India assures Pakistan on peace process
New Delhi, May 31
India today diplomatically chided Pakistan for showing unnecessary nervousness and raising doubts about New Delhi's intentions in the ongoing Indo-Pak peace process and assured its commitment to friendship and cooperation with Islamabad.

Daughter, son-in-law get death for killing ex-MLA Punia
Hisar, May 31
Former legislator Relu Ram Punia’s daughter, Sonia, and her husband, Sanjiv Kumar, were today sentenced to death for killing him and seven other members of his family. 

PM clears the way; SGPC poll on schedule
Chandigarh, May 31
Intervention by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has cleared the way for holding the SGPC elections as scheduled on July 11, according to a top Akali leader.

Eight hurt in Chapra clashes; DSP shifted
Chapra, May 31
Barring stray incidents of clashes and shootouts in which eight persons were injured, the repoll in the Chapra Lok Sabha constituency of Bihar today passed off peacefully with an estimated 40 per cent voter turnout.

Editorial: Repoll in Chapra

Seven terrorists surrender
Jammu, May 31
Seven terrorists belonging to the Hizbul Mujaheedin and Jaish-e-Mohammad surrendered before senior Army and police officers at Reasi in Udhampur today. 

Liaquat Ali, a militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen group, embraces his father after surrendering to security forces in Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. — PTI photo

Blast in Karachi mosque kills 14

Sikkim goes off China's yearbook
Beijing, May 31
China today took another significant step to recognise Sikkim as a part of India by not showing the north-eastern state as an independent country in the just-released yearbook of the Foreign Ministry.

Punjab page: Rallies, seminars mark World No Tobacco Day

Children wear masks at a roadside demonstration protesting against the use of tobacco on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day in Kolkata on Monday. According to WHO not only does tobacco use kill 4.9 million people each year, but it also contributes to poverty through loss of income, loss of productivity, disease and death. — PTI

No divestment in NFL units at Bathinda, Nangal, Panipat
New Delhi, May 31
In a major policy decision for the fertiliser sector, the union government today announced to stop the disinvestment process in five public sector fertiliser units including four of the NFL at Bathinda, Nangal, Panipat and Vijay Nagar besides the Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilisers Limited plant at Mumbai.

Gastroenteritis claims five more lives Jalandhar/Hoshiarpur, May 31 Five more gastroenteritis deaths were reported from Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur areas during the past about 24 hours. While three deaths were reported from the Jalandhar area, two persons died of suspected diarrhoea in the Hoshiarpur region.