Wednesday, May 10, 2006, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

India, US ink pact on moon mission
Bangalore, May 9
The Indian Space Research Organisation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration today signed a historic agreement to send two American scientific instruments, including one which will search for water, on board India’s first mission to the moon — Chandrayaan-1 — in 2008.

Power grid may collapse
Heavy drawals by northern states
New Delhi, May 9
With the failure of the Centre and Central Electricity Regulatory Commission to take any stringent action against the Delhi and UP state power utilities allegedly overdrawing power for the past many days, the north power grid is under serious threat of collapsing any time.

Several areas go without power
Ropar, May 9
Many cities and rural areas in the state remained without power since last night when all units of thermal plant, here became non-functional due to a fault in transmission lines caused by rain and storm.

Ludhiana page: