NEW DELHI, Oct 30 ? In a significant move ahead of next week?s talks, the Centre has expressed its willingness to accept the demand of a major agitating group in Manipur to lift the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act if the same was ?agreeable? to all sections of the society, reports PTI.

A high-level delegation of Apunba Lup, an amalgam of 32 social organisations and groups in the state, is reaching here on Monday to hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shivraj Patil, highly placed sources told PTI here today.

?The government will convey to them that...

GUWAHATI, Oct 30 ? The once flourishing Assam State Cooperative Marketing and Consumers? Federation Ltd (STATFED) is now panting allegedly due to the lack of dedication of its captains to the organisation. Barring a few hundreds in its headquarters, about 1,400 employees in 26 branches of the Federation are not paid their salaries for the past about 53 months. Even, the headquarters-based employees are paid their basic pay only for the past about one year.

It is feared that without a serious intervention from the political top brass of the State administration, the Federation will die an...

GUWAHATI, Oct 30 ? The much-awaited Indo-ASEAN Car Rally that would be flagged off by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in the city on November 22 may be a pathbreaking initiative in the present economic backdrop of the region. It is hoped that the event would help establish economic ties between the North East of India and other South East Asian countries.

The Assam Chief Minister has taken unprecedented steps for initiating a public-private partnership to beautify the city before the mega event. The city is already undergoing a facelift following deployment of men and materials.

Several...

SILIGURI, Oct 30 ? Growth of fundamentalist elements including Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) backed armed outfits in neighbouring Bangladesh may pose a serious security threat to India, particularly in the North Eastern region in the days to come and to add to the problem, most of the militant outfits based in NE have their bases in the neighbouring country.

Highly placed security sources told The Assam Tribune here that in recent years, Bangladesh witnessed growth of fundamentalist elements spreading anti-India feelings and the Pakistani agency has taken advantage of the...

NEW DELHI, Oct 30 ? Flight of capital from the North Eastern Region (NER) has forced Centre to review the new industrial policy, with the Union Finance Ministry mulling withdrawal of the special incentives given to three States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal by 2007.

However, the heartening piece of news has to be taken with a pinch of salt because by then large chunk of investments would have been withdrawn from the NER, experts here believe. As it were, investments in North-east started plummeting after the previous NDA regime sanctioned similar incentives for the two States in 2003...