Newsreel 14.11.04

• Signalling a commitment to taking the peace process forward with Pakistan and sending a significant goodwill message to the people of Jammu and Kashmir a week before he goes to Srinagar, PM Manmohan Singh announced the reduction in the ‘‘deployment of troops this winter’’ in the state.

• On a visit to the Valley earlier in the week, Home Minister SHIVRAJ PATIL accused Islamabad of ‘‘exerting pressure’’ on the HURRIYAT CONFERENCE not to revive talks with New Delhi till Pakistan is included as a third party. The Hurriyat leaders expressed their ‘‘hurt and anger’’ at Patil’s statement.

• Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who rose from guerrilla icon to Nobel prize-winning peacemaker, was declared dead in a Paris hospital on Thursday. The 75-year-old Palestinian President’s death, announced at his West Bank headquarters of Ramallah, ended days of rumours over his condition.