks with other Congress leaders and the discussions were satisfactory,” Mr Giri said.
Apart from Mr Giri, the delegation comprised three party MLAs from the Hills ~ Mr Harka Bahadur Chhetri, Mr Trilok Kumar Dewan and Mr Rohit Sharma ~ Darjeeling municipality chairman Mr Amar Singh Rai and party central committee member Mr D K Pradhan.
Reacting to this, the north Bengal development minister Mr Gautam Deb, said it was the prerogative of the GJMM to whom they would meet. “The BJP leaders did not officially say so far that they would support the Gorkhaland demand, “Mr Deb said.

Announcement ahead of second round of peace talks
press trust of india
Jerusalem, 11 August
Ahead of the second round of peace talks with Palestinians under US mediation, Israel today announced plans to build nearly 1,200 Jewish settler homes in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Housing and Construction Minister, Uri Ariel announced tenders for 1,187 new Jewish homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, an issue considered the main roadblock by the Palestinian Authority in efforts to renew peace negotiations. The move comes at a time when Israel is mulling over a goodwill gesture to rekindle peace talks involving the release of Palestinian prisoners held for decades. Three days before the second round of peace talks scheduled to begin in Jerusalem under US mediation, Israel’s Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel today announced that new apartments in Jerusalem and the West Bank are up for sale.
According to the Housing and Construction ministry, 793 of the new homes will be in Jewish neighbourhoods of east Jerusalem.
It includes 400 new units in Gilo, 210 in Har Homa and 183 in Pisgat Ze’ev.
In addition, Israel plans to publish tenders for 394 new homes in West Bank settlement blocs that it believes it will retain in any final status agreement with the Palestinians.
This includes 117 new homes for the Ariel settlement, 149 for the Efrat settlement, 92 for the Ma’aleh Adumim settlement and 36 for the Beit Illit settlement.
“The Israeli government is working to reduce the cost of living in all parts of Israel. No country in the world receives orders about where it can and cannot build from other countries,” Ariel said justifying the decision. The announcement comes in advance of today’s vote by the Ministerial Committee on Prisoner Release to free 26 Palestinian prisoners with “blood on their hands”, who have been jailed for over two decades.
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority broke down in 2010 over Palestinian demands for a complete freeze on settlement activities in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
The two sides agreed to renew talks last month after US Secretary of State John Kerry’s shuttle diplomacy succeeded in convincing the two sides to begin parleys under US mediation.
Israel agreed last month in principle to release a total of 104 prisoners during the nine months of negotiations as a gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Analysts attribute the confusing signals to the composition of the Israeli coalition government which has overwhelming rightist leanings. The announcement of new housing tenders is meant to appease the coalition’s rightist lobby.

water level of ganga rises; villagers fume over shortage of relief, dm denies
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE 
Malda, 11 August
The flood situation in Manikchak block remained unchanged with the water level in the Ganga increasing in the past 24 hours. The district irrigation department despite conceding that the situation was ‘alarming’ claimed that it was ‘under control.’ Meanwhile, the inundated villagers are still fuming over the alleged shortage of relief. The District Magistrate (DM), Mr Godala Kiran Kumar, today also inspected the inundated areas in Manikchak.
The red alert still prevails even at the protected region of the Ganga in Manikchak block. Notably, the EDL in the Ganga in Malda is 25.30 centimeter. But water level in the Ganga surpassed 25.31 meter on 8 August and is still on the rise. Yesterday it was at 25.34 meter but today it got steady at 25.50 meter as learnt from the district irrigation department.
The water level in Fulohar river is also on the rise. In the morning it was at 27.50 meter but in the evening it was recorded at 27.60 meter. However, the water level in the Mahananda remained steady today at 20.40 meter.
The Executive engineer of irrigation department, Mr AK Singh, said: “Sand bags are being used for protecting the embankments.” 
“Though there may be slight rise in the water level further, gradually it would start being steady and then go down,” he hoped.
Meanwhile, three gram panchayats ~ Manikchak, Hiranandapur and Dakshin Chandipur ~ are still inundated affecting around 3,000 villagers.
They complained that there was shortage of relief materials and they were struggling with the inundation with virtually no help from the state government.
The DM, Mr Kumar, who inspected Manikchak today, said: “Adequate relief materials are being distributed among the flood victims. There is nothing to panic. With the decrease in the water level, the situation would gradually improve. No rescue operation was necessary yet. However, surveillance is being maintained in Manikchak.” 
Mr Kumar ruled out the allegation of dearth of relief materials.

