WB Govt Accepts Ban on CPI(Maoists)

Indian Express: Kolkata:June 23

The Left Front government in West Bengal on Tuesday accepted the Centre's ban on the CPI (Maoist) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

"This is applicable for the entire country, all states and we have accepted it. But how to implement it is the government's business," Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told reporters after a cabinet meeting here. The chief minister said that the Centre had only included the CPI (Maoist) in the list of 34 organisations which had been banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

"This had become necessary as the People's War Group (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), which figured in the list, had merged to form the CPI (Maoist)," he said. Bhattacharjee said that during his discussion with Union Home minister P Chidambaram in Delhi recently, he had come to know the Centre was initiating the measure.

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Bengali artists meet PCPA leader Chatrodhar Mahato

Maoists ready for talks, call for ceasefire

Indian Express: Kolkata, 23 June:

Facing offensive from security forces at Lalgarh, Maoists on Tuesday said they were ready for talks with the Centre and the state government, but demanded ceasefire as a pre-condition for the negotiations. "We are ready for talks with the Centre and West Bengal Government if the intellectuals, who visited the troubled Lalgarh area last Sunday, arrange for a meeting," CPI (Maoist) leader Sagar said in a statement.

However, the naxal leader said the meeting could be possible only if the central para-military forces were withdrawn immediately from Lalgarh and a ceasefire is declared by the state police, outfit's spokesman Gour Chakraborty said.

Chakraborty said they were putting these conditions to create an atmosphere of peace before the talks could take place. He said once the proposal for talks was mooted, the CPI (Maoist) leaders would set the agenda before meeting representatives of the Centre and West Bengal Government.

68 SWINE FLUE CASES

New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) Five people, including a 15-year-old boy, tested positive for swine flu Tuesday, taking the total number of influenza A (H1N1) cases in India to 68, though 41 of them have already been discharged.

“Five new cases have been reported Tuesday. Three are from Delhi and one each from Bangalore and Hyderabad,” said a health ministry statement. Delhi reported its sixth case of human-to-human transfer of the flu with the teenaged boy. He got the infection from a relative who was earlier detected with the influenza.

Also, the condition of a 66-year-old woman, who had contracted the flu from her son and was said to be in a serious state in a Delhi hospital, is now reported to be stable. However, she is still on ventilator. “Of the 68 cases in the country, 41 have been discharged. Rest of them remain admitted to the identified health facility,” said a health official.

In India, at least 504 people have been tested, of whom 68 had the A(H1N1) virus, the statement said. A total of seven human-to-human transmission cases, including one from Hyderabad, have been reported. According to the official, a 58-year-old woman, who travelled from the US aboard the Emirates Flight EK-512 to reach Delhi June 19, reported June 21 that she was suffering from flu-like symptoms. “She was found to be infected with the virus Tuesday,” the official said.

A 23-year-old woman, who travelled from Canada to New Delhi June 17 by Jet Airways Flight DW-229, also reported to an identified health facility June 21 with complaints of fever, cough, sore throat, body ache and abdominal pain, the official said. A 25-year-old man, who travelled from the US to Bangalore by the Air India Flight 144 on June 22, “was detected at the airport during screening and shifted to identified hospital”, the official added.

The fifth case is of a 30-year-old woman who came from the US via Kuwait by the KU 102/371 flight and reached Hyderabad June 15. On June 21, she reported to an identified health facility with symptoms of fever, cold and sore throat. Officials said of the 504 cases tested so far, 148 were identified through screening at the airports, 21 through contact tracing and the rest had reported themselves. According to Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia, 134 samples have been tested in the capital till Monday, of which 24 have been found to be infected with the virus. The figure, however, jumped to 27 Tuesday.

The 66-year-old woman, who continues to be monitored in a city hospital in Delhi, was tested positive June 17 and shifted to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital. As she is said to have a chronic respiratory illness, her condition deteriorated Sunday and she was put on ventilator.

In Goa, two suspected swine flu cases were reported Tuesday. A woman and her son had come from the US to Goa June and were quarantined at home after they displayed symptoms of swine flu. “The duo reported swine flu-like symptoms during their stay here following which their samples were taken and they have been quarantined at home,” said state epidemiologist Rajendra Tamba, who is also Goa’s nodal officer for swine flu. Meanwhile, screening continues at all international airports in India. The health ministry said 224 doctors and 112 paramedics are manning 77 counters at these airports and a total of 228,2677 passengers have been screened.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 52,160 laboratory confirmed cases of swine flu have been reported from 99 countries till June 22. A total of 231 deaths have been reported, most of them in Mexico and the US.