Wednesday, May 7, 2003, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Brajesh meets Armitage on way to USA
ISI chief already camping in Washington
London, May 6
US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage kicked off his South Asia tour with a one-to-one meeting with National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra here today, during which they discussed the fresh Indo-Pak peace moves.

Editorial: Pleasantries and rhetoric

Pakistan restores air, bus, rail links
Islamabad, May 6
Announcing, what it termed as confidence-building measures, including restoration of air, rail and road links with India, Pakistan tonight expressed the hope that this would lead to a “serious and substantive’’ dialogue on all issues, including the core issue of Kashmir.

World page:
Move by India puts Pak on defensive
Russia, India discuss peace initiative

Consideration of Women’s Bill deferred
Government bows to pressure from allies
New Delhi, May 6
Bowing to pressure from the Opposition as well as three key NDA allies, the government today agreed to defer consideration of the controversial Women’s Reservation Bill “for the time being” in the Lok Sabha as an all-party meeting on the issue failed to reach a consensus.

PM ‘anti-women’
Dual citizenship okayed
Editorial: Gender divide

Graphic: Mercury's transit across the Sun: May 7, 2003 As seen from the Earth, only the transit of Mercury and Venus are visible. The transit of Mercury across the disc of the Sun will be visible on the morning of May 7.

Higher scales for Punjab judges
Chandigarh, May 6
The Punjab Government has decided to award higher pay scales to the judicial officers. A notification in this regard will be issued soon, sources said today.

Ruckus in RS over attack on Sikdar
Advani reprimands Bengal CM
New Delhi, May 6
The Rajya Sabha was today adjourned for 15 minutes during the Zero Hour following pandemonium over the attack on Union Minister Tapan Sikdar allegedly by CPM activists in West Bengal.

Sikh bodies oppose seva by women
Amritsar, May 6
Even as a five-member committee constituted by the SGPC will meet on May 8 to take a decision on the issue of gender discrimination, the SGPC has succeeded in procuring the consent of many Sikh organisations that baptised women should not be allowed to perform seva inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple as per age-old traditions.

9 ultras shot in J-K, 8 houses set afire
Srinagar, May 6
Ten persons, including nine militants, were killed and 15 others wounded even as security forces busted two hide-outs and arrested three militants in Jammu and Kashmir during the past 24 hours.

Hope for cross-border marriages Qadian, May 6 Maqbool Ahmad (33), reporter of a national Hindi daily here, was engaged to be married with Tahira, a Pakistani national and resident of Faislabad in April 2001. He was waiting for the day of marriage was unhappy when rail, bus and air links with Pakistan were stopped after attack on Indian Parliament. The boundary grill at the Attari railway station gets a fresh coat of paint in Amritsar on Tuesday. — PTI photo