agence france-presse
Cairo, 11 August
Supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi called more rallies today to demand his reinstatement, amid last ditch efforts for reconciliation ahead of a threatened crackdown on protests.
The Anti-Coup Alliance said 10 marches would take off from various parts of the capital “to defend the electoral legitimacy” of Egypt’s first freely elected president Mursi, ousted by the military on 3 July.
His supporters, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, have kept up two huge protest camps in Cairo and said nothing short of his reinstatement will persuade them to disperse.
The call for fresh rallies comes as Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s highest seat of learning, called for reconciliation talks in the latest of a string of attempts to find a peaceful solution to the political deadlock.
Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam, Ahmed al-Tayyeb, is to begin contacts with political factions on Monday aimed at convincing them to sit down to talks later this week, state media reported.
“Al-Azhar has been studying all the proposals for reconciliation put forward by political and intellectual figures… to come up with a compromise formula for all Egyptians,” Tayyeb’s advisor, Mahmud Azab, told the state-owned Al Ahram.
Mursi’s turbulent single year in power polarised Egyptians and his ouster by the military only deepened divisions.
The army-backed leadership is under immense pressure at home to crack down on the protests, and immense pressure from the international community to avoid bloodshed.
Senior US, EU and Arab envoys flew into Cairo in recent weeks to try to persuade the two sides to find a peaceful way out of the crisis.
But the government vowed on Wednesday to clear the Islamist protest camps, saying foreign mediation had failed.
More than 250 people have been killed in clashes since Mr Mursi’s ouster by the military, following days of mass rallies demanding his resignation.
The government had already ordered police to end the pro-Mursi protests, which it described as a “national security threat”.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Balurghat, 11 August
A revised and complete voters’ list is reported to have published by the South Dinajpur district administrative officials for the upcoming Balurghat Municipality election slated to be held on 21 September along with 12-other municipalities of the state as per direction of the Calcutta High Court recently. 
Notably, the official power of the existing municipality was reported to have terminated on 10 July while the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Balurghat Mr Sudip Mukherjee has taken the administrative charge of the RSP-run municipality. The notification for the upcoming municipal election would be declared on 16 August.
According to the published final and revised voters’ list before the upcoming Balurghat Municipality election, the total number of wards is reported to have increased from 23 to 25. 
It is learnt that as per
ruling of the state election commission, the process of filing nominations from
different political parties would start from 16 August and would continue till 23 August.
Apart from this, the process of scrutiny of
nominations would have to be done on 24 August while the willing candidates who had filed nominations would would withdraw them on or before 26 August.
According to the district administrative officials, ward no 5 has been divided into ward no 24 and 25 while ward no 14 has been
divided into ward no 8 and 9 as per recommendation of the final and revised list.
In addition, the published revised list has also
mentioned to change all the numbers of the previous wards as previous ward 15 now ward 1, ward 21 now ward 2, ward 23 now ward 3, ward 22 now ward 4, ward 19 now ward 5, ward 20 now ward 6, ward 16 now ward 7, ward 14 now ward 8 and 9, ward 17 now ward 10, ward 18 now ward 11, ward 7 now ward 12, ward 10 now ward 13, ward 13 now ward 14, ward 12 now ward 15, ward 11 now ward 16, ward 9 now ward 17, ward 8 now ward 18, ward 6 now ward 19, ward 1 now ward 20, ward 2 now ward 21, ward 3 now ward 22, ward 4 now ward 23 and ward 5 now ward 24 and 25 respectively.
The sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Balurghat and administrator of Balurghat Municipality, Mr Sudip Mukherjee, has said that the final and revised voters’ list has been published.
It consists of a total of 52,934 voters covering all 25 municipal wards.

