Policemen stand near a pile of uniforms and gear of their dead colleagues after an explosion in Sanoorkalipora village in Beerwah, 35 km west of Srinagar, on Sunday killed six police personnel when their vehicle ran over a landmine. — Reuters photo

USA hosts conference on J&K
Washington, April 29
The Bush Administration has quietly played host to a major conference on Kashmir in what is seen as an attempt to infuse some “new think” into ways of resolving what, it believes, is a potential flashpoint for an India-Pakistan nuclear confrontation.

• World page: Not to blacklist Lashkar-e-Toiba

Outburst unwarranted: PM
Says Sonia has lowered Parliament’s prestige
New Delhi, April 29
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today added an appendix to the sabre-rattling of the just-concluded Budget session when he came out with a statement expressing “pain” over the “angry and emotional outburst” of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mrs Sonia Gandhi on Friday.

• Edit: Ties hot and sour

Rabri govt’s fall imminent, says Paswan
New Delhi, April 29
Foreseeing a fall in the Rabri Devi regime in Bihar, the Lok Janshakti Party, a ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, today said that the party was in touch with expelled Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Ranjan Yadav to form an alternative government in the state.

• Laloo rules out split, defers poll

• Edit: Laloo in dire straits

G-24 nations flay IMF conditions
Washington, April 29
India joined the G-24 countries in criticising the double standards of the industrialised nations which, on one side, resorted to protectionist measures, while, on the other, urged the developing countries to open up.

• $ 2.5 bn World Bank aid likely for India