GUWAHATI: Authorities in Assam have culled some 40,000 poultry of an estimated 60,000 birds ordered to be killed after an outbreak of the deadly bird flu virus in the region, officials Monday said.
{lsquo}{lsquo}Culling operations are on in the district of Kamrup since Friday and so far about 40,000 chickens and ducks were killed,{rsquo}{rsquo} said Manoranjan Choudhury, deputy director of the Assam Veterinary department.
The culling is being carried out in about 48 villages within a five kilometre radius of village Thakurchuba in Kamrup district, about 40 km west of Assam’s main …

NEW YORK: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks that struck the north-eastern Indian state of Assam today, reportedly killing at least 60 people and wounding several hundred more, and occurring on the same day that the United Nations chief was on an official visit to the country.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban expressed his deep sorrow and sympathy to the Government and people of India for the loss of life and destruction caused by the attacks.
“He strongly condemns this act of terrorism targeting civilians,” …

GUWAHATI: Four people have been detained in connection with the serial blasts in Assam on October 30, which killed 77 people.
Despite these detentions there are no concrete leads yet.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Guwahati on Saturday. He said his government will do whatever it can to arrest those responsible for the blasts but that did not really calm the people.
The anger of the residents particularly in Guwahati could not be contained.

GUWAHATI: Assam Police confirmed the use of RDX in the blast at Ganeshguri in Guwahati on Thursday. However, the nature of blasts in other areas
of the city and Lower Assam districts like Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon and Barpeta have not yet been verified.
Forensic experts said they would collect samples and analyze it on Friday. Illegal arms and explosives find their way into the Northeast easily as the region shares a porous border with Bangladesh and Myanmar. Security agencies operating in the region say the shipment of explosives, including RDX, is …

GUWAHATI: Indian authorities suspect Islamist groups were behind coordinated bomb blasts in the troubled state of Assam that killed 77 people and wounded more than 320, police said on Friday.
Separatist movements have riddled India’s remote northeast for decades, but the level of sophistication and precision of Thursday’s bombings echo similar blasts across India over the past year which have been blamed on Islamist groups.
Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami (HuJI) is the main suspect in Thursday’s attack. Police say the Islamist group could have sought to avenge attacks on Muslim settlers by …

GUWAHATI: Around 800 students from various schools participated in a cycle rally held at Guwahati in Assam on Sunday to promote peace, keeping in view the recent clashes between the ethnic Bodos and the Bangladeshi settlers.
A German cycle team, Karma Riders, who had come from Germany to tour the North East for promoting peace, led the rally.
“In Germany, violent incidents make news. A week before leaving Germany, in a local paper I read about the clashes between the Bodos and the Muslims. This is an attempt to recycle news so …

GUWAHATI: A 40-year-old female elephant was hit by a speeding train and seriously injured near the Deepor Beel area in the outskirts of the city on Wednesday night. Assam State Zoo Director, Narayan Mahanta, said the pachyderm was crossing the tracks at the foothills bordering the Deepor Beel when it was hit by a goods train.
The elephant is in a critical condition. A team of seven veterinarians were looking after the animal’s treatment near the ‘Beel.
The pachyderm will be kept under observation for 48-hrs, the attending doctors said.
Earlier this year, …

SHILLONG, OCT 15: Shocked by the attacks on the members of their community in Assam, Garos in Meghalaya today asked the government to check the entry of illegal migrants in Garo Hills as normality tiptoed back in Udalguri district.
The Achik National Congress (Democratic), a regional political party based in Garo Hills, condemned the violence against Garos in Assam which had displaced nearly 5,000 families now sheltered in the relief camps in Udalguri.
The general secretary of the party, Mathias Marak, said the killings might spark fear in the community in Meghalaya …