Raiganj, 11 August: A section of leaders of the Congress and TMC are propagating that the winning candidates of RSP and FB in zilla parishad are joining their parties. It was nothing but a rumour, said the Secretary of North Dinajpur CPI-M committee Mr Bireswar Lahiry to media persons in the office of the North Dinajpur CPI-M committee today. 
Mr Jyotish Sarkar ~ a member of North Dinajpur RSP committee, Mr Gokul Roy ~ the Secretary of North Dinajpur FB and Mr Srikumar Mukharjee ~ a member of state CPI committee were also present with Mr Lahiry today.
It was reported that in the zilla parishad, the CPI-M bagged 10 seats, Congress eight, TMC five, RSP two and FB one out of a total of 26 seats. Thirteen are in favour of the Left Front. Though the Congress and TMC are trying to be united yet both parties are demanding Sabhadhipati for their candidate. The CPI-M leaders alleged that a section of both the Congress and TMC leaders were propagating that both the RSP and FB candidates were joining their party.
Mr Bireswar Lahiry said: "As the opponents got less number of seats than the Left front so their members are frustrated. In order to make their members active, they are spreading such rumours.”     sns

Beijing, 11 August: A Chinese national, who escaped a deadly attack in Afghan capital Kabul last week, has managed to escape from captors and received the assistance of American troops before being sent to a safe place.
“He managed to escape on his own and received help from American troops and the Chinese embassy in Kabul,” state-run Xinhua news agency quoted embassy officials as saying.
Three Chinese nationals, two women and a man, were killed and another two went missing in the attack in Kabul on Thursday.
Later, one of the missing Chinese was found alive and transferred to a safe place by the Chinese embassy in Afghanistan.
The Chinese citizen was forced onto a car driven by Afghan nationals heading out of Kabul in the early morning on Friday.        
    PTI

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Malda, 11 August
Mystery shrouded the death of a daily wage earner Hossain Sheikh (50) at Namopara village of Gangaprasad gram panchayat in the Kaliachak police station area. Though police have come to know from the neighbours that Hossain was killed by his son Mahasin Sheikh, the family members of the deceased claimed that Hossain committed suicide under a fit of intoxication. The Superintendent of Police, Mr Kalyan Mukherjee, said that police had been probing into the unnatural death of Hossain. Some locals reportedly informed police that Hossain, a daily wage earner, used to live with his wife Mastura Bibi and six sons. Today there was a allegedly tiff in the family following which Mahasin allegedly stabbed his father leaving him bleeding profusely. The doctors of Malda Medical College Hospital declared him brought dead later.
No complaint was lodged regarding the unnatural death of Hossain.     sns

agence france-presse
Dubai/Aden, 11 August
A number of US diplomatic missions closed on 45 August over an Al Qaida security alert reopened today, while others stayed shut for the Muslim holidays following the Ramzan holy month.
The embassy in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, and the US consulate in Dubai reopened, as the holiday marking the end of the fasting month came to a close in the southern Gulf state.
The embassy in Libya also reopened today. In Saudi Arabia, the Riyadh embassy and the consulates in
Jeddah and Dhahran remained closed, as did the US embassy in neighbouring Qatar.
They are due to reopen on 14 August, when the holidays end in those two nations.
In Bahrain and Kuwait, the American embassies are due to reopen tomorrow.
Washington closed of its 19 missions in West Asia and Africa last week following a security alert.
Communications intercepts reportedly included an attack order from Al Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to Yemen-based Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
The USA said on Friday that all of the embassies it shut would reopen this week, except the mission in Yemen.
Five Yemen soldiers killed: An attack by “Al Qaida elements” at a gas terminal in Yemen killed five soldiers today, a military source said, as Washington kept its embassy in Sana’a closed.
“The attackers arrived in a car at the army checkpoint near the Balhaf terminal. They opened fire with automatic weapons, killing five soldiers before fleeing,” the source  said on condition of anonymity. The soldiers belonged to an army unit responsible for security at the Balhaf terminal. The terminal, through which the bulk of gas exports pass, was not among the reported targets of an Al Qaida plot that Yemeni authorities say they foiled in recent days.

