Ulfa terror run continues

Guwahati: A recalcitrant Ulfa further eroded the common man’s expectations from the peace process on Tuesday, indulging in terror tactics even as its team of mediators drew up an agenda for the next round of discussions with Delhi, reports our bureau.

A civilian was killed and three more wounded in a grenade attack in Guwahati while three police personnel were injured at Demow in Sivasagar district while they were trying to defuse a bomb planted by suspected Ulfa rebels.

A gas-collecting station of the ONGC at Boliaghat Phakum Nakatani, 15 km from Sivasagar town, suffered extensive damage in another bomb explosion around 9 pm. Police said the northern wall of the station was completely destroyed. Ulfa recently demanded Rs 500 crore from the oil major.

Ulfa militants also shot dead a grocery shop owner, Thakur Gupta, at Anandabagh tea estate in Digboi.

Nizam’s slippers go missing

Toronto (PTI): A pair of diamond and emerald encrusted slippers worn by the Nizam of Hyderabad in the 1790s has been stolen from a museum.

The slippers, valued at $140,000, were stolen from a Bata shoe museum display case on Sunday. The slippers were embroidered with gold.

The theft was discovered by a staff member as the museum, home to 10,000 shoes dating back to the 1,500s, prepared to close on Sunday.

The theft did not set off the museum’s security alarm, the Toronto Star reported.

Museum curator Elizabeth Semmelhack said the real value of the slippers was historical, not monetary.

Amar notices

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has sought the Centre and the Delhi government’s response on the phone-tapping allegation by Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh.

It also issued notices to to the city police commissioner and the ministries of telecommunications and home on Singh’s plea for a judicial probe.

Ship past Suez

Port Said (AP): The decommissioned French ship Clemenceau passed through the Suez Canal on Monday after over a week’s delay because of allegations that it was carrying hazardous waste. Egypt inspected the ship heading to India and said it did not pose a threat to the canal.

IISc arrests

Bangalore (PTI): Two more persons have been arrested in connection with the December 28 attack at the Indian Institute of Science, raising the total number of arrests to six, police said.

Around 1,300 participants from India and abroad will take part in the 17th New Delhi World Book Fair, the largest in Afro-Asia, to be held from January 27 to February 4.