News In brief

US delegation meets Modi

Ians, Ahmedabad
A delegation from the US House of Representatives and business leaders yesterday met Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, and lauded development in the state under his watch.
The meeting assumes significance as the US has been denying Modi a visa for his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Modi has emerged as possible prime ministerial candidate of the BJP for the general elections 2014.

Thailand, rebels open peace talks

Afp, Kuala Lumpur
Thailand yesterday held its first formal peace talks with a rebel group from its insurgency-racked south as a bombing killed three people in a stark reminder of the difficulties negotiators face.
The talks with representatives of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) insurgent group, expected to last one day, were to focus on reducing bloodshed, said Thai National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut, warning the overall peace process would take time.
Several shadowy groups are waging the insurgency in Thailand's southernmost Muslim-majority provinces bordering Malaysia. More than 5,500 people have been killed over the past nine years.

'Proud of Kargil operation'
Agencies

Former Pakistan President and Army chief Pervez Musharraf, who returned to Pakistan on Sunday, yesterday said he is "proud of the Kargil operation" during which the Pakistani troops had crossed the Line of Control in 1999.
Musharraf, during a press conference in Karachi was asked about his role in the Kargil issue when he made the aforesaid remarks.
The former Pakistan President has claimed even in the past that Kargil conflict was a great victory for Pakistan as it had occupied five important positions of Indians. It was because of Pakistan's dominant position that India had approached the US for pressure on Pakistan to withdraw, he said.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) had allowed former the Pakistan president, who returned to Pakistan on Sunday, to appear in court on March 29.

Zuckerberg tackling politics: Report

Afp, San Francisco
Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg is helping form a group to lobby for US political reform in areas such as education and immigration policy, according to US media reports spreading online Tuesday.
The San Francisco Chronicle, Politico, and the Wall Street Journal were among outlets reporting that the 28-year-old co-founder of the world's leading social network was helping unite technology industry in a political action group.
Silicon Valley's long crusade to break open doors to America for foreigners with key technology skills hinges on a political battle in Washington over broader immigration reform. For more than a decade, the tech sector has been struggling to get more visas and green cards for immigrants with engineering, math or science skills.