Egypt right of way to junk ship

Cairo (AFP): Egypt has approved the transit through the Suez Canal of a decommissioned French warship heading for the ship-breaking yard at Alang in Gujarat.

The decommissioned warship, Clemenceau, had been stranded for three days over fears it was an environmental hazard to dismantle the vessel.

In a statement carried by the official Mena news agency, the environment ministry said documents provided by Paris proved the Clemenceau did not fall under the 1989 Basel Convention banning the export of toxic waste.

The ministry assessed that “following the agreement by the French government to export the Clemenceau in its current state and India’s agreement to take it for dismantling, the French aircraft carrier does not pose an environmental threat to Egypt”.

Goa carnival in February

panaji (PTI): The three-day Goa carnival will be held from February 25 with float parades planned in important cities of the state, including the capital.

“In Panaji, we expect at least 50,000 people to witness the float parade and the crowd will comprise a sizeable number of tourists who would come to Goa specially for the carnival,” Surendra Furtado, chairman, Panaji Carnival Committee, said.

The float parades are organised in association with the state tourism department. The parade in Panaji, to be held on February 25, will be led by a special float hosting “King Momo” on it.

Lashkar plot

srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir police on Sunday claimed to have un-earthed a plot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba to assassinate former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed last year.

The plan came to light with the arrest of two militants, including a municipal councillor of the People’s Democratic Party.

Strike threat

New Delhi (PTI):Central government employees have threatened to go on indefinite strike from March 1 to press for implementation of the order of an arbitration panel and constitution of the sixth Pay Commission for wage hikes.

Afghan aid

alappuzha (PTI): The Afghan government has provided $5,000 as solatium to the family of Raman Kutty Maniappan, the Border Roads Organisation employee who was abducted and killed by the Taliban last year. The amount was given to his wife. A top Malaysian education official ruled that Ranveer, 17, can sport facial hair as long as it was kept “neat and presentable”. Earlier, his school principal had told the Sikh boy to shave.