TURA, January 18: The West Garo Hills police have achieved another success by busting a large extortion racket of the People's Liberation Front-Meghalaya, (PLF-M) with the arrest of a senior cadre of the outfit from Dalu area on Monday evening. Acting on a tip-off, the Dalu police raided the house of one Chapalsing Marak of Upper Bamunpara, under Dalu police station, on Monday evening and recovered from his possession one country-made pistol, ten rounds of live AR-47 ammunition and ten extortion letters, each demanding a sum of Rs 2 lakh from all the major coal exporters located mostly in...

PURUM, January 20: The Union home ministry will be convening a meeting of the four chief ministers of Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya soon to thrash out the question of extending the ceasefire between the government of India and the NSCN(IM) into all Naga inhabited areas falling within their states. This was stated by the Union joint secretary home, in charge of the Northeast, GK Pillai during a meeting with media persons at Purum in the Senapati district on January 18. However, Pillai either out of deliberate omission or unintended slip did not mention the Arunachal Pradesh chief...

SHILLONG, January 20: It was not sympathy but stringent criticism that was heaped on the state police at a high-level meeting held to review the situation after the HNLC attack on a police beat house here yesterday. Three persons, including two policemen and a driver of a requisitioned vehicle, died in the incident. Meghalaya chief minister E.K. Mawlong blasted top police officials and demanded action and results. His government is already facing flak on the spate of killings with no tangible counteraction. The meeting, held at the Pinewood hotel, was attended by Mawlong, chief secretary J.P...

IMPHAL, January 19: Manipur Legislative Assembly Speaker Sapam Dhananjoy, in an effort to reconvene the House, has called a meeting of legislature party leaders of both ruling and Opposition groups in January 20 for a second time. It may be recalled that the Governor of the State Ved Marwah had already wrote to the Speaker S Dhananjoy for an early reconvening of the Assembly session on January 13 last. The meeting of the legislature party leaders of both opposition and ruling will begin at 2 pm tomorrow, sources said. The speaker said he had earlier called a meeting of leaders of the ruling...

IMPHAL, January 19: Opposition spokesman O Joy today categorically stated that unless the chief minister tenders an unqualified apology to the Opposition for its utterances the Opposition would not attend the joint meeting called by the Speaker tomorrow to discuss the reconvening of the House. The chief minister had earlier stated that he would never share the same table with the Opposition. Speaking to reporters at the Speaker's official bungalow this evening the MPP MLA said the Opposition will not take the statement of the Chief Minister lightly. He added such mindless utterance is highly...