Total bandh in Manipur
All towns in the State wore a deserted look today and normal life came to a standstill in response to the 72- hour general strike called by students' unions and women's organisations to protest the extension of the ceasefire with the NSCN(IM) to Manipur.

Accept Kashmir as core issue, says Pak.
Pakistan will not insist on the settlement of the Kashmir issue as a ``pre-requisite'' for normalisation of relations with India during the coming summit between the Pakistan Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, if India is willing to accept Kashmir as the centrality of the problem between the two countries.

Focus on one-to-one talks
The visit of the Pakistan Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, is likely to be structured in a manner that would let him spend considerable time in direct talks with the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee.

'Birendra tried to shoot Dipendra'
The late king of Nepal, Birendra Shah, made an abortive last-minute attempt to shoot at his son Dipendra, as the latter fired indiscriminately on the royals at the Narayanhity palace, according to the official probe report.

Take care of weaker sections, Sonia tells party CMs
The Congress President, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, today exhorted Chief Ministers of 10 party-ruled States to strive to become a model for good governance, growth-oriented and equity based economic management at a day-long in-house review exercise.

PM to be discharged on June 19
The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, recovering after right knee joint replacement surgery at the Breach Candy Hospital, will be discharged on June 19, official sources said today. He will immediately leave for New Delhi.

U.S., Russia hope to narrow gap
The U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, and his Russian counterpart, Mr. Vladimir Putin, shared a warm first greeting on Saturday, then sat down to discuss face to face the U.S. missile defence proposal that has created a chill between their countries.

12 die in Gujarat rains
Four rain-related deaths had been reported from south Gujarat since Friday taking the toll during the current monsoon in the region to 12.

15 killed in Bangla blast
Fifteen people died today after a massive explosion at the local offices of Bangladesh's ruling Awami League in Narayangang during a meeting of party members, police and hospital officials said.