The wrangle between the Planning Commission and the new Ministry of Programme Implementation over monitoring has ended in a patch-up with the Monitoring Division having been ordered to be split into two halves. The deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Manmohan Singh, seems to have yielded to part with half of the staff of the Monitoring Division as a result of pressure from the top.
South Africa Riots
South Africa, in a major clampdown on the media, banned television crews and photographers from covering the riots that have racked the nation for 20 months and featured prominently in world news. The Law and Order Minister, Louis le Grange, said pictures of unrest, strikes or boycotts in areas under emergency rule were forbidden except with police permits, and non-photographic journalists reporting unrest faced tough curbs.
US-Pak Bonhomie
The possibility of the United States helping Pakistan in acquiring nuclear technology is one of the solid achievements of President Zia-ul-Haq’s visit to New York last month, according to the state-owned Pakistan Times. The pressure of the United States on its allies not to entertain Pakistan for the purchase of equipment related to nuclear technology might well diminish, the daily wrote.
Rajneesh Denied Bond
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh has been denied bond by a US federal magistrate, who said there was a risk that the Indian guru would flee the United States to avoid prosecution on immigration charges. Rajneesh, 53, has been in jail since Monday on charges that he violated US immigration laws.
