NEWS-LATEST: Always said foreign hand in North-East scare: Tarun Gogoi

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, on Saturday, said that his suspicion of a foreign hand being involved in the recent violence in the state has been "vindicated".

"From the beginning, I had hinted at the involvement of foreign hand in the riots in the state," he told PTI.

"The recent Union Home ministry report that Pakistani elements were involved has vindicated my stand," he said."This is a very big issue and the state government alone cannot deal with the situation unless and until the Centre gets involved," Mr Gogoi said.

"I appeal to the Centre to intervene and stem the violence which may be an outcome of the involvement of foreign elements," he said, shortly after Union Home Secretary RK Singh said in Delhi that bulk of the rumours that led to people from the North-East fleeing from Southern states were sourced from Pakistan.

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NEWS-LATEST:Morphed online images in North-East scare came from Pak, 'highly reprehensible', says government

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Bangalore: Morphed images circulated online that fuelled panic and fear among people from the North-East originated in Pakistan, Home Secretary RK Singh said on Saturday evening.

"We have got a hold on the wrong messages, false images... Photos of people who had died in cyclones etc. were circulated as victims of violence in Myanmar and Bodoland... We want people to know that bulk of this was done from Pakistan. We will raise this issue with Pakistan. I am certain they will decline it but our technical team is certain," he said, while addressing a press conference in New Delhi.

"A total of 76 websites were identified where morphed images were uploaded and bulk of these were uploaded in Pakistan," Mr Singh told PTI. "He said these websites have been blocked. Seven people have been identified out of which three have been arrested for spreading rumours that spread quickly through the north-eastern communities of cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore, the Home Secretary added.

Starting Wednesday, the SMS-es threatening students and professionals from the North-East convinced thousands to board special trains from Bangalore and Pune, both cosmopolitan cities, to Guwahati.

The Centre, on Friday, banned bulk SMs-es and MMS-es, so the same text message or video cannot be sent by phone to more than five recipients.

The governments of Karnataka, Assam and the Centre have been urging people not to be swayed by rumours or online videos that are inflammatory. The government has ordered websites and social networks to identify incendiary posts and take them down.

The text messages and online videos, designed to provoke tension and often urging violence, link themselves to recent violence in Myanmar and Assam, where 80 people have died in ethnic violence in the last month.

In Assam, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is trying his best to convince those returning to the state from Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune that they should go back to the cities they work in as soon as possible.

"I am telling everyone who is coming back to return. The government of Karnataka has assured full protection. I want all of them to go back as soon as possible. We will arrange for special trains from here to southern states whenever they want," he said.

But this may offer little assurance to the thousands of North-East citizens who arrived in Guwahati this morning after a long journey from cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore.


"I was in Bangalore for nine months. I won't go back, even if I don't get any work in Assam," says Albert, one of the boys. "We have the right to stay anywhere in the country. What is happening is not right," says another.


Most of the boys who've returned are from remote parts of Assam - Lakhimpur, Majuli, Sibsagar. For many, the lack of employment opportunities in their home state means staying back is not an option. "When it calms down, we will have to go back. Don't know how long we will stay here because we have to think of the future," says Abhijit.

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HOLLYWOOD: Kristen Stewart not ready to come out of hiding yet after cheating scandal

                               

Kristen Stewart is reportedly refusing to talk about Robert Pattinson.

The 22-year-old star, who skipped Thursday night's (16.08.12) London premiere of new movie On The Road, will remain in hiding until next month's Toronto Film Festival.


She will then go into full-promotional mode to sell her latest movie, but doesn't plan on doing an interview to address her cheating scandal any time soon.


A source close to the actress revealed to website RadarOnline: "Kristen has been hiding ever since the story of her affair with Rupert broke - and she doesn't plan on breaking that habit just yet.

"Unlike Rob, who faced the music and threw himself into promoting his new movie Cosmopolis, Kristen isn't comfortable with facing a barrage of questions about the cheating scandal.


Friend have apparently advised the Twilight star to do as her ex-boyfriend has done to better her public image but Kristen is worried her fans are still angry.


The insider continued: "Her pals have urged her to follow Robert's lead and do some interviews for On The Road - just to get it over and done with. The sooner she faces the music, the quicker it will all end and the media glare will fall on someone else.


"However, Kristen is scared. The backlash from her Twilight fans has upset her - she's lost and doesn't know what to do.


Kristen apologised soon after news broke of her affair with Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders.


She said: "I'm deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I've caused to those close to me and everyone this has affected. This momentary indiscretion has jeopardised the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I'm so sorry."

Read: Kristen Stewart will skip MTV Movie Awards next month

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