Wednesday, August 14, 2002, Chandigarh, India
 Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Amarnath yatra halted
Flash-floods in Lahaul-Spiti
Chandigarh, August 13
Heavy rains lashed several places in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal today, plummeting temperatures even as Amritsar received 140 mm of rain. The city and its adjoining townships of Panchkula and SAS Nagar received incessant rains throughout the day.
In video: (28k, 56k)

Petrol station scam: HC relief to 2 allottees
New Delhi, August 13
The Delhi High Court today stayed the Centre’s omnibus notification cancelling petrol station and LPG dealership allotments in respect of two allottees, close on the heels of a similar order of the Rajasthan High Court.

Stars outnumber Perseid meteors lighting up the night sky of the desert near Amman, in the early hours of Monday at the height of a meteor storm clearly visible to the naked eye in several parts of Asia. Meteors are the debris left in the wake of a passing comet infiltrating the Earth’s atmosphere. The Perseid meteor shower is sparked every August when the Earth passes through a stream of space grit left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. (Picture taken with a 400 ASA film and a 10-minute exposure.). — Reuters

Work withdrawn from 39 Sidhu appointees
Chandigarh, August 13
Weeks after an inquiry was initiated by the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, work was withdrawn from 39 PCS judicial officers, including the daughter of a High Court Judge, Mr Justice Amar Bir Singh Gill.

Gurbachan Jagat appointed UPSC member
Chandigarh, August 13
Mr Gurbachan Jagat, a Punjab-cadre IPS officer, who retired as Director-General of the BSF on June 30, has been appointed as a Member of the UPSC, according to information available here. 

Trinamool Cong parts ways with NDA
New Delhi, August 13
Much to the disappointment of her party colleagues, the Trinamool Congress chief, Ms Mamata Banerjee, once again took the inevitable step of coming out of the BJP-led NDA on the controversial issue of bifurcation of Eastern Railway.

Let us double GDP: Kalam
Visits quake-hit areas in Bhuj
Bhuj (Kutch), August 13
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam today called for united efforts to make the nation self-reliant by focusing on the development of the core sectors of the economy and doubling the gross domestic product to 10 per cent per annum.
In video: (28k, 56k)

    Editorial: Meaning of Kalam’s visit

Rain brings cheer to farmers
Chandigarh, August 13
“Sada bhangra paun nu jee karda”. This was the mood among farmers this morning in certain areas, especially in Patiala, Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar and certain other parts which received a moderate-to-heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours.

Shivani murder case
IG Sharma’s bail plea rejected
New Delhi, August 13
A Delhi court here today rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Haryana Inspector-General of Police Ravi Kant Sharma in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case.

MBBS result: internal examiners grilled
Amritsar, August 13
A parallel can be drawn between the alleged tampering of results by certain examiners of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences and the Punjab Public Services Commission scam.

Jethmalani seeks release of detained leaders New Delhi, August 13 Kashmir Committee Chairman Ram Jethmalani today met detained JKLF Chairman and senior Hurriyat leader Yaseen Malik and later demanded the release of all detained leaders to make the forthcoming elections in the state transparent, free and fair. Editorial: Hurriyat’s welcome response Nation page: EC reviews J&K poll arrangements Kashmiri men wait to receive their election identification cards in Srinagar on Tuesday.  — Reuters photo