New Delhi, Nov 17 : Egyptian President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, who arrived on a four-day visit to India on Sunday, has called for giving momentum to the strategic and economic ties between India and Egypt.

Addressing the Indo-Egyptian Business Forum here today, President Mubarak said that India and Egypt have all what it takes to give renewed momentum to the strategic partnership to increase the trade and investment.

"There is a strong foundation and common objectives for taking the ties to a new high," he added.

Guwahati, Nov. 17 : With terrorist activities becoming a global reality, a lot of people have started showing curiosity in understanding the details of blasts. Such inquisitive people can now educate themselves by visiting the Forensic Science Laboratory in Guwahati which has instituted India’s first ever museum on explosives.

Forensic Science Laboratory in Guwahati is meant to develop methodologies and facilitate in probing blast explosions in detail and thereby preventing such incidents in future.

Bikaner, Nov. 17 : Although election fever has gripped the Bikaner constituency, the voters in this Rajasthani city are wary of political outfits and their local leaders.

The main contenders in the State Assembly elections are Congress party and Bharatiya Janata Party, whose candidates have started door-to-door campaign to woo the voters who are reluctant this time to oblige.

Bikaner is famous for its big Havelis and the lip smacking crunchy-munchy snacks like Bhujia and Namkeen. Local residents here are not so enthusiastic this time to exercise their electoral franchise and choose a new State Government.

Rohtak, Nov. 17  With the onset of winters, the shopkeepers selling the traditional sweets Rewri and Gajjak in Rohtak city of Haryana are having a busy time.

There are over 200 sweetmeat shops in Rohtak selling Rewri and Gajjak. The city is known for its best quality Rewri and Gajjak. These two items are prepared with sesame seeds and jaggery or sugar.

The twin sweets are very popular and hold a huge demand not just within the State but in other the parts of the country and abroad. Beyond Haryana and rest of India, the Rewri and Gajjak find their lovers in the markets of North America, England, Europe and the Middle East.

Sirsi (Karnataka), Nov. 17 : The 25 years of Appiko or, hug the tree Green Movement on the Sahyadri Mountain ranges in the western ghats of Karnataka has created a tremendous impact here.

This movement started in Gubbi Gadde, a small village near Sirsi in the (north) Uttara Kannada district, has forced the forest department to change the forest policy on felling of trees.

Besides affecting the forest policy, it also spread to other parts and saved forests.

New Delhi - Relatives of the 18 Indian sailors aboard a ship hijacked by Somali pirates two months ago said Monday they were celebrating the release of the ship and were waiting for it to arrive in India's western city of Mumbai.

The Japanese-owned Stolt Valor was freed by the Somali hijackers on Sunday after the ship's owners paid a ransom of 2.5 million dollars, Indian media reports said.

Besides the Indians, the ship's crew included two men from the Philippines and one from Bangladesh.

The ship was hijacked on September 15 in the busy Gulf of Aden while on its way to Mumbai with 24,000 tons of oil products.