Guwahati, Jan. 22: The bickering factions of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today resolved to bury their differences to maximise the party?s chances of regaining lost ground in the Lok Sabha poll.

The consensus was reached after a debate spread over two days. By the end of the party?s central executive committee meeting tonight, the Brindaban Goswami and Prafulla Kumar Mahanta camps were speaking in one voice about the need to be a ?united house? before the elections.

Taking the first step in this direction, the Mahanta-led faction, which had initially demanded that the AGP?s annual conclave...

New Delhi, Jan. 21: The Centre and the industry today joined hands to promote tourism in the Northeast. ?Tourism in the Northeast is languishing behind in comparison to other states. This sector is a real selling point for the Northeast,? said Jayanta Sanyal, adviser to the planning commission.

Addressing delegates at the second Northeast business summit here today, he said: ?The Northeast needs to be given a brand identity. Infrastructure problems and security measures must be handled with immediate effect.?

Speaking on the occasion, Amitabh Kant, joint secretary in the ministry of tourism...

Kohima, Jan. 21: It?s the time to disco. Encouraged by the steady improvement in law and order in the Nagaland capital, a group of entrepreneurs has just conceptualised the state?s first discotheque, complete with a state-of-the-art DJ station and gourmet food.

The discotheque, to be called Amnesia, is the brainchild of Rozelle Mero, who trained to be an interior designer and spent a few years in Hong Kong and a decade in New York before returning home to start this venture with a group of friends.

Rozelle?s collaborators in the discotheque project could not be from more diverse fields...

Jan. 21: The chief ministers of five states jointly appealed to Delhi to declare militancy in the Northeast a ?national problem? as violence continued to rock parts of the region. Three security personnel were today killed and five seriously injured in the latest strike by the banned Ulfa, which is reportedly trying to avenge the crackdown on its camps in Bhutan.

The militants triggered an improvised explosive device at Ronsi in Meghalaya?s East Garo Hills around 7.30 am, blowing up a van carrying security personnel.

Two of them, one from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the other...

Silchar, Jan. 20: The Centre has rejected Assam?s plea for Rs 5.35 crore to upgrade the water treatment plant here. In a letter to Doner minister C.P. Thakur recently, Assam urban development minister Hem Prakash Narayan appealed for allotment of the fund from the Centre?s non-lapsable pool of resources.

Narayan said the town with a population of over three lakh has suffered over the past few years because of shortage of potable water. Hence, it was necessary to upgrade the 36-year-old water plant, which has the capacity to treat five million gallons of water every day.

Rejecting the state?s...