OCTOBER 5

Chacha's Fingers Are Itchin'
Unlike April, Sitaram Kesi promises to be less impatient this time. Convinced that a mid-term poll will be held early next year, he has quietly launched a massive exercise to assess the Congress's prospects. ... More

UF ignores Congress's outburst, trains guns on BJP
While the ruling combine blasted the BJP for rekindling the Ayodhya issue, it was silent on the Congress's virtual chargesheet against the Gujral government.
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Sharief asks Pak army to end firing
Gujral's hotline diplomacy pays the peace dividend.
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'We must unshackle our thinking from the clutches of the West'
BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, in a spirited defence of Swadeshi in Science.
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The States

Gawli aide Dhabolkar shot dead in Bombay
Kashmir militants kill four armymen in encounter
Guerillas kidnap CPI-M leader in Tripura

Recent incidents in your state

NEWS BRIEFS

12 hurt as train derails near Jaipur
Urea accused remanded to CBI custody

OCTOBER 4

Setback In Space
INSAT-2D almost dead, say scientists. Three transponders revived, but even these may not last long.
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Tension along LoC subsides after PM's chat with Sharief
Gujral's call to Sharief is said to have had immediate effect. Defence officials said the Indian Director General of Military Operations in Kashmir received an unscheduled call on Thursday.
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Gujral, Sharief re-vow to go ahead with talks
The two leaders have kissed and made up on the hotline.
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Peace returns to northern front as Pak hoists white flag
Indian guns fell silent in the Uri, Nowgam and Kupwara sectors along the line of control in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.
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The land of the waking dead
We move closer and are served with a stark reminder of the death which came just after the zohar namaz -- pieces of human flesh sticking to the wall... An eyewitness account from Kargil, three days after shells rained on it from across the border.
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'There is no political purpose in attacking Pakistan'
Air Commodore Jasjit Singh tells The Rediff Chat.
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Eminent lawyers trade charges over CJ's appointment
Why didn't these lawyers raise the issue earlier -- after all, Justice Punchhi has been a Supreme Court judge for eight years? Does it imply that they had nothing against his being a judge? Why did they directly approach the Chief Justice of India, when a Supreme Court verdict clearly states that such issues should be routed through the bar associations?
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'I will not go begging for a UN seat'
Prime Minister Gujral wondered if the United Nations could really be a world democratic body if it ignores India's one billion people? ''Clinton could decide for himself whether the UN could be effective without India.''
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Kesri to pack party's parliamentary panel with his men
Sources said among those in the race are Madhavrao Scindia, Tariq Anwar, Meira Kumar, Pranab Mukherjee, A K Antony, Lalthanhawla, Sharad Pawar and Jitendra Prasada.
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Seven killed in shellfish poisoning in Kerala
'Red tide' hits the state for the first time ever, affecting the fishing economy.
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2 killed, 22 hurt in train blasts near Delhi
Doctors said the victims's injuries indicated that sophisticated explosives -- and not country-made bombs -- were used.
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The States

Country brew claims nine in Assam
6 burnt alive in Bihar
6 killed, 9 injured in Kashmir
JK assembly grants more autonomy to Ladakh region
Major administrative overhaul in UP

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OCTOBER 2

Preparing For Battle
Sensing that Kargil is a "much-targeted sector," the army may move heavy artillery -- 130 mm field guns with a range of 32 km, 122 mm multi-barrel rocket launchers and heavy mortars -- to the area.
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Pak target shifts from Kargil to Uri, Kupwara
A soldier and a civilian were injured when Pakistan shifted its fire to Uri and Kupwara. And in Kargil, meanwhile, two more bodies were recovered from the debris, taking the death toll to 17.
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'It was a spinechilling scene'
"No one wants to go back to Kargil," says one resident, "We have had a bitter experience. In April, too, shelling had killed three civilians. What security is there for our lives?"
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Vaghela-governor meeting sparks speculation
Congress leader Amarsinh Chaudhary says the RJP minus Vaghela was welcome.
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Snag in PSLV may shorten life of IRS-1D
If the fuel meant for keeping it in position is not used, the satellite faces burnout; if it is used, it will slip out of its orbit.
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Row over chief justice of India's appointment
Opposing the plea against Justice M M Punchhi's elevation, the Supreme Court Bar Association has suspended top lawyers Shanti Bhushan, Ram Jethmalani, Hardev Singh, V M Tarkunde, Kamini Jaiswal and Indira Jaising.
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Where angels fear to tread
S Sahay discusses the controversy over the Committee on Judicial Accountability’s letter to the President.
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Did a ship cause AP gas tragedy?
Reports say MT Nanga Parbat's crew was in a tearing hurry to unload LPG as they were already 12 hours behind schedule. Trying to prevent demurrage, they allegedly unloaded LPG at a high pressure, causing cracks in the pipeline.
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US to closely follow Indo-Pak talks
President Clinton asks US officials to encourage both the governments to resolve fundamental questions.
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World's shortest man dead
Beset by breathing trouble, Gul Mohammed, all of 51.15 cms, died on Wednesday morning. He was 40.
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Besant, That Brave Britisher
A tribute to Annie Besant on her 150th birth anniversary.
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The States

