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THE TRIBUNE EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUND

POLL UPDATE (3 pm IST)
JD(U)-BJP set for a sweep in Bihar
Lalu Prasad Yadav accepts defeat
Bihar results a victory of the people: Nitish

Left-UPA tradeoff
UPA concurs on Iran, Left on PSU selloff

New Delhi, November 21 In a move to buy peace ahead of a stormy Winter Session of Parliament, the UPA government today agreed with the Left parties on the IAEA-Iran issue being resolved within the atomic agency’s purview, while securing a green signal from red flag bearers for the disinvestment of government stakes in proft-making non-navratnas. In video (28k, 56k)
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram with CPM Politburo member Sita Ram Yechuri at a Press conference in New Delhi on Monday. — Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal Nation page: Left support music for Cong ears

No word from kidnappers
Saran briefs PM
New Delhi, November 21
Kidnappers of the Indian national in Afghanistan, Mr M R Kutty, have not contacted either the Government of India or the Afghan government since the incident took place 48 hours ago, top sources in South Block told The Tribune tonight.
Nation page: Family prays for Kutty’s return
Editorial: Tackle the Taliban

No consensus on EPF interest rate
Board to meet again on Dec 7
New Delhi, November 21
Marathon six-hour-long meeting of the Employees Provident Fund Board tonight failed to clinch the contentious issue of interest rate to be paid to over 4 crore subscribers for the current fiscal and has decided to meet again on December 7 to discuss the issue.

CBI books several govt hospital doctors
New Delhi, November 21
In connection with the supply of sub-standard laparoscopes to government hospitals across the country, the CBI today conducted searches at 14 places in six States and registered cases against several officials of a private pharmaceutical company and two top doctors of Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College.

Palki row resolved as Sarna relents
Chandigarh, November 21
After a lengthy meeting with the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, the President of the DSGMC, Mr Paramjit Singh Sarna, here today decided to hand over the golden palki to the PGMC instead of installing it in place of the existing marble palki at Gurdwara Janamasthan at Nankana Sahib.

Ludhiana page: Controversy over golden ‘palki’ for Nankana Sahib

Seven may move from Bar to Bench
Chandigarh, November 21
The process for the appointment of seven Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has begun. According to informed sources, the first hurdle in the race to the prestigious assignment has already been crossed with the High Court recommending the names of seven advocates for their alleviation to the Bench.

Bihar poll verdict today New Delhi, November 21  The suspense over who would don the mantle in Bihar would be finally over tomorrow. Exit polls have predicted victory for Nitish Kumar led NDA, but diehard politician, Laloo Prasad Yadav, RJD chief and Railway Minister, is still optimistic of returning to power after 15 years in the saddle. Since polling was done by electronic voting machines, the counting exercise for a constituency would take hardly two hours. — TNS Editorial: EC is the winner

Army chief reviews relief work Srinagar, November 21 Chief of the Army Staff, Gen J.J. Singh visited the quake-affected areas of Tangdhar and Uri in north Kashmir today and reviewed the relief measures undertaken by the troops under Operation Imdad. The Chief of Army Staff, Gen J. J. Singh, talks to Kashmiri earthquake survivor children during his visit to quake-affected areas in Uri, 102 km west of Srinagar, on Monday. — Reuters photo