Imphal, January 21: The personnel of the border security forces have rescued eight individuals including senior officials of the food corporation of India from the clutches of the kidnappers near Khongkhang along the Imphal Moreh road this afternoon. However, deputy director of FCI identified as Sadashivam is yet to be rescued from the hands of the kidnappers, sources added. According to Deputy Inspector General of BSF Nagaland and Manipur sector P K Misra, tie personnel of 37 battalion post located at Khongkhang is still chasing the militants and trying their best to rescue Sadashivam. The...

Imphal, January 21: India and Myanmar have decided to set up a Joint Trade Committee (JTC) between the two countries at the Ministerial level and the inaugural meeting of the JTC would take place very soon. This was indicated in a meeting between Mr U Win Aung, Foreign Minister of Myanmar and Shri Arun Shourie, Minister of Disinvestment and Commerce & Industry here today. The issues of bilateral trade, border trade and economic cooperation will be discussed in the inaugural meeting of the JTC for which Shri Shourie has been invited by Myanmar side. Shri Vinay Bansal, Additional Secretary...

Imphal, January 21: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday assured an all-party delegation from Manipur that the boundaries of the state will not be affected in the wake of the ongoing peace talks between Centre and Nagaland. The delegation leader and Chief Minister of Manipur Okram Ibobi Singh told newsmen that this assurance was given when the team met Vajpayee to discuss the impact of the talks on the state. Singh said Manipur also wanted a constitutional amendment for the maintenance of territorial integrity of the state. "We welcome Centre's peace talks with Nagaland but the...

Imphal, Jan. 21: The BSF today rescued eight persons, including senior officials of the Food Corporation of India, after a shootout with gunmen on the Imphal-Moreh road while they were speeding towards the Indo-Myanmar border town.

Official sources said nine persons were abducted by unidentified men while they were on their way to Moreh in two jeeps to inspect the site for the construction of a food and civil supplies godown. The gunmen intercepted the vehicles at Khongkham, 4 km from Moreh, at 10.30 am.

On receiving information about the abduction, the BSF post at Khongkhang rushed its...

Kohima, Jan. 21: Making its first utterances on the high-profile Centre-NSCN (I-M) talks, the ?federal government of Nagaland? ? which represents the Naga National Council ? today said it was willing to start talks with the Centre if the latter showed ?sincerity?.

Much in the same breath, it said violence in Nagaland would continue if ?India continued to talk to people who are out of the family?.

The family referred to was legendary Naga insurgent leader A.Z. Phizo?s lineage.

Focusing his address on the plebiscite of 1951 and the NNC?s stand that Nagaland ?is in an independent position...