Nay Pyi Taw: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met Myanmar's President U Thein Sein to begin a string of bilateral meetings with over 40 world leaders during his 10-day three-nation tour on the margins of key multilateral summits here and in Australia and a visit to Fiji.

Modi met Then Sein at the Presidential Palace here shortly after his arrival at the Nay Pyi Taw international airport where he was given a guard of honour and greeted by young boys and girls in traditional costumes. He was welcomed by Myanmar's Health Minister Than Aung.

After his 45-minute meeting, Modi tweeted that he had a "very good" meeting with President Thein Sein. "We had extensive discussions covering various aspects of our bilateral relations," he said.

"We talked about strengthening ties in the fields of culture, commerce and enhancing connectivity," said Modi, who is expected to make a strong pitch to enhance regional connectivity at the one-day 12th annual ASEAN-India summit tomorrow.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Syed Akbaruddin posted on his Twitter account that the two leaders had "comprehensive" discussions and reviewed all aspects of bilateral ties.

"Connectivity, commercial ties and cultural bonds figured in talks with President Thein Sein," he said, as India seeks deeper economic engagement with southeast Asian nations.

The Prime Minister earlier on landing had tweeted, "Landed in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar to a very warm welcome! Great being in this beautiful country," Modi tweeted on his arrival.

"Our ties with South East Asia are deep rooted. Strengthening relations with ASEAN nations is an important part of our 'Act East' policy," he had earlier tweeted.

Besides participating in the ASEAN-India summit and the East Asia Summit here and at the G20 summit in Brisbane in Australia, Modi is due to have several meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of these international events.

"Summits, important bilaterals, meeting over 40 world leaders," he tweeted as he left New Delhi by a special Air India plane.

On the sidelines of the international summits in Myanmar, Modi will be meeting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Singaporean President Tony Tan besides meeting the host President Thein Sein, Indian officials said.

Modi will have his first meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on the sidelines of the East Asia summit at Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar as he is set to meet several world leaders bilaterally there and in Australia.

Briefing newsmen about the meeting between the leaders of India and Myanmar, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said President Sein saw India as a "brother" that could help in the development of his country.

The President conveyed to the Prime Minister that India's growth story as envisaged by him will immensely benefit Myanmar and have a salutary effect.

The spokesperson said the two leaders emphasised on three elements to step up bilateral cooperation -- Connectivity, Commercial ties and Culture.

He also said there is a move to have industrial hubs along the planned trilateral highway linking India, Myanmar and Thailand.

The highway will run from Moreh in Manipur to Mae Sot in Thailand via Myanmar and represents a significant step in establishing connectivity between India and the southeast countries. The 3,200 km highway is expected to be completed by 2018. PTI

JAMMU: A total of 123 candidates, including seven ministers of Congress-NC coalition, eight former ministers and legislators are in fray for the Jammu and Kashmir's first phase of elections scheduled later this month.

"On the last day of withdrawal of the nominations for the 1st phase of assembly elections for which polling is scheduled to be held on 25th November, 123 candidates remain in fray," an official spokesman said today.

Nazir Gurezi contesting from Gurez seat, Mohmmad Akbar Lone from Sonawari assembly constituency, Mian Altaf Ahmed from Kangan and Sajjad Kitchloo from Kishtwar are the ministers of the Omar Abdullah led NC government who are in the election fray this time.

Nawang Rigzin Jora (Congress) contesting from Leh constituency, Abdul Majid Wani (Congress) from Doda, Vakar Rasool Wani (Congress) from Banihal and Chief Executive Counsellor of Ladakh Autonomous hill Development council (LAHDC) Asgar Ali Karbalie (Congress) from Kargil are the other candidates, the spokesman said.

Three sitting legislators and former minister, including G M Saroori (Congress) from Inderwal, Mohd Sharief Naiz (Congress) from Bhaderwah, Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy (NC) from Doda besides the sitting MLAs- Nizamudin Bhat (PDP) and Ashok Kumar (Congress) from Bandipora and Ramban segments will also be fighting this election.

Apart from these, there are two bureaucrats in the fray.

Former IAS officers, Mehboob Iqbal and Bashir Ahmed Roniyal are contesting on PDP ticket from Bhaderwah and Banihal constituencies as well as journalist-turned politician Firdos Tak, who is fighting on a PDP ticket from Kishtwar, official said. PTI

JAMMU: BJP will go it alone "as of now" in the forthcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, Union Minister Jitendra Singh today said, a day after former separatist and People's Conference leader Sajjad Lone met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said his party was not in favour of separatism and neither any of his party leader has said that BJP endorses it.

"We never said that we were in favour of separatism. I do not think any leader from BJP has said that he or she endorses separatism. As of now, we do not have alliance with anybody," Singh said, who is a BJP MP from Udhampur.

He said he was here to contemplate and decide what his party was going to do in the Assembly elections.

"I am here (J&K) to contemplate and decide what we are going to do...I am not here to decide for others," Singh said while replying to a question.
Lone met Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday during which the two were believed to have discussed the possibility of his working with BJP after the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

Lone after the meeting had said that he had apprised the Prime Minister as a Kashmiri about the difficulties being faced by the people of the Valley due to the September floods.

The meeting with Modi comes after Lone, whose brother Bilal is an executive member of separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference, had consultations with BJP leaders including Ram Madhav. -PTI

NEW DELHI: BJP on Tuesday announced five more candidates, including four Muslim faces, for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections while releasing its third list of candidates.

