Thursday, May 9, 2002, Chandigarh, India
 Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

‘Right to information cannot be curtailed’
High Court orders clubbing of all Ravi Sidhu cases
Chandigarh, May 8
Acting on a public interest litigation for directions to the state of Punjab and other respondents for conducting “transparent” investigation in the Punjab Public Service Commission recruitment scandal, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ruled that in view of the immense public importance of the matter, prima facie the right of the public to know, and to be informed, of a case like the one against PPSC Chairman Ravinderpal Singh Sidhu could not be curtailed in the name of secrecy of information.

    ‘Transparency is essence of democracy’
      Chandigarh page

11 French killed in Pak

Islamabad, May 8 Thirteen persons, including 11 French nationals, working on a submarine project in Pakistan were killed in a suicide attack in Karachi which the authorities say might have been carried out by the Al-Qaida.

Pakistani officials inspect the ruins of a bus after an explosion in Karachi on Wednesday. — Reuters photo

Al-Qaida men ‘behind’ Karachi blast
New Delhi, May 8
The needle of suspicion in the powerful bus explosion in Karachi today in which 14 persons, including nine French, were killed, points to Al-Qaida sympathisers, according to credible information received here through diplomatic channels.

Joshi nominee for Speaker
Thackeray’s writ prevails
New Delhi, May 8
Heavy Industries Minister Manohar Joshi suddenly emerged as the consensus candidate for the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker, leaving behind BJP nominees—Petroleum Minister Ram Naik, Tourism and Culture Minister Jagmohan, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Shanta Kumar and BJP Parliamentary Party spokesperson Vijay Kumar Malhotra.
In video (28k, 56k)

• Opposition may not second name

Coffingate rocks Parliament
New Delhi, May 8
The coffingate issue reared its head again in Parliament today as Congress-led Opposition members staged a walkout, refusing to recognise Defence Minister George Fernandes’ right to reply on the latest revelations published in a section of the Press this morning.

• BJP forces House adjournment

2,000 CRPF personnel for Gujarat
New Delhi, May 8
Acceding to a Gujarat government request, the Centre has decided to send about 2,000 CRPF personnel, including nearly 200 commandos, to assist the state administration in combating communal violence.

• Sack Fernandes, Modi: NFIW

Tehelka helped Pak: George
New Delhi, May 8
Defence Minister George Fernandes today accused tehelka.com, which had conducted “Operation Westend” to expose corruption in defence deals, of helping Pakistan and affecting the morale of the armed forces.
In video (28k, 56k)

Aged couple strangled
Killers pose as PSEB flying squad men
Amritsar, May 8
There was panic in the city when six dacoits posing as PSEB flying squad members strangled an old couple in the Nirankari colony and decamped with huge cash and jewellery in broad daylight here today.

Fudge exam results, save jobs Hisar, May 8 The failure rate among government school students in Haryana, especially for classes for which examinations are conducted in house, has suddenly dipped, thanks to the fudging of results by teachers who fear retrenchment if the enrolment goes down. Inquiries reveal that most government schools, particularly those located in the rural areas, have produced a pass percentage of 90 and above in the recent in-house examinations.