New Delhi, Aug 12 : The all party delegation today appealed to all the concerned groups from Jammu as well as the Kashmir Valley to work for restoring peace and normalcy in the State.

The all party delegation which visited Jammu and Srinagar on August 9-10 had two rounds of discussions here on Monday and Tuesday and asked the the people of J-K to desist from adopting the path of agitation.

New Delhi, Aug 12 : To facilitate smooth supply of goods to and from Kashmir Valley, the Army has cleared the 300 km long national highway to help the movement of goods.

The 300 Km long highway is the only surface link between the Valley and the rest of the country. Violent protests over the land row on the Jammu-Srinagar highway had caused disruption in the supply of medicines, food items and other commodities to the valley.

Fruit imports from Kashmir through the road, which is the only motorable link to the valley, were also stopped.

New Delhi, Aug 12 : Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath today said that the focus of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks should be to reduce poverty in the world and not just to increase the prosperity of the wealthy nations.

Addressing a Conference on ‘Global Partnership for Development’ here, Nath called upon the developed countries to cut huge subsidies on agriculture to provide a level playing field to the developing nations in the global market.

He said promoting equity must be the aim of the WTO.

New Delhi, Aug 12 : An all-party delegation led by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil met here today to end the Amarnath land transfer row.

After the meeting, National Congress Party (NCP) leaders said that suggestions were made for bringing both the groups in Jammu and the Kashmir valley to the negotiations table to find a solution, which is acceptable to both the sides.

Appealing to both sides to suspend the agitation, they said the first priority should be to bring peace in the valley.

New Delhi, Aug 12 : Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief (JMM) Shibu Soren on Tuesday asked Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda to quit soon, otherwise support to the state government will be withdrawn.

"The decision regarding making me Jharkhand CM was taken long back but it is getting delayed. Hence, we arrived at the decision to withdraw support for Koda government if he does not resign now," Soren told reporters here.

New Delhi, Aug 12 : Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni will be on an official visit to South Africa from August 14 to 19 to represent Government of India at the Centenary Commemoration event of the burning of the registration certificate in Johannesburg by M. K. Gandhi and the fellow Indians.

During her visit, Soni will meet South Africa’s Culture Minister Z. Pallo Jordan and sign a Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) between the two countries on the August 15.