We are with you: Sonia
The Congress(I) president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, has sent Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, one of the AICC(I) general secretaries, to Bangalore, to assure the Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr. S.M. Krishna, that he had the full support of the party's central leadership in handling the difficult situation arising out of the kidnapping of the Kannada icon, Mr. Rajkumar, by brigand Veerappan.

26 soldiers die as Army launches offensive in Jaffna
At least 26 soldiers were killed and hundreds wounded when the Sri Lankan Army launched a fresh offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Jaffna peninsula early today.

T.N. to move S.C. for ultras' release
Even as the kidnap episode involving the Kannada actor, Mr. Rajkumar, entered a delicate phase, the Tamil Nadu Government decided to file a counter-petition in the Supreme Court as part of its ``legal efforts'' to press for the release of the five extremists jailed in the State. Their release is one of the key demands made by the forest brigand Veerappan.

E.C. calls meet on model code
The Election Commission has convened an all- party meeting on September 16 here in a bid to evolve a consensus on the contentious issue of implementation of the Model Code of Conduct. This exercise assumes significance in view of the Assembly polls in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Pondicherry slated for early next year.

A.P. to get Rs. 148 cr. aid
The Centre will provide about Rs. 148 crores to Andhra Pradesh as immediate assistance to help tide over the damage caused by the recent floods.

PM's U.S. visit: CII sets $15 bn. FDI target
In the backdrop of the Prime Minister's visit to the United States, the Confederation of Indian industry (CII) has finalised a report identifying 13 sectors with potential of increasing Indo-US economic cooperation. Apart from information technology, these include the financial sector, energy, environment, pharmaceuticals and even the social sector.

Use military to nab Veerappan: Bitta
The chairman of the All-India Anti-Terrorism Front, Mr. M.S. Bitta, has demanded a joint operation by the Army and other Central forces to nab forest brigand Veerappan.

Pak. initiative to gloss over embarrassment
On the eve of the departure of the Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to New York to take part in the millennium United Nations Assembly session, the Pakistani Military Government has announced two major initiatives.

U.S. may declare some Pak. outfits as terrorist: Mishra
The United States is considering declaring some militant groups in Pakistan as terrorist outfits and is ``doing everything'' to ensure that Islamabad created a conducive atmosphere in Kashmir for resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue, the Prime Minister's principal secretary, Mr. Brajesh Mishra said today.

Pilot error caused Alliance Air plane crash?
Pilot error is seen as the probable cause of the crash of the Alliance Air Boeing 737-200 on July 17 at Patna if the readouts of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the solid state flight data recorder (SFDR), which together constitute the ``black box'', are any indication.