Dutch woman in Colombia rebel delegation in talks

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The commander of Colombia's main rebel group says its delegation at peace talks set to begin Wednesday in Oslo will include as a spokeswoman a young Dutch combatant who joined the insurgents nearly a decade ago.

Tanja Nijmeijer, 29, of the Netherlands, an alleged member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. Timoleon Jimenez, better known as Timochenko, the FARC leader, said on Monday, Oct. 15

Timoleon Jimenez, better known as Timochenko, said in pre-recorded remarks broadcast Monday by several Colombian media outlets that the rebel delegation was heading to Norway "with the emotion of being one step closer and deeper toward dialogue."

The talks mark the fourth attempt since the early 1980s to end a nearly half-century-old conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. An agenda set during six months of secret talks in Havana calls for agrarian reform, full political rights for the rebels and guerrilla disarmament once an agreement is signed.

A news conference is planned for Wednesday to formally mark the start of the talks. Timochenko said "unforeseen delays" had postponed the talks' launch by a few days. He blamed the delay on bureaucracy in the government's case and heavy rains in the case of his Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"In the one case, it was rising rivers, while the other was affected by the state's pachydermic attitude in making decisions," said Timochenko. "But we're one our way and that's what's important." The FARC leader said 34-year-old Tanja Nijmeijer would be among rebel spokespeople in Oslo, where the talks are to be held at an undisclosed location before moving later in October to Cuba.

Nijmeijer gained fame when she complained of disillusionment in a diary found in 2007, four years after she joined the FARC. In 2010, however, the Dutch woman appeared in a video distributed by the FARC pledging allegiance to the Western Hemisphere's last remaining major insurgency.

Since the last round of peace negotiations were held a decade ago, a U.S.-backed military buildup has badly battered the rebels. At about 9,000 fighters, they are roughly half their 2002 strength. The military has killed three of their most senior leaders since 2008.

Timochenko, 53, complained that the government had not provided guarantees that all delegates the FARC named to the upcoming talks would be permitted to attend. He named, in particular, Ricardo Palmera, the best-known of the rebels' five chief negotiators.

Palmera, 62, is serving a 60-year prison sentence in a maximum-security U.S. prison, convicted of conspiring to kidnap three U.S. military contractors who were captured by the FARC in 2003 when their surveillance plane crashed after mechanical failure.

He is held in solitary confinement at the so-called Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. His lawyer, Oscar Silva, told The Associated Press that the U.S. government bars him from receiving visitors and that he can only speak with Palmera, with no opportunity for confidential discussing, during hearings for a Colombian trial in which Palmera participates by videoconference.

In addition to the U.S. sentence, Palmera has been convicted in Colombia of the kidnapping of the former mayor of the northeastern regional capital of Valledupar, where he was a well-heeled banker before joining the rebels.

Colombia's chief prosecutor, Eduardo Montealegre, says Palmera could be permitted to participate in the talks via teleconference. He told The Associated Press on Monday, however, that the Colombian government had not yet asked the U.S. government for that accommodation.

Timochenko called Palmera's participation "decisive" given his expertise in agrarian economics. The FARC is classified as an international terror group by the U.S. State Department. All but one member of its six-member ruling Secretariat are wanted by the United States on drug trafficking charges, with $5 million rewards out for each.

Colombia's government made no public statement about the impending talks, though one official told the AP on Monday morning that its delegation had not yet arrived in the Norwegian capital. The official said that Wednesday's news conference would mark the talks' official start.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Chitkara University closed for six days

Rajpura, October 10, 2012 - The management of Chitkara University has decided to close the varsity for six days as a precautionary measure following protest by students over the death of a BCom student, Rohan Singla, on Monday.

Mohit Chitkara, vice-president of Chitkara Educational Trust said they have closed the university for six days. The university will reopen on Monday. He said this has been done to maintain peace on the campus.

The university has also decided to appoint more hostel wardens. Sources said the university has now decided to appoint a chief hostel warden, a warden, an assistant warden and a caretaker in the university who would remain on the campus 24 hours a day. This was seen as a step to maintain discipline among students.

On the appointment of hostel wardens, Mohit Chitkara said they have sufficient number of wardens and more appointments were being made to maintain discipline and peace on the campus.

Though the body of the deceased was handed over to the family, resentment prevailed among the students over the lack of medical facility on the university campus. Some of the students on the condition of anonymity said that they do not want to disturb peace on the campus and added that the authorities should make arrangement for providing medical treatment to the students in case of emergency.

Following death of a BCom student, the students of the university held a massive protest on campus and blocked the Rajpura-Chandigarh road on Monday evening.

