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Five JeM militants held in Bangladesh

Dhaka, Feb 28 – Five operatives of Pakistan-based militant organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad have been arrested from various parts of Bangladesh, an official said Sunday. One of the five arrested is a Pakistani national and the others are Bangladeshi citizens, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) official Mohammad Kamaruzzaman told the Daily Star newspaper. Four were arrested from Sukanya Tower, opposite Dhaka College in the national capital, while the fifth man was held from a hotel.

Six killed in sectarian clashes in Pakistan

Islamabad, Feb 28 – Pakistan authorities Sunday clamped curfew on a town following sectarian clashes between rival Sunni groups that left at least six people dead and 16 injured. The clashes erupted Saturday when gunmen opened fire on a rally by the Brelvi sect of the Sunni Muslims to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Mohammad in Paharpur area of Dera Ismail Khan district. Following the incident, the angry crowd of Brelvi Muslims attacked a seminary of a Deobandi sect of Sunni Muslims, ensuing gunfights that continued for hours.

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Fire in Mumbai slums affects about 250 dwellings

Mumbai, Feb.28 : At least 250 dwelling in a slum were reduced to ash after the Darukhana slum area of Sewri of Mumbai came under fire. The incident left behind a lot of people as homeless. The fire was first noticed around 6.30 in the morning.

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Tharoor clarifies "interlocutor" comment about India-Pakistan and S. Arab

Riyadh, Feb 28 : Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Sunday clarified that he did not mean that Saudi Arabia should be a mediator between India and Pakistan. Earlier in the day, Tharoor reportedly said that Saudi Arabia could be a “valuable interlocutor” between India and Pakistan. Tharoor, who is accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a three-day State visit to Saudi Arabia, said: “We feel that Saudi Arabia of course has a long and close relationship with Pakistan but that makes Saudi Arabia even a more valuable interlocutor for us.” Shortly after making the remarks, Tharoor retracted them.

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14 killed as storm batters France

Paris, Feb 28 – At least 14 people have died in a violent storm that swept across France late Saturday and Sunday, France Info radio reported. Packing winds of up to 160 km per hour, the storm uprooted trees, flooded houses, wreaked havoc with transportation and cut electricity to more than one million households. Among the victims was an 88-year-old woman who was found drowned in her house on the Isle of Oleron, off the west coast.

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No third party role in India-Pakistan ties: Congress, BJP

New Delhi/Riyadh, Feb 28 – The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday made it clear that there was no scope for a third party in India-Pakistan relations. Commenting on Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor’s remarks on Saudi Arabia’s potential as an interlocutor in India’s ties with Pakistan, a source close to Congress president Sonia Gandhi said: ‘India’s position on no to third party mediation in India-Pakistan issues is unchanged. There is no change in the Congress position.’ BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi termed Tharoor’s remarks ‘unusual’ and reiterated India’s known stand that no third party can intervene in issues between India and Pakistan.

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Akmal undeterred by match-fixing allegations

Karachi, Feb 28 – Accused of match-fixing, Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal, Sunday said he is not bothered by the allegations and is focussing on his game to give his best in the World Twenty20 championship beginning April 30 in the West Indies. The former Pakistan vice-captain said here at the National Stadium that such damaging reports are being spread by elements seeking to destabilise Pakistan cricket. ‘These false reports do not bother me and I will continue to focus on my game.

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Saudi can be interlocutor, not mediator: Tharoor

Riyadh, Feb 28 – India regards Saudi Arabia, with its close ties to Islamabad, as a ‘valuable interlocutor’ in improving ties with Pakistan, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor Sunday said, but clarified that it did not mean any mediation by Riyadh on bilateral issues. ‘We feel Saudi Arabia has a long and close relationship with Pakistan and that makes Saudi Arabia even a more valuable interlocutor for us,’ Tharoor, who is accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a three-day visit to Riyadh, told Indian journalists here. Tharoor, however, clarified that New Delhi’s desire to seek the support from Riyadh on terror-related issues with Islamabad did not mean giving it the role of mediator in bilateral disputes between the two neighbours.

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Woman raped by Delhi Police constable

New Delhi, Feb 28 – A 25-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a constable of Delhi Police’s Crime Branch in Dwarka area of southwest Delhi earlier this week, police said Sunday. ‘The incident took place in Sector 16 of Dwarka when the victim’s husband was not at home. Her husband had gone to Haryana.

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