Pilots did not report any emergency
New Delhi, Sept. 30. Mystery shrouds the circumstances under which the aircraft carrying the senior Congress leader, Mr. Madhavrao Scindia, crashed near Motta village in Mainpuri district today.

Osama in our custody: Taliban
Islamabad, Sept. 30. Even as Washington declared that it would settle for nothing less than the hand-over of the terrorist mastermind, Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, the Taliban today announced that the Saudi dissident was under its ``protective custody'' and it had no intention of obliging the U.S.

U.S. no to negotiations
Washington, sept. 30. As the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush returned to the White House from Camp David, Washington once again rejected any negotiations with the Taliban over Osama bin Laden.

'No base for attacks on Muslims'
Riyadh, Sept. 30. The Defence Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Sultan, has said that no troops would be allowed to use bases in his nation to launch attacks on the Arabs or the Muslims, according to an interview published on Sunday. ``We will not accept in our country even a single soldier who will attack Muslims or Arabs,'' he was quoted as saying in an interview to the Government-controlled Okaz newspaper.

U.S.-U.K. operation within 48 hours?
London, Sept. 30. A joint U.S.-British operation to flush out terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden is likely to be launched ``in the next 48 hours'' and ``devastating'' attacks on his bases were planned as part of a ``tightly focused military operation'' backed by Britain, according to media reports here.

5 Armymen killed in J&K
Srinagar, Sept. 30. Five Army personnel, including an officer, were killed when a Lashkar-e-Taiba suicide squad ambushed a security convoy at Janbazpora in Baramulla district today, official sources said. One of the two members of the suicide squad was killed in the retaliatory action by the troops.

Bomb hoax at Eiffel tower
Paris, Sept. 30. The Eiffel tower was briefly evacuated today after an anonymous caller warned of a bomb at the capital's most visited landmark.

Hijack threat
Kolkata, Sept. 30. All airports in the country have been alerted following reports of a threat by a new Kashmir-based terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, to hijack aircraft within the next 48 hours, senior officials of the Netaji Subash Chandra Bose airport said here tonight.