associated press
Canberra, 11 August
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition leader Tony Abbott held their first televised debate of the week-old election campaign tonight without either candidate emerging a clear winner.
The cordial hour-long debate, broadcast nationally by several television networks, focused on Australia’s worsening economic outlook as a mining boom fed by Chinese industrial demand cools.
Mr Rudd has conceded that his centre-left Labor Party is the underdog in the 7 September elections, and successive opinion polls show that the conservative Opposition coalition led by Abbott’s Liberal Party is more popular.
But Labor takes comfort in Mr Rudd outpolling Abbott as preferred prime minister. An audience of 100 undecided voters polled by Nine Network television immediately after the debate said Mr Rudd had won, by 59 votes to 41.
“I think Rudd won the debate, but he needed to win it significantly in order to take back the momentum in the campaign,” former Rudd adviser Lachlan Harris told Nine. “He needs to win the campaign conclusively to win the election.”
Mr Abbott, a 55-year-old former Oxford University amateur boxer and Roman Catholic seminarian, claimed Mr Rudd had “killed” the mining boom by imposing a 30 per cent tax on iron ore and coal mining companies’ profits plus a tax on their carbon emissions last year.
He also argued that it was the mining boom that kept Australia out of recession during the global financial crisis, not the Rudd government’s economic management and stimulus spending.
Mr Rudd is keen to have more televised debates, but Abbott has yet to commit to another.

Siliguri, 11 August: No one has been arrested over the incident of murder of a person in front of a cinema at Hill Cart in Siliguri. The incident took place on 9 August when Bishnu Singh (22), a resident of Ratanlal Bramhin Nagar died and two others were injured after they were suspected to have been attacked outside the cinema hall.
Singh was declared brought dead at Siliguri District Hospital. The other persons ~ Md Isamail was admitted to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) and Biplab Sahani sustained injuries on his left leg.
Police are interrogating the injured persons. "No one has been arrested. We are interrogating the injured persons. They are saying that they do not know the identities of the attackers. We are verifying the information," said the Siliguri Metropolitan Police commissioner, Mr K Jayaraman.     sns

press trust of india
Melbourne, 11 August
A woman candidate from an anti-immigration party in Australia, who was widely mocked after she mistook Islam for a country in a TV interview, has apologised and quit the election race.
Ms Stephanie Banister, 27, of One Nation Party was contesting a seat in Queensland. She had only been in politics for 48 hours.
Ms Banister also confused the term ‘haram’ (forbidden) with the Koran and suggested Jews worshipped Jesus Christ.
The interview, which aired early on Wednesday, went viral on social media.
“I don’t oppose Islam as a country, umm, but I do feel that their laws should not be welcome here in Australia,” Ms Banister told Seven News.
She announced her withdrawal from the 7 September national election yesterday. “With the way Channel Seven edited my interview, I was left quite the fool,” Ms Banister said in a brief statement.
“I’d like to apologise to One Nation, to my friends and family, for any embarrassment this has brought to them.”
The leader of One Nation, Jim Savage, said Ms Banister continued to have the “full support” of the party executive. He said she had been under “enormous pressure”, including threats to her and her family.
One Nation spokesman Rod Evans said Ms Banister “knows very well” that Islam is not a country but simply misspoke.

