NEWS AND VIEWS

PUNJAB

HARYANA

JAMMU & KASHMIR

HIMACHAL

REGIONAL BRIEFS

NATION

OPINIONS

MAILBAG

BUSINESS

SPORTS

WORLD

THE TRIBUNE EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUND

Natwar divested of portfolio, but in govt
PM takes charge of foreign ministry
New Delhi, November 7

After giving K. Natwar Singh a long rope and finding it untenable to retain him as the External Affairs minister, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stripped him of the portfolio to avoid agonising embarrassment at home and internationally but retained him in his Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio.	Natwar Singh with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Rashtrapati Bhavan barely a few hours before he was stripped of the External Affairs portfolio in Delhi on Monday. — Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal Editorial: Natwar as an extra
Natwar’s Iraq function postponed ED, IT dept quiz Sehgal Opinions page: Evolving a new foreign policy Nation page: NDA delegation meets President Left welcomes probe into Volcker findings

Justice Pathak to head judicial probe
New Delhi, November 7

In rapid fire succession, the Manmohan Singh government today announced that former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court R. S. Pathak would head the independent judicial inquiry into the UN’s Paul Volcker Committee report which has charged the Congress and Mr K. Natwar Singh of being non-contractual beneficiaries in Iraq’s Oil-for-Food scam. Says he will get to the truth

Justice R.S. Pathak

Congress sends ‘legal’ letter to UN Secretary-General
New Delhi, November 7
Following up on its earlier announcement, the Congress today sent a “legal” letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan and asked for the documents based on which the Volcker committee report named the Congress as a non-contractual beneficiary of Iraqi oil deals.

Punjab cop with Jagat Singh had fired
Chandigarh, November 7
Even as the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, made a statement today saying no security cover had been provided to Mr Jagat Singh, son of the Union External Affairs Minister, Mr Natwar Singh, the presence of a Punjab Police gunman around Mr Jagat Singh is a mystery.

Pak police fires into air as LoC opens
Chakan-da-Bagh (LoC), November 7
It was an emotional moment on the LoC between India and the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) here this morning as relief material for victims of the killer earthquake was exchanged between the two countries.


Pakistani workers (in white shirt) and an Indian worker (left) transfers quake relief goods from an Indian truck to a Pakistani truck after opening of a crossing point at the LoC in Gulpur at Poonch, about 250 km from Jammu, on Monday.
— Reuters photo

Court strikes down quota for Muslims
Hyderabad, November 7
The Andhra Pradesh High Court today struck down a legislation of the state government providing for 5 per cent reservation to Muslims in jobs and educational institutions.