Sinha move to clear bad loans of banks
In a move aimed at ridding public sector banks of Rs. 51,000 crores of bad loans, the Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, has announced a one-time settlement of outstanding loans below Rs. 10 crores. However, punitive action would be taken against leading defaulters and the list of defaulters publicised, something the Government has been shying away from so far.

Naidu denies he issued withdrawal threat
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, has emphatically denied that he issued any threat to withdraw support to the NDA Government at the Centre.

Vaiko meets PM, satisfied on aid
The MDMK leader, Mr. Vaiko, expressed himself to be ``satisfied'' with the $100-million ``credit'' the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, had promised Sri Lanka during his visit to Colombo.

Hijacked vessel reaches Mumbai
The Italian cargo ship, mv Medstar, carrying 20 crew members and 14 stowaways, which moved from the high seas off the Gujarat coast on Saturday, reached here tonight.

Syrians bid adieu to Assad
Thousands of Syrians poured onto the streets of Damascus in the early hours of Tuesday to pay their last respects to the man who had ruled them for the last three decades.

New Governors for Haryana, Tripura
The Vajpayee Government has cleared the names of Mr. Parmanand and Lt-General (Retd). V.R. Raghavan for appointment as Governors of Haryana and Tripura. The present incumbent in Meghalaya, Mr. M.M. Jacob, has been retained for a second term, it is learnt.

Mountain of tasks before us, says visiting Kim
The South Korean President, Mr. Kim Dae-jung, said today he hoped his unprecedented visit to North Korea would banish the long shadow of war from the divided Korean peninsula and pave the way for eventual reunification.

Advani in Jerusalem on a five-day visit
The Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, arrived here tonight on a five-day tour to study Israeli security system, particularly counter-terrorism and border management.

Fernandes' visit: U.K. to push Hawk trainer jet sale
The Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, arrives in Britain today on the first official visit by an Indian Defence Minister to the U.K. in over a decade. Mr. Fernandes will meet his British counterpart, the Defence Secretary, Mr. Geoff Hoon, the Minister in charge of licencing arms exports, the Trade and Industry Secretary, Mr. Stephen Byers, and members of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) during his four-day stay.

I was shattered by Cronje's offer: Kallis
Another South African cricketer, Jacques Kallis, today claimed he was approached by Hansie Cronje with a bribe offer during the Bangalore test, but said he had turned it down.

Bacher, Majid should furnish proof: PCB chief
The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Lt. General Tauqir Zia, has said the inquiry into match-fixing allegations would not be reopened on the basis of statements made by the United Cricket Board of South Africa managing director, Dr. Ali Bacher, and former Pakistan skipper, Majid Khan, that two matches involving Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup were fixed.