IMPHAL, February 2: Exactly two months after the assassination of Father Sajan Jacob Chittinapilli, assistant principal of St Joseph's Parish School, Sugunu, another Catholic priest, Father Tomy Manjaly, Principal of the Catholic School, Canchipur, was shot and critically wounded by unidentified gunmen this morning at the school premises. According to sources, two persons called out Father Manjaly, 35 after morning prayers at around 9.15 on the pretext of speaking to him regarding admission of a ward to the school. He was reportedly shot in the back by one of the youths while the other was...

NEW DELHI, February 2: Union Joint Secretary home, in charge of the north east, GK Pillai, during an informal chat with a group of mediamen over lunch, a day after the conference on "Media in the Northeast under pressure" organised by the India International Centre in association with the Centre for Northeast Studies and Policy Research on January 28, clarified that the Government of India's position on the ceasefire with the NSCN (IM) has been somewhat misread by the media in general. According to him, the Government of India has never announced a territorial jurisdiction of the ceasefire. On...

IMPHAL, February 1: The United Front (UF) legislature group, in a meeting presided by the Chief Minister, W Nipamacha Singh, at the Chief Minister's conference hall, this afternoon minutely discussed the political tussle in Manipur that have been kicking up quite a lot of dust since November 15 last and the present political situation, according to a reliable source from the CM's secretariat. The meeting, in particular, discussed ways and means to ensure that the present 35 legislators of the United Front alliance remain cohesive. It also discussed the differences reported within the Manipur...

TEZPUR, February 1: In an apparent bid to increase the Bodo population at the proposed Bodoland area on the north bank of the Brahmaputra in Sonitpur district Bodo persons are once again daily flocking from Kokrajhar and Darrang districts and are encroaching the virgin land at Sonai-Rupai game sanctuary, 45 kms from here in Sonitpur district. With 220 sq kms are and declared as the second core of the Nameri tiger reserve (under Nameri National Park) the encroachers have started deforesting the area despite the State Government and Forest Department efforts to dissuade them from doing so...

SHILLONG, February 1: A Rs 160-crore project jointly conceived by the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Centre, has been aimed at improving the livelihood of vulnerable groups in the Northeast through management of resources that contribute to preservation and restoration of the environment, reports UNI. The ambitious "Northeast Region Community Resource Management Project" was founded with the aim to secure participation of village communities in planning and management of all development interventions by reinforcing the strength of community based organisation. Project...