Briefly Nation: Sikh stabbed at US airport,hate crime ruled out

Smuggling: Rare birds seized in Ranchi

RANCHI: The seizure of a rare variety of owls from a bird dealers shop at Kantatoli on Monday indicated an inter-state gang involvement in smuggling birds. The seizure followed a raid conducted on a tip off by a team of the state forest department. Although the bird supplier escaped,a variety of endangered birds were recovered,which,under the Forest Act,cannot be caught,bought or sold. Investigations revealed the grass owl,whose body parts are in demand as boosters for sex potency,fetched Rs 10 lakh in the clandestine market in Singapore.

3 held for murder of eunuch leader

AHMEDABAD: Three persons were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the murder of a eunuch leader here,who was shot dead two weeks ago following a territorial dispute and business rivalry,the police said. Imran Ajmeri alias Soniyade Aashikde Pavaiya,popularly known as Soniyade,was shot four times on November 24. City Crime Branch on Tuesday arrested Sahezad Chippa (25),Vasim Sipahi (24) and Renu alias Gumansinh Jadon (25) from near Vasant Rajjab police checkpost in Jamalpur here.

Orissa: New maternity leave benefits

BHUBANESWAR: On the lines of Central government employees getting 180 days maternity leave and 15 days paternity leave,CM Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday announced similar benefits for state government employees. Though the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 provided up to 12 weeks paid leave for working women,and a two-week paternity leave only for Central government employees,it was raised to 6 months on the recommendations of the 6th Central pay commission.

Pak troops fire at Indian posts on LoC

JAMMU: In yet another ceasefire violation along the LoC in J&K,Pakistani troops targeted forward Indian positions with rockets and small arms fire in Krishna Ghati area of Poonch district late on Monday. Pointing out that the unprovoked firing continued for nearly two hours,official sources said Pakistani troops fired two RPGs besides small arms fire at two Indian forward posts NPP1 and NPP2 in Krishna Ghati area. There was no loss on the Indian side,they said.

10-yr-old kidnapped,killed in Assam

SILCHAR/KARIMGANJ: A 10-year-old school boy was kidnapped and killed at Silchar in Assams Cachar district of Barak Valley. Prohibitive orders under Section 144 CrPC have been imposed to prevent violence,and the army has been kept on alert. Class III student Shahadad Hussain Majumdar was abducted from his home at Madhurband,allegedly by a mason on Monday evening and his body was found in a house in the Link Road area of Silchar,police said. The accused was arrested from Badarpur in Karimganj district on Tuesday. Angry locals set some buildings ablaze,the police said. A day-long bandh was observed.

Monkey held in Pakistan for crossing border

ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Pakistans Punjab province arrested a monkey after it crossed the border with India,according to a report on Monday. The monkey was captured by wildlife officials in Bahawalpur,a news channel reported.

Local residents initially tried to capture the monkey after it entered Cholistan area of Bahawalpur district. After it evaded them,the people informed wildlife officials,who captured the animal after a struggle.

The monkey was taken to Bahawalpur Zoo,where officials named him Bobby.

In May 2010,the Indian police detained a pigeon and kept it under armed guard after it was caught on an alleged spying mission for Pakistan. The bird was found by a resident of Punjab,in India,which borders Pakistan.

US to host first trilateral with India,Japan

WASHINGTON: The US would host the first trilateral dialogue with India and Japan on December 19,the State Department has said.

I can say were looking forward to hosting the trilateral dialogue with India and Japan in Washington. Thatll be on December 19th, State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at his daily news conference on Monday.

He said this meeting is going to be an opportunity to hold comprehensive discussion on a range of Asia-Pacific regional issues.

He said that the agenda of the dialogue is still being discussed.

Obviously,as the three leading Pacific democracies,we look forward to productive exchanges with India and Japan, Toner said.

Experts have said that Chinas increasingly belligerent posture in the South China Sea and the perceived decline of overall US influence is likely to have driven both India and Japan to sculpt a reformed partnership with the US.