PM rules out redrawing of boundaries
Says India must have veto right in Security Council
New Delhi, December 21
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today for the first time outlined in Parliament the broad contours of his seven-month-old government’s foreign policy wherein he made it clear that India must have veto rights as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Shaheedi Samagam concludes

Chamkaur Sahib, December 21 Ganga Sagar and weapons exhibited at Katalgarh Sahib and Sikhs beating drums on elephants and Nihangs riding horses were the main attraction on the concluding day of Shaheedi Samagam.
Major Singh, a Nihang, who was wearing a 35-kg turban,was the centre of attraction during the procession taken out on the concluding day of the Shaheedi Samagam at Chamkaur Sahib on Tuesday. — Tribune photo by Pankaj Sharma Punjab page: Shaheedi Samagam ends

Laloo postpones rally
Patna, December 21
RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav today decided to postpone his rally here on Thursday in view of the Election Commission’s tough posture vis-a-vis enforcing the model code of conduct for the Assembly poll in Bihar.
In video (28k, 56k)
NDA asks PM to axe Laloo
In video (28k, 56k)

BJP displeased over Speaker not naming Laloo Editorial: Notes for votes Rashtriya Janata Dal hoardings for the kisan mazdoor rally are removed on the orders of the Election Commission of India from Patna on Tuesday. — PTI photo

Baazee.com CEO granted bail
New Delhi, December 21
The Delhi High Court today granted bail to Baazee.com CEO and US citizen Avnish Bajaj, arrested in the obscene MMS case but asked him to surrender his passport and not to leave the country without permission of the trial court.

Editorial: Ulti Baazee
World page: US closely monitoring Bajaj case

Order to upgrade 750 posts of Lt-Colonel
New Delhi, December 21
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) today issued orders for upgrading 750 posts of Lieutenant-Colonels to Colonels as per the recommendations of the Ajai Vikram Singh Committee Report on Cadre Reforms in the Services, which was accepted by the government earlier last week.

Opinions page: More Colonels — at what cost?

20 die as bus falls into river
Tehri (Uttaranchal), December 21
At least 20 persons were killed and nine others seriously injured when a bus in which they were travelling fell into Bhilangana river at Ghuttu area of Tehri district today, the police said.

Major Surinder Singh dismissed; gets three-year jail term New Delhi, December 21 Major Surinder Singh, a Gorkha Rifles officer, accused of fake encounters in Siachen glacier, was today dismissed from service and sentenced by an Army court martial to undergo three years rigorous imprisonment.