The BJP has so far declared 72 candidates out of a total of 87 seats in the State Assembly, of which 20 Muslims have been fielded.

While Abdul Rehman Lone will contest from Kupwara constituency, Abdul Rashid Zargar will contest from Lolab, M M War from Langate seat and Ghulam Hassan Zargar from the Kulgam seat.

The party has also fielded Nirmal Singh from Billawar assembly constituency.
The party's Central Election Committee cleared the names of five more candidates for the State Assembly elections starting November 25, party general secretary and CEC Secretary J P Nadda said.

Buoyed with the party's recent successes in Haryana and Maharashtra, the BJP is optimistic of performing well in the upcoming Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand as well.

The BJP has also chalked out a strategy for Jammu and Kashmir and is working in close coordination with smaller parties. The party is likely to carry along some moderate separatists in the Valley and may align with some of them after the polls.

The Assembly polls in the state will start from November 25 and will be held in five phases ending on December 20. The results will be out on December 23. -PTI

ISLAMABAD: At least 50 people, including eight women and children, were killed when a bus rammed into a truck in Pakistan's Sindh province Tuesday, police said.

Over 20 people were injured in the accident near Theri Bypass in Sukkur district, Xinhua reported.

The accident happened when the bus driver fell asleep while driving and hit a truck coming from the opposite direction.

There were over 80 people on the bus which was on its way to Karachi from Swat district. The fate of the remaining passengers is not known yet.

President Mamnoon Hussian expressed grief over the accident and directed hospital administration to provide best possible medical treatment to the injured.
Sindh Province Governor Ishrat Ibad also expressed condolence to the family members of the victims.-IANS

MUMBAI: The rupee trimmed its early losses against the US dollar, but was still quoting down by four paise to 61.54 in the late morning trade on bouts of dollar demand from banks and importers.

The rupee resumed lower at 61.56 per dollar as against the yesterday's closing level of 61.50 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market.

Later it slid further to 61.60 before bouts of dollar selling helped recoup some of its losses. It was quoting at 61.54 at 1025 hours.

The rupee hovered in a range of 61.60-61.53 per dollar in morning deals.
Sustained capital inflows into equity is helping the rupee to some extent, dealers said.

In the New York market, the US dollar was steady against its major rivals in early trade after recouping some of its post-payrolls losses as an uptick in risk appetite sent US Treasury yields higher and underpinned Wall Street stocks.

The greenback kept to a narrow range with the US bond market - a key driver of the currency - closed on Tuesday for the Veterans Day holiday.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Sensex was trading higher by 99.43 pts, or 0.36 per cent, to 27,974.16 at 1040 hrs. -PTI

MUMBAI: A day after it decided to sit in the opposition in the Maharashtra assembly, the Shiv Sena still harboured hopes of an amicable settlement with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here Tuesday - and a share in power in the state.

Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said Tuesday that talks with the BJP have been suspended, but barely a couple of hours later, party president Uddhav Thackeray said negotiations were underway on power sharing.

The Sena also faces the formidable task of safeguarding its 63 legislators, some of whom are reportedly being lured by the BJP.

The BJP seemed unperturbed by Sena's decision to sit in the opposition in the state legislature as this did not spell an immediate threat to the minority government's survival.

"It is Shiv Sena's decision... We are not worried as many of their legislators have already assured us of support... There are sufficient MLAs to help us secure a majority," Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse said Monday evening.

The BJP has to ensure that 144 votes fall in its kitty Wednesday evening to clear the crucial floor test after which Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' government will have a smooth sail for at least another six months.

This would give time for the BJP strategists to secure support from possible quitters or breakaway groups from the Shiv Sena, Congress and the NCP who could later be accommodated on BJP tickets.

BJP sources said that among other things, the Sena's decision to boycott Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet expansion and to withdraw its nominee Anil Y. Desai is being treated as "a boiling point" as there is little or no hope of any renewed rapprochement between the two former allies of 25 years.

But the party is also worried about the political fallout of depending solely on support of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and unreliable Independents or smaller parties.

Meanwhile, Fadnavis prepares for the election of the assembly speaker and the floor test here Wednesday afternoon.

The BJP has 121 legislators, one died recently; there is one pre-poll ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksha. This takes the total support the BJP commands at the moment to 122 legislators.

The Sena is the second largest party in the assembly with 63 legislators, the Congress has 42, NCP has 41 MLAs and the rest are Independents or smaller parties in the 288-member house, now standing at 287 after the death of a BJP legislator. –IANS

SEOUL: The South Korean government on Tuesday announced its decision to end the seven-month-long search operation for those missing during April's ferry disaster. 

The sinking of the ferry claimed more than 300 lives.

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Lee Ju-young made the announcement after holding a meeting with Prime Minister Chung Hong-won, Xinhua reported.

More than two-thirds of the families of those still missing voted in favour of ending the search operation, in response to which the government finally decided to conclude it.

Coast guard, military and civilian divers have conducted search operations since April 16 when the 6,825-tonne ferry "Sewol" sank off the south-western cost of South Korea.

Nine remain missing, with 295 people confirmed dead.

The body of one female student was recovered Oct 28, 102 days after a body was found July 18.

Conditions have become difficult to continue the underwater search as the winter season is fast approaching, officials said.

The water temperature is much lower, and the ferry has sunk more than 40 metres deep, they added. -IANS