IMPHAL, April 25: Chief Minister Radhabinod Koijam's agenda for austerity measures seems to have conveniently excluded his official bungalow. Despite the fact that the state government is facing acute financial crisis and its employees and pensioners have not been paid their salaries and pensions for the last two and a half months, in addition to the ban imposed by the Reserve Bank of India over all financial transactions of the state government, the recent major renovation works in the CM's bungalow is believed to have cost the state exchequer quite a few millions of rupees. A question has...

IMPHAL, April 25: After burning their school text books yesterday students of Catholic School, Canchipur today began dharna at the school gate demanding resumption of classes which have been remaining closed for the past one month. Catholic Schools in the valley reported money demand served by a militant organisation. While Little Flower resumed classes yesterday others remained closed. Hundreds of Catholic School students were provoked yesterday when their school was still found locked up and they burnt their books in protest against it at the school gate. Students of class VIII to X in their...

NEW DELHI, April 25 (PTI): Army has forwarded to the Union Home Ministry two receipts from a banned militant outfit acknowledging it had received Rs 3 lakh from Nipamacha Singh and Chandramani, Lok Sabha was informed today. This was stated by Defence Minister Jaswant Singh in response to a written question about reports that political stalwarts of Manipur including former Chief Minister W Nipamacha Singh and former Assembly Speaker L Chandramani Singh had donated huge amounts to the United National Liberation Front (UNLF). In one of its reports, the army forwarded two receipts from UNLF, the...

AGARTALA, April 24: Close on the heels of the killing of 16 BSF men, the Bangladesh Rifles made an abortive bid to occupy a border outpost in Karimganj district, but were repulsed after the Indian border guards opened fire, a top BSF official said today, reports PTI. The BDR along with people in "plain clothes, who could be villagers", advanced on the Lathitilla border outpost in the district yesterday, BSF DIG (G) S Basumatary told reporters here. The BSF challenged them and opened fire, with the BDR and others with them beating a hasty retreat, the DIG BSF said. He said maximum alert was...

NEW DELHI, April 24: The BSF on Monday night said it was "not justified" for Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) to change the status of the Indo-Bangla border by "using force" as the matter was pending before the Governments of the two countries, reports PTI. In a statement here, the BSF said its stand on demarcation of the border was clear that "since the transfer of adverse possession land is connected with demarcation of the complete border of India and Bangladesh, and the matter is pending with both the Governments, it is not justified on the part of BDR to try to change the status of the area...