GUWAHATI, August 4: The Federation of Industries and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER) has hailed the Bangladesh government's decision to allow transhipment of Indian goods through its territory. FINER president SK Jain said the Indian business community had been demanding the facility for long. Bangladesh's grant of transhipment facilities to India is a major step towards creating a regime of free movement of goods within South Asia - one of the prerequisites for the South Asia Free Trade Agreement, proposed by India under the aegis of the South Asian Association for Regional...

ITANAGAR, August 3: Former director of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Aravind Dave, was sworn in as the Arunachal Pradesh Governor here yesterday. The Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, Justice Brijesh Kumar had administered the oath of office and secrecy to Dave at a simple function at Raj Bhawan. The chief minister, Mukut Mithi, his Cabinet colleagues, former chief minister Gegong Apang, besides high civil and police officials, were present on the occasion. Dave succeeded Lt Gen (Retd) SK Sinha, the Governor of Assam, who was holding the additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh after...

SHILLONG, August 4: The United Democratic Party legislature party will meet on August 10 to take a "final decision" on the future of the one-year-old UDP-Congress coalition government in Meghalaya. The UDP central executive committee in its meeting on July 21 had authorised the party's legislature party to take a decision on the issue. The meeting has assumed significance in view of the defeat of the ruling Meghalaya Parliamentary Forum candidate in the election to the post of deputy speaker yesterday. The common Opposition candidate, Martin M Danggo, was elected as 10 ruling coalition members...

GUWAHATI, August 4: The activities of a newly-formed Islamic militant outfit People's United Liberation Front (PULF) came to light after the arrest of four members of the outfit in Barpeta recently. It is suspected that the outfit has links with the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), security sources said here. They said the four militants -Md Saifu Islam, Md Akbar Ali, Zehirul Islam and Hazarat Ali - all belonging to the Howly area of Barpeta district, were nabbed by police on July 22 last. Sources said the outfit was originally formed in Manipur with the support of the Isak-Muivah...

GUWAHATI, August 4: With the Lok Sabha elections fast approaching, all the political parties as well as the people of the state are watching with keen interest as to what will be the stand taken by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) vis-?-vis the election this time. The interest stemmed from the fact that during the Lok Sabha elections last year, the outfit had called for a poll boycott. In the wake of ignominious defeat in the elections, the ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) had tried to blame it on an alleged ULFA-Congress nexus. The AGP alleged that the Congress engineered the ULFA...