Poll India: 2004
Mehbooba faces FIR music
Srinagar: The Election Commission has asked the authorities in the Anantnag constituency to file an FIR against PDP President Mehbooba Mufti for intimidating voters under Section 171 (c) of the IPC. Mehbooba, a candidate for the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency going to polls today wasm shown by a television channel NDTV at an election booth, accusing a woman of being a bogus voter and pulling off her veil. The woman turned out to be an authentic voter who eventually did not cast her vote after the incident.The PDP's main rival, National Conference, had filed a complaint with the Election Commission and had even threatened to boycott the elections. The Election Commission stepped in and has now asked local authorities to file an FIR against Mehbooba Mufti.

Chhindwara pre-poll clash
Chhindwara: Fifteen people were injured in a clash between Congress and BJP workers at Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh. District officials said a fight broke out in Harrai and Chhindi villages of Chhindwara, where polling will be held today. In Chindwara more than 30 per cent of the polling booths have been declared sensitive. Senior Congress leader Kamalnath is contesting from Chhindwara against minister of state for coal Prahlad Patel. Both Kamalnath and Prahlad Patel visited the hospital and blamed each other for the pre-poll clash. The Congress candidate Kamalnath said that the Election Commission had been informed about the incident and that the commission had removed two police officers from the area with immediate effect.

Kashmir: Grenade attacks continue but poll goes on
Srinagar: On the eve of polling in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency, ultras hurled a grenade on the CRPF camp at Mattan Chawk locality of Anantnag town, which was followed by a gun battle that raged late into the evening. In another incident, militants threw a grenade at a polling station in Anantnag, injuring 7 people including polling staff.
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USTR: India on priority watch list
New Delhi: The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has put India under its 'priority watch list' for the country's failure to provide an "adequate level of intellectual property right (IPR) protection or enforcement or market access for persons relying on intellectual property protection." The Annual Special 301 report, released in Washington on Tuesday said the other countries under this category include Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, Egypt, European Union, Indonesia, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Taiwan and Turkey.

Addressing the failure of these 15 countries to provide sufficient level of IPR protection with "significant concern," the report said the US would consider all options, including but not limited to initiation of dispute settlement consultations, in cases where countries do not appear to have implemented fully their obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs)." USTR has re-designated China and Paraguay for "Section 306" monitoring.

Under Section 306 monitoring list, the USTR could move directly to the application of trade sanctions against either country if monitoring shows a slippage in enforcement of bilateral IPR Agreements. The USTR report warned that it would continue to use all "statutory tools" to improve intellectual property protection in countries where it is inadequate including through implementation of the Generalised System of Preferences, other trade preference programmes and ongoing GSP reviews of countries including Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Russia and Uzbekistan.
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