New Delhi, August 18 : A study conducted by the Goddard Space Flight Center under NASA has suggested that the decrease of rainfall along the eastern seaboard of Africa is a result of the warming up of the nearby Indian Ocean.

The study, done through computer models and observations for more than half a century, has concluded that rainfall in eastern Africa during the annual rainy season had declined by 15 percent since the 1980s.

Statistical analyses showed that the decline of rainfall was due to irregularities in the transport of moisture between the ocean and land.

According to the study, declines in rainfall had been posted in such eastern seaboard African countries as Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

New Delhi, Aug 18: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Monday urged all political parties and right-thinking people to work together to bring the situation in Jammu and Kashmir under control.

Speaking to reporters here after the oath taking ceremony of two new Rajya Sabha members, C. Rangarajan and S M Krishna this morning, Dr. Singh said: "Everybody has an obligation to contribute. This is not a partisan issue."

Srinagar, India - Hundreds of thousands of protestors gathered at a sports ground in Jammu and Kashmir state capital Srinagar on Monday as separatist Hurriyat Conference leaders prepared to march to a United Nations' observers office with a memorandum demanding international intervention to resolve the Kashmir issue.

Hundreds of security personnel stood by under strict instructions to use maximum restraint and minimum force and not to use bullets to disperse protesters.

At least 23 people died in the Kashmir valley last week in police firings to disperse protestors whose agitation sparked by a land row has taken an anti-India turn.

New Delhi, Aug 18 : Ahead of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) meeting in Vienna, National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan is to chair a high-level meeting today to decide on the strategies to be followed by India on August 21 and 22.

The NSG’s plenary session is expected to discuss the possibility of granting India an exemption from its restrictive export rules. India is standing by its “excellent non-proliferation record” and will seek to allay any fears or doubts that the NSG might have about having nuclear commerce with it.

Germany, the NSG’s current chair, has asked India to take the floor at the NSG meeting on August 21 to brief its members about the country’s non-proliferation commitments and policies.

London, Aug. 18: The Situation in Pakistan is bothering everyone who has any interest or link with this region; and what worries people is that no one seems to be in control of the situation there, and no one knows future of the country.

The situation started getting from bad to worse with Pakistan's entry in the 'war on terror', which in view of many Pakistani experts was not Pakistan's war, and if anything Pakistani agencies had their own history and experience of promoting and exporting this business.

Islamabad, Aug. 17 : A Pakistani delegation will travel to India on Monday on a six-day visit to inspect the conditions of Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails.

According to the Dawn, Members of the Pakistan-India Judicial committee comprising Justice (retired) Fazal Karim, Justice (retired) Mian Mohammad Ajmal, Justice 
(retired) Abdul Qadeer Chaudhry and Justice (retired) Nasir Aslam Zahid will visit jails in Amritsar, Jaipur and New Delhi from August 18 to 23.

There are over 400 Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails.