IMPHAL, February 24: Portfolios of all the 34 ministers in the People's Front government headed by the Chief Minister Radhabinod Koijam, have been distributed as per a notice issued today by the Governor, Ved Marwah. Contrary to expectations that the prestigious home and finance portfolios would go to the BJP, the Chief Minister has kept them for himself, together with the department of personnel and administrative reforms, cabinet and all other departments not allocated specifically to any other minister. Nobody gets deputy Chief Ministership but the BJP stalwart, Col (retd) H Bhuban Singh...

IMPHAL, February 24: Defence minister George Fernandes has endorsed Manipur Chief Minister Radhabinod Koijam's view on declaring unilateral ceasefire with all insurgent groups of the state. Addressing a newsconference here this afternoon, Fernandes appealed to all insurgents outfits to come forward for a political dialogue. Koijam, during his recent trip to New Delhi, had urged both Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Union home minister L.K. Advani to declare unilateral truce with all insurgent groups in Manipur on the lines of J&K. "We fully endorse the Chief Minister's suggestion,"...

IMPHAL, February 23: Two prestigious girls' Catholic schools in Manipur have been forced to close down indefinitely by armed militants, official sources said today, reports PTI. The sources said militants forced the closure of Little Flower High School and Nirmalabas School in the heart of Imphal town following the 'failure to pay the money demanded by the militants." The sources said investigation was on to find out identities of the militants. Authorities in the schools told PTI that they received calls from unidentified persons yesterday and asked them to close down the schools. The school...

ROING (Arunachal Pradesh), February 24: The millennium tourism bonanza for Northeast, Brahmaputra Darshan today got off to a spectacular start at Dibang Ghat along the majestic river, 25 km from here, opening a new chapter for the region's economic growth and self-reliance, reports PTI. The three-day river festival, first of its kind in the region, was formally declared open by Home Minister LK Advani who immersed a 'kalash' of Sindhu water into the mighty Brahmaputra, the lifeline of the region, symbolising national unity and emotional integration. In his address, Advani said that the...

GUWAHATI, February 23: The government's hoopla over making Assam an "investors' paradise" got a rude shock with a Japanese trade expert today saying no person from a foreign country would like to come to a conflict zone. The statement, which jolted top government officials and industry bigwigs on the concluding day of the international conference on "Business Opportunities in Northeast India: Guwahati Initiative", came from Yashinobu Sei, an official of the FICCI-Japan cell. On the possibility of Japanese investment in the state, Sei said Assam should be safe enough for foreigners to work and...