Kohima, May 26: Caught on the wrong foot after international bidders as well as the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) refused to begin exploration work in the state, the Nagaland government today convened an emergency meeting on the issue.

However, the meeting ? chaired by chief minister Neiphiu Rio ? failed to arrive at a decision.

An oil exploration block in Mokokchung district is one of 24 being offered under the latest round of international competitive bidding.

Apart from international players, the ONGC and Oil India Ltd, too, are reportedly unwilling to deploy personnel in the...

May 26: The NSCN (I-M)?s threat to go in for a referendum on the integration of Naga-inhabited areas of the Northeast has opened an old wound.

A day after the Naga outfit?s general secretary Th. Muivah was quoted as saying that the issue of integration was ?not negotiable?, Assam and Manipur said they wanted peace in Nagaland but not at the cost of their territorial integrity.

Rejecting the NSCN (I-M)?s roadmap to peace as one that conflicted with the interests of their states, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and his Manipur counterpart Okram Ibobi Singh said there was no question of...

Guwahati, May 26: Three states of the Northeast ? identified as one of the most potent breeding grounds of the deadly HIV virus ? today signed the ?Guwahati declaration? for accelerating development of AIDS vaccines and to provide high-quality healthcare to people affected with the disease.

Political leaders of Manipur, Nagaland and Assam pledged their support to research and development of AIDS vaccines, including clinical trials and other prevention technologies as per the needs of the northeastern region.

Manipur, the worst-affected state, accounts for nearly eight per cent of the country?s...

AGARTALA, May 26 ? Central Government has extended a financial help of Rs 10.99 crore in the last financial year for the displaced Reang refugees presently sheltered in six camps at Kanchanpur.

The Reangs had come to North Tripura from adjacent Mizoram following fierce ethnic conflict between the Bru (Reang) and Lushai (Mizo) communities in October 1997. The exodus from Mizoram began on the night of October 15 and in phases the Reangs under constant threat and persecution from the majority community poured in the North district.

Several rounds of talks among the representatives of displaced...

SHILLONG, May 25 ? National Hydro-electric Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC) has got outstanding dues of nearly Rs 100 crore upto April this year against seven north eastern states ? beneficiaries of the Loktak Hydel Project - with Manipur topping the list, according to the North Eastern Regional Electricity Board (NEREB), reports PTI.

The outstanding dues included the principal amount surcharge on it, development surcharge, according to a NEREB statement released at its 52nd board meeting here last week. While Manipur topped the list with an accumulated outstanding amount of Rs 43.82 crore, it...