New Delhi, Oct 13: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will chair the 14th meeting of the National Integration Council (NIC) here today.

Prevention of extremism, promotion of communal harmony and security among minorities, and equitable development are some of the important items on the agenda of the meeting.

Promotion of education among minorities, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes; elements contributing to national integration; and removal of regional imbalances, caste and identity divisions will also be discussed in the day-long meeting.

Srinagar, Oct 11 : Residents of Kashmir Valley on Saturday observed a "civil curfew" to protest Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s visit and the use of force on peaceful demonstrators.

In Srinagar, transport was off the roads today, while shops, markets and petrol pumps remained closed.

Law enforcement agencies have enforced prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in the city, said official sources.

Srinagar, Kashmir - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday inaugurated the first-ever train service in the troubled Jammu and Kashmir state as the region was tense amid a shutdown and protests called by separatist leaders that saw two people killed and 75 injured.

Singh, accompanied by ruling United Progressive Alliance chairwoman Sonia Gandhi and other senior officials, flagged off the flower-bedecked train from the Nowgam railway station near the state's summer capital Srinagar.

The train, launched 10 years after the project was commissioned, carried schoolchildren.

Srinagar, Oct 11 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that his government is committed to tackling terrorism, but cautioned against labeling members of any community as terrorists.

Dr. Singh told reporters here on Friday that terrorism posed the biggest threat to the country.

Srinagar, Oct 11 : Prime Minister Dr.

Srinagar, Oct 11: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will today flag off the first train connecting Srinagar with central parts of Kashmir Valley.

The train would run on the Anantnag-Srinagar-Rajwansher rail route.

As a symbolic gesture, the PM will board the Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) train from Nowgam station.

The inauguration of the train service is a part of the plan to connect Baramulla to Qazigund. However, connecting the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country still remains a distant dream.