|
|
|
|
|
Anna's supporters show black flags to PM AMRITSAR: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh began the New Year on Sunday by offering prayers at the Golden Temple here but had to face black flags and slogans from some supporters of Anna Hazare outside the Sikh shrine. The Prime Minister was shown black flags by some 30-35 of the anti-corruption crusader's supporters as he came out of the Golden Temple complex. The protest caught the security agencies completely off-guard. An outer security ring of the Punjab Police held the protesters at bay and none of them could reach anywhere near the Prime Minister. Carrying posters of the social activist, the protesters shouted pro-Anna Hazare and pro-Jan Lokpal Bill slogans. Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur reached the shrine around 6.30 a.m. and performed a 'parikarma' or circumambulation of the sacred pond before entering the sanctum sanctorum. Wearing a white kurta-pyjama and a dark grey jacket, the Prime Minister offered prayers along with his wife. He later sat down in an enclosure inside the sanctum sanctorum to listen to hymns. In the nearly 75 minutes that he spent in the shrine complex, Manmohan Singh spent nearly 45 minutes inside the sanctum sanctorum listening to mellifluous prayers and hymns with his eyes shut. He and his wife were presented a 'siropa' (robe of honour) by the 'granthi' (priest) of the shrine. Thousands of devotees were present at the shrine complex when the Prime Minister arrived amid tight security. He and his wife later paid obeisance at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion, inside the complex. He was escorted by Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel and scores of 'sewadars' (volunteers) of the shrine. Manmohan Singh had arrived here Saturday evening from New Delhi. He stayed overnight at the government Circuit House. The visit was a "private one", a police officer said. A devout Sikh, the Prime Minister last visited the shrine in March 2009, just a few weeks after his coronary bypass surgery at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. Manmohan Singh, who lived and studied in Amritsar after his family migrated here from Rawalpindi after Partition, also has some relatives in this city. — IANS
Powerful quake hits Japan TOKYO: A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit a wide area in eastern and northeastern Japan today, rattling buildings in Tokyo and jolting the nation still recovering from last year's quake-tsunami mega-disaster. There were no immediate reports of damage or injury and no tsunami warning was issued. The quake struck at 10:58 IST, Japan's Meteorological Agency said, as Emperor Akihito led the country's New Year celebrations by asking people to work together in rebuilding the nation from March's disaster. There was no immediate information about abnormalities at nuclear reactors, including those of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant, Kyodo News agency reported. The epicentre of the quake was located near Torishima, a northwestern Pacific island about 560 km south of Tokyo. The mid-afternoon quake swayed buildings in Tokyo and surrounding areas. Meanwhile, in a New Year message, Emperor Akihito said: "Our country is now going through difficult times because of the earthquake and other factors. But I hope that the people's hearts will always be with the afflicted, and that everyone will persevere and work together to build a brighter tomorrow." Japan lies along the Pacific "ring of fire," an area of high seismic and volcanic activity. Last year, a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan, leaving thousands of people dead or missing. The March 11 earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves and sparked a nuclear crisis in the country. — PTI
Militants attack Manipur minister's house Imphal: Militants attacked the house of Manipur Health Minister L. Jayenta Kumar in Imphal West district by exploding a grenade which injured a passer-by, official sources said. The militants lobbed the grenade at around 7 pm last night when the minister was outside the house campaigning for the forthcoming Assembly elections on January 28. A woman identified as Memcha Devi who was standing around Kumar's house was injured besides and two vehicles parked in nearby were damaged, sources said. Kumar said no militant organisation had
demanded money from him and it was not known who lobbed the grenades.
— PTI
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
