At BRICS, all eyes on Manmohan-Xi meet
First contact between Indian PM and new Chinese President expected to bolster ties
Raj Chengappa in Durban
March 25
As the five heads of state of BRICS countries arrive to participate in the fifth summit being held in eThekwini, the South African name for Durban, the bilateral meeting that is eagerly being anticipated is the one between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the new Chinese President Xi Jinping. The meeting scheduled for Wednesday evening on the sidelines of the summit would be the first eyeball-to-eyeball contact Manmohan Singh would have with Xi Jinping after he formally took over as President of China last week.

PM Manmohan Singh with South African Minister of Justice Jeffrey Thamsanqa Radebe on his arrival in Durban on Monday. — PTI

THE TRIBUNE INTERVIEW 'The bottomline is that these mosquito bites from Pakistan must stop' — Salman Khurshid, Minister for External Affairs by Raj Chengappa

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BRICS to pack more economic punch, redefine role in multi-polar world
Summit to focus on stronger trade relations with African countries
Raj Chengappa in Durban
March 25
When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh landed at the King Shaka International Airport in Durban on Monday to attend the fifth summit of BRICS leaders, he must have felt relieved to get away from the brickbats that his government faced at home and enjoy the ululations, the traditional South African expression of joy, with which he was greeted on arrival.

Building a bank, brick by BRICS
Durban, March 25
When the five finance ministers of BRICS countries, including India’s P. Chidambaram, meet tomorrow, top among the agenda is giving concrete shape to the idea mooted in the 2012 Delhi summit to establish a development bank on the lines of the World Bank.

Omar slams Centre over Hizb man’s arrest
Jammu , March 25
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today slammed the Centre over execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, its opposition to revocation of Armed Forces Special Power Act and arrest of alleged Hizb militant Syed Liyaqat Shah.

 J&K page: Amid hullabaloo over Liyaqat, govt ignores rehab norms
 Speaker disallows adjournment motion on Hizb ‘militant’

NIA to conduct probe     Omar Abdullah during the budget session in Jammu.

Nyoma clash: 168 Armymen to face action
New Delhi, March 25
An Army Court of Inquiry has recommended disciplinary action against 168 personnel, including four officers, 17 junior commissioned officers and 147 jawans, for the clash that took place between officers and jawans in an artillery regiment at Nyoma in southeastern Ladakh in May last year. A report of the Court of Inquiry presided over by Brig Ajay Talwar, Deputy General Officer Commanding, 3rd Infantry Division, has been accepted by Northern Army Commander Lt Gen KT Parnaik, sources said.

On last day, Punjab House clears 16 Bills in 80 minutes Chandigarh, March 25 The Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Monday passed 16 important Bills on the last day of the budget session without a discussion worth a mention. The Bills were discussed and cleared in about 80 minutes, giving each Bill just about five minutes on an average. Even Bills to which certain members raised objections were pushed through after completing the formality of having allowed them to speak a few words.