Fishing buffer

New Delhi, Aug. 9: India has proposed a more liberal interpretation of the maritime boundary in treating transgressions by fishing vessels in the Arabian Sea at the two-day talks between the Indian Coast Guard and the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency that began here today.

India is in favour of expanding the “buffer zone” along the notional maritime boundary off Gujarat and Sindh. Fishing vessels of either country that transgress the boundary but are in the buffer zone are normally let off with a warning. The Indian request has been pending with Pakistan.

Haneef visa

Melbourne (PTI): A federal court in Brisbane has reserved the decision on the status of the work visa of Mohammed Haneef till August 21. The Indian doctor was working as a registrar at Gold Coast Hospital before he was arrested on terror charges in the failed UK bombing cases.

CM threat

Chennai: An engineering student has been arrested for sending an email threat to Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi. Suresh Kumar, 23 — a student of the 2001-05 batch who is yet to complete his bachelor’s degree — was allegedly protesting against an upgraded, tougher syllabus that he says led to his failure.

Ragging cells

Kochi (PTI): Cochin University of Science and Technology has set up 28 anti-ragging squads. All heads of departments will periodically meet the university registrar to review the activities of the squads, registrar A. Ramachandran has said.

Spitting ban

Shimla (PTI): The Shimla district administration will launch a special drive against spitting in public places following a Himachal Pradesh High Court directive. The court has asked the district police chief to post sufficient personnel to keep a check on the offenders, who can be fined up to Rs 500.