Press Trust of India
JAMMU, 11 AUG: Curfew was clamped in five more districts in Jammu region today and the Army staged flag marches as the administration declared violence-rocked Kishtwar out of bounds for politicians, detaining BJP leader Arun Jaitley at the airport here and sending him back to Delhi.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah flew to the winter capital and reviewed the situation, directing stern action against those disturbing peace.
One more body was found in Kishtwar, scene of communal clashes, which remained curfew-bound for the third consecutive day today but authorities were yet to find out whether he died in violence.
The chief minister also said it was being ascertained whether he died in clashes or due to some other reasons. Curfew was imposed in Kishtwar after Friday’s clashes that left two dead and scores injured.
Last night, curfew was clamped in Jammu and Rajouri districts and the Army was called out after incidents of arson and violence. It was extended today to Udhampur, Samba, Kathua and Bhaderwah town in Doda, affecting 8 out of 10 districts in Jammu region.
Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley was detained as he arrived at the airport here on his way to Kishtwar, drawing sharp reaction from the BJP which termed it as undemocratic.
He was sent back to Delhi at around 3.45 p.m. by flight, officials said.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Avinash Rai Khanna, who was to accompany Mr Jaitley to Kishtwar, was also detained by police while he was trying to enter Kathua this morning.
PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti claimed she was prevented from leaving her house in Srinagar for visiting violence-hit areas in Jammu region.

statesman news service
NEW DELHI, 10 AUGUST: Several people today protested in front of Jammu and Kashmir House in Chanakyapuri (in sns photo) over the communal clashes in Kishtwar district of the state. The protest, which started peacefully, soon turned violent and police had to use water canons to disperse the agitators.
 According to the police, the protest started around 11:30 a m and soon turned violent as protesters pelted stones and vandalised signboards on the road. The police then used water canons.
 “There were around 150 demonstrators from different groups including BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal and others. Initially the protest was peaceful but some anti-social elements sneaked into the demonstration and it turned violent. We used water canon to disperse them. Situation was totally under control by 2 p m,” said a police officer.
 He said a case has been registered under Sections 186, 148, 147, 353 of Indian Penal Code and Section 3 of Damage to Public Property Act at the Chanakyapuri Police station.
Clashes between two communities left two persons dead and at least 20 injured in Kishtwar district yesterday. Several business establishments and vehicles were gutted in arson.  Curfew was clamped and the Army was called in to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order.

press trust of india
New Delhi, 10 Aug: Onion prices have soared to Rs 60 per kg in the retail market of the national capital due to lower supply in the wholesale market.
Local vendors are selling onion, a politically sensitive item, at Rs 55-60 per kg in Delhi, while rates are lower at organised retails.
At Mother Dairy’s 350 Safal stores in NCR, onion is being sold at Rs 45 per kg. At MORE retail outlets, the edible bulb is available at Rs 50 per kg.
Onion supplies have substantially come down in Delhi to 6,000 quintal from 11,480 quintals ten days ago, according to the data maintained by the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF). “Wholesale price of onion has touched Rs 40-45 per kg. Arrival of onion from producing states has declined in last 8-10 days,” Azadpur Mandi’s Onion Merchant Traders Association President Surendra Budhiraj said.
The new crop is expected from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in September-October, he added.
Concerned over the rising prices, Delhi government has already started selling onion vegetable at reasonable rates at 350 outlets across the city to provide relief to citizens.
Meanwhile, rates at Lasalgoan — the Asia’s biggest wholesale market for onion — have increased to Rs 31.50 per kg from Rs 24 per kg on July 31 as supplies have fall down.
Onion prices in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh have also shot up to Rs 50-55 per kg across retail markets on account of short supply.
Wholesale onion price in Lasalgaon had reached this level during December 2010-January 2011. Retail prices had then skyrocketed to about Rs 100 per kg across the country, forcing government to curb exports.