Month: August 2014

Singapore, Aug 18 (IANS) The West Bengal government will set up a bird sanctuary within the eco-park at Rajarhat in Kolkata’s north east outskirts, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said here Monday. Interacting with the media after going round the famous Jurong Bird Park, Banerjee said the sanctuary will come up over a five acre area. Banerjee, now on a five-day visit to the sovereign city state to tap investment, said the state’s officials accompanying him have spoken to the Jurong Bird Park authorities on setting up the bird park. “We already had planned the bird sanctuary.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has confirmed he wants to go to the United States next year and is considering a three-city trip in September 2015: Philadelphia for a family rally, Washington to address Congress and New York to speak at the United Nations.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A man who represented Rhode Island in Congress for 28 years and co-sponsored a 1982 bill that deregulated savings and loans has died. Fernand St Germain (SAINT’ jer-MAYN’) was 86.

Srinagar/New Delhi, Aug. 18 (ANI): Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik called the calling off of the Foreign Secretary level bilateral talks between India and Pakistan as “unfortunate”. “Earlier governments, including the previous NDA government, have always included us in bilateral talks, and all earlier governments have facilitated our meetings with the officials of Pakistan. It is unfortunate that the talks have been called off,” he told ANI. Alleging discrimination against Kashmiris, Malik accused India of wanting to have only trade relations with Pakistan.

New Delhi, Aug. 18 (ANI): Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj met the families of the Indian nationals who have been abducted in Mosul, Iraq by the ISIS.

New Delhi, Aug.18, (ANI): Congress leader Manish Tewari condemned the government for having initialized the dialog with the Pakistan in first place, calling the government’s decision to call off Foreign Secretary level talks with Pakistan as “knee-jerk diplomacy”. Tewari said, “Didn’t government know that Pakistan is encouraging terrorism against India? Were they not aware of the ceasefire violations?” He added, “Didn’t they know that Hafeez Saeed’s name has been dropped from the 26/11 chargesheet?