September 16, 2025 08:17 AM IST
First published on: Sep 16, 2025 at 08:17 AM IST
ENLF-PM meet
Leaders of the four-group Eelam National Liberation Front (ENLF) are leaving for New Delhi to meet the Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, an ENLF spokesman told PTI. The ENLF received a message from the Prime Minister’s office asking the militant leaders to come to Delhi for talks. According to ENLF sources, the Front leaders are likely to meet Gandhi after the prime minister returns from electioneering in Punjab. The ENLF constituents have identified areas for improvement in the working paper in separate meetings.
Asian solidarity
The 10 Asian members of the Birmingham community relations council were being pressured to form an independent council after they resigned following a dispute with West Indian members on their attitude to the Handsworth riots. The Indian community in the riot-spread Handsworth area felt that the Asian leaders should take the initiative in this regard and defuse racism as the Asian community was being singled out for attacks. Harbans Singh, an India-born practising lawyer in this city, told newsmen that pressures were building up from different quarters in the Indian community to take up arms to resist further attacks. The Indian and West Indian community has been nearly divided on the issue of the Handsworth riots. Singh said, “It was unfortunate that the Indian government was not doing anything to help us live amicably with other communities in this country.” Surinder Bakshi, one of the Asian members who resigned from the 50-strong council, said: “We are not prepared to condone the violence and have said so, but there has been total silence from the side and there is no excuse for it.”
Gaddafi shot at
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi narrowly escaped an assassination attempt last week when Libyan army officers opened fire on him, missing the head of state but seriously wounding two bodyguards, the Egyptian news agency Mena reported. The press in Egypt has in the past reported other unconfirmed rebellions by Libyan soldiers.
India and NASA
India is planning to launch an additional satellite in 1987, as the demand for satellites in the country has outstripped earlier expectations. Indian space authorities have approached the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to find out whether the American space agency could accommodate it for launching in any of the space shuttle flights scheduled for 1987. NASA will be launching India’s INSAT-1C, in one of its shuttle flights next year. It is not yet certain whether NASA will accommodate the additional satellites, as Indian authorities have approached the European space agency also to ascertain the possibility of a launch.
