Bush speaks to PM, promises ban on JeM
New Delhi, Oct. 7. Four hours before the American strikes against Afghanistan began, President George W. Bush of the U.S. spoke to Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, to inform him that military operations were imminent.

Taliban ready to take on U.S.
Islamabad, Oct. 7. Representatives of the Taliban embassy here and other consulate offices in Pakistan, tonight confirmed the strikes by the U.S. and its allies, but appeared to be determined to take on the super power. ``It is jehad'', an unidentified representative in the Islamabad embassy of the Taliban remarked.

A terrorist act: Taliban
Islamabad, Oct. 7. Afghanistan's Taliban militia today condemned the U.S.-led attacks against Afghanistan as a ``terrorist act'' and said it would not deliver the Saudi dissident, Osama bin Laden, to the U.S., the Afghan Islamic Press reported.

Scribe `freed' in Afghanistan
Kabul, Oct. 7. Ms. Yvonne Ridley (43), a British journalist, was freed by the Taliban Government today, nine days after she was arrested for illegally entering Afghanistan. She had been trying to report on conditions here following the U.S. demand to turn over the terrorist mastermind, Osama bin laden.

Tension in Saswad
Pune, Oct. 7. Tension prevailed in Saswad town, about 40 km from here, today when a crowd allegedly pelted stones and set afire some houses and shops belonging to a particular community after a religious programme organised by the VHP and the Bajrang Dal.

Shrine reopens
Srinagar, Oct. 7. After reconstruction over six years and four months the 600-year-old shrine of the Sufi saint, Sheikh Nooruddin Noorani, has a new look, though the architecture remains the same.

Sikhs stage protest
New Delhi, Oct. 7. The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) observed Sunday as ``black day'' to protest against the objectionable references in class XI history textbook even as the Human Resource Development Minister, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, directed the NCERT to delete them.