S P O T L I G H T

Filmfare awards
Mumbai, February 16
Aamir Khan’s “Lagaan”, which has been nominated for Oscar, tonight swept the prestigious Filmfare Awards bagging eight honours, including the best film, direction and acting. While Aamir Khan bagged the best actor award, Ashutosh Gowarikar bagged the award for the best director. Other awards were in the categories of best lyrics (Javed Akhtar), best female singer (Alka Yagnik), best male singer (Udit Narayan) and best music (A.R. Rahman). PTI

3 Palestinians killed
Gaza City, February 16
Three Palestinians were killed today in a gunbattle with Israeli troops after Israeli tanks and bulldozers destroyed a Palestinian security post near a camp, witnesses and hospital officials said. The army said Palestinians also fired a high-powered Qassam-2-type rocket into Israel, near the Gaza Strip. It was the second rocket attack Palestinians have launched from the Gaza Strip, the army said. AP

Pakistan dismisses report on Ansari
Islamabad, February 16
Pakistan has dismissed a report in the Indian media that Sheikh Omar, mastermind in the kidnapping of American reporter Daniel Pearl, was linked to Aftab Ansari, the key suspect in last month’s shooting attack on a US facility in Kolkata. According to the report, Ansari had confessed to sending unspecified amounts of money to Omar “on several occasions.’ AFP