Asha Bhosle’s daughter Varsha commits suicide

Mumbai: Legendary singer Asha Bhosle’s daughter Varsha who was suffering from depression, committed suicide on Monday. 

She shot herself in the head, police said. The incident occurred around 12.30 p.m.

A singer and columnist, Varsha, 56, shot herself in the temple with a pistol of Belgian make at her residence in 'Prabhu Kunj' apartments on posh Peddar Road in South Mumbai.

She has not left behind any suicide note, Additional Commissioner of Police (South) Krishna Prakash said, adding police are trying to find out in whose name the pistol was registered.

She was alone in the house at the time of the incident, police said.

Prakash said Varsha's maid servant Deepali Mane knocked on the door of Bhosle's house around 10 am but no one answered.

Worried, she contacted Asha Bhosle's driver who told her that Varsha might be sleeping. After some time the maid went to the flat again but nobody opened the door.

The driver then entered the flat through Asha's elder sister Lata Mangeshkar's adjacent flat and found Varsha lying in a pool of blood on a sofa. Police were called in and Varsha was taken to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead, the officer said.

Varsha had married a sports writer and public relations professional but the couple divorced in 1998, sources close to the family said.

Prakash said police had learnt that Varsha wanted to start an orphanage with famous fashion photographer Gautam Rajadakshya, who passed away last year.

Varsha, who was said to be very close to Rajadhyaksha, was distraught after his death and was under medication for depression.

Asha Bhosle, who is away in Singapore, has cut shot her stay and taken a flight back, sources close to the family said.

Meanwhile, the body has been taken to J J Hospital for post mortem, police said. 

Varsha had attempted suicide in September 2008 by consuming a dangerously high dose of sleeping pills.

The Bhosle family had kept mum on the reason behind the suicide attempt then. But it is being believed that a private problem had been troubling Varsha for long.

Maruti opens pre-launch bookings for the new Alto 800

NEW DELHI: India's largest carmaker is resorting to the pre-order gambit to stoke consumer interest in the upcoming festive period and thereby make up for muted sales in the fiscal year so far. Maruti's sales have been subdued largely because of a suspension in production following worker unrest in its plant in Manesar in Haryana.

Alto 800

The interest quotient for the yet to be launched Alto 800 seems to be high. In a unique effort, Maruti Suzuki India has started pre-launch bookings of the car which is slated to hit the market on October 16.

Dealers say that the new-look Alto comes with an array of changes. The most notable of these is a new 796 cc petrol engine that delivers a fuel economy of 22.7 kmpl, some 15 per cent higher than the engine of the old Alto. The revamped Alto also has a more contemporary exterior design, and the interiors have been overhauled with dual tone upholstery. While airbags have been added as a safety device, the scooped-out front seats give an additional 15 mm of rear leg space, and the tall boy design increases headroom by another 15 mm. MarutiBSE 0.53 % may also offer a CNG variant, what with many buyers opting for cheaper fuel options in entry-level compact cars.

"We have got 100 Altos for delivery and are expecting more arrivals once the car hits the market on October 16, which marks the beginning of the Navaratra's festival. The new car carries many contemporary features to generate incremental sales in the festive season," said a Maruti dealer in Delhi who did not want to be named.

Pradeep Saxena, executive director, TNS Automotive, a marketing research firm, says Maruti Suzuki is attempting to create a pre-launch buzz for the Alto with the pre-order strategy. "Timing is critical for the success of any product in a crowded car market. Maruti will also build up enough stock at its dealerships to cater to the anticipated high demand during the festive season," explains Saxena.

Alto, Maruti's quintessential car has been India's bestseller for 10 years in a row. It was also the world's most widely sold compact car in 2010. However, sales have taken a beating in the past couple of years as demand shifted to diesel cars and feature-rich premium hatchbacks. Sales dropped to its lowest ever for a month, to 10,500 units in August. According to the company Alto sales declined by 35% to 89,000 units in the April to August 2012 period compared to 1.22 lakh units in the same period a year ago.

You can visit the official Alto 800 page http://www.marutisuzukialto800.com/ to book your order by paying a booking amount of Rs 5000.

As per reports, the following could be the main highlights of the car.
Car Variant: The car will come in six variants—three in CNG and three in Petrol.

Mileage: Petrol variant expected to give a mileage of approximately 23 kilometre per litre while the CNG version will give a mileage of around approximately 31 kilometre per litre.

Interiors: Fashionable and trendy, the car with stylish headlamps, better headroom and legroom.

Colours: The car will come in six vibrant colours.

Price: The petrol version is likely to be priced between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh while the CNG version will be priced between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh.