'Firing on adivasis in Khandwa, MP, unprovoked'
Moopanar undecided on Rajya Sabha seat
Jaya's plea against TN governor dismissed
Brain fever claims 10 kids in TN
UP CM to reorganise new districts

Recent incidents in your state

NEWS BRIEFS

27 hurt as bombs explode in Delhi
Detained Canadian plane takes off

OCTOBER 1

Death In The Valley
Fifteen civilians killed, 30 hurt in Pakistani firing along Line of Control.
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'Prithvi production has begun'
Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, in an exclusive interview.
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Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines
Till 1963, Thumba was a typical Kerala fishing hamlet with boats stacked on the seafront and about 500 thatched houses set amidst coconut groves. In the midst of this cluster, was the small Magdalene Church. It is in this unlikely setting that India's soaring vision of harnessing space technology took shape.
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Kerala CPI-M in ferment
Chief Minister E K Nayanar and senior leader V S Achutanandan face off. Whoever wins, the party loses.
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US-India relations: less wariness, more warmth
Cold War suspicions and fears slowly fading away.
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Most high-tech Chinese nuke technology for Pak
The development is shocking considering that China undertook not to ship nuclear technology to other countries's facilities that are not subject to international inspections.
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NHRC calls for inquiry in custodial death case
Panel recommends Rs 100,000 payment to the next of kin of man allegedly knocked down by a bus when trying to escape.
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Pakistani journalists oppose Press Council
Journalists suspect it of being a government effort to muzzle the print media.
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The States

18 killed in UP road mishap
Four foreign militants, SPO killed in Kupwara, Jammu
NSG accident toll reaches nine inJammu
AP's plea on Almatti dam rejected
Pawar proves his clout with Maharashtra sugar barons
Former Sikkim CM Nar Bahadur Bhandari goes underground
Gujarat MPs seek separate Rajkot bench
Floods submerge three districts in Manipur

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NEWS BRIEFS

Indian bags regulatory post in US agriculture dept
Centre firm on implementing Cauvery order
Swiss court okays extradition of urea scam accused
New army chief takes over on Wednesday
73 small zoos fail to meet standards, closed down

Yeh Hai India!

Thank god, it's going down!
The birth rate in India, thankfully, is on the decline. As is the infant mortality.
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SEPTEMBER 30

Take-Off!
With Monday's successful blast-off of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C1, India stunned the world. The country now has the capacity to launch 1,200-kg-class satellites.
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Satellite technology: India, US on par
India's remote-sensing satellites have already earned a tremendous reputation throughout the world. Images from the IRS-class satellites are being distributed worldwide.
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Unreasonable Russian demands propelled PSLV programme
After the IRC-1C was shipped to Baikanour in December 1995, the Russians demanded more funds to launch Indian satellites.
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The Kasturirangan magic
For Dr Krishnasamy Kastrurirangan, success has followed success since he took over as Indian Space Research Organisation chairman on March 31, 1994.
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Indian space programme comes of age
The launch marks the maturing of the Indian satellite launch programme.
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Gujral asks US to lift technology transfer embargo
''The US has to revise its embargo policy in the interest of the good relations which are developing between the two countries."
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'Defence funds crunch' storm takes shocking turn
In a shocking turn-about in his ''funds will flow'' optimism, the defence minister said, ''No government worth its name could abdicate its responsibility by giving the excuse that there was a resource crunch.''
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Nag test fired successfully again
The indigenous anti-tank missile was successfully test fired for the second consecutive day on Monday.
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The Badlands of Bihar
An arms race has intensified among various Naxalite organisations in the Jehanabad district of central Bihar. The backdrop is provided by the political uncertainty in the state and the inept handling of law and order by the new chief minister, Rabri Devi.
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General Colin Powell on Kashmir, democracy, CTBT and more...
What the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff of the United States had to say about some burning issues.
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The States

Vehicle accident claims 5 NSG commandos, injures 32 in JK
Many Maharashtrians die as bus plunges into Kashmir river
Teachers's strike paralyses Delhi university
Police raid Opposition leaders's houses in Sikkim

Recent incidents in your state

NEWS BRIEFS

Pak PM to visit China