Blue Star architect General Brar attacked in London

Lt Gen KS Brar targeted outside a hotel; discharged after treatment
London - Lt. Gen. (retd.) K.S. Brar, who led “Operation Blue Star” 28 years ago to flush out pro-Khalistan militants in the Golden Temple, was attacked in central London on Sunday night by four knife-wielding assailants, inflicting injuries on him.

Lt. Gen. Brar (78), who enjoys Z-category protection, was returning to his hotel from a dinner along with his wife. A television channel quoted her as saying that three bearded men attacked and tried to slash his throat. But she would not jump to the conclusion that they were Sikhs. He was rushed to a hospital from where he was discharged on Monday after a surgery and his wounds were stitched. Sources said the incident took place on Old Quebec Street near Hyde Park.

The couple are in London on a private visit. He was attended by the London Ambulance Service (LAS).

The Military Attaché in the Indian High Commission here visited the hospital and enquired about his condition.

Scotland Yard told that investigations were on but no arrests had been made so far. A Yard spokesman said: “Officers and the LAS attended the scene and discovered a man, aged in his 70s, suffering from an injury believed caused by a knife.” 

This is a popular area in central London, filled with pubs, restaurants and large department stores. Lt General Brar is thought to have been coming out of a restaurant when he was attacked. Lt Gen Brar, a Z-category protectee, was reportedly stabbed by four bearded men. He was with his wife when the incident took place.

A spokeswoman for the Indian High Commission said, "He (Lt General Brar) was on a private visit and was attacked by some people. He was injured, hospitalised and has been discharged."

The Indian High Commission has refused to comment on who might be responsible for the attack. But there is inevitable speculation that the perpetrator is linked to Khalistani extremists who have become more active in recent months in the UK. They have not forgiven Lt General Brar for his role in flushing out the extremists from the Golden Temple way back in 1984, which resulted in the death of extremists leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Also killed in the operation was retired Major General Shabeg Singh, Lt General Brar's former superior officer who had joined the militants.

Brar was commanding 9 Division based in Meerut in 1984 when he was asked to cancel his pending leave and help co-ordinate Operation Bluestar, together with Lt Generals Krishnaswamy Sundarji, then head of Western Command, and Ranjit Singh Dayal.

Operation Bluestar was controversial because of the casualties involved and also because of the decision to enter the premises of the Golden Temple just after Guru Arjan's martyrdom day.

Justifying the operation, Lt General Brar later was quoted as saying, "It is very easy to say that we could have laid siege, we could have postponed it for a day or two, or carried out the Operation without the loss of life.

It is only we, who were there at that time, who know what our limitations and needs were."

Bluestar got underway on the night of June 5, 1984, when six infantry battalions and a squad of commandos under General Brar's command stormed the premises of the Golden Temple. Four out of the six commanders were Sikhs and they were repeatedly asked not to fire in the direction of the Hamindar Sahib even if they received fire from that direction.

It took six days and the use of several tanks to complete the operation, resulting in damage to the Akal Takht, which has subsequently been rebuilt.

Commenting on the damage, Lt General Brar later said, “It is unfortunate that there were so many casualties, as well as destruction, which we tried to avoid to the maximum. I am a Sikh myself, and I can assure you that there was no indiscriminate killing during the operation, and at all times our endeavour was to save life and property."

He added, "We tried to avoid the operation totally by requesting the inmates to surrender so that there would be no bloodshed, but it seems that they were determined not to do so. As you know, the charisma of Bhindranwale was such that the people had almost begun to accept him as the 11th Guru and were prepared to sacrifice their lives at his call."

Lt General Brar has family members living in London. Among them was a maternal uncle, who died of cancer in 1997 and who initially opposed his nephew's role in Operation Bluestar. General Brar visited his dying uncle in hospital and said in a subsequent interview that his uncle had "tears rolling down his cheeks" and now understood his actions.

Sources said External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, who is in New York, called up the Indian High Commissioner J Bhagwati to know about the condition of Lt Gen Brar, who has been on the hit-list of various extremists and militant organisations.

No word on perpetrators

The Indian High Commission has not commented on who might be responsible for the attack on Lt Gen Brar

But there is speculation that the perpetrator is linked to Khalistani extremists

Brar’s injuries were said to be not serious. He was hospitalised and later discharged

Key Bluestar Planner

Lt Gen Brar, then a Maj Gen and GOC 9 Division, helped coordinate Operation Bluestar, together with Generals Krishnaswamy Sundarji, then head of Western Command, and Ranjit Singh Dayal. Bluestar was controversial because of the casualties involved and also because of the decision to enter the Golden Temple complex just after Guru Arjan's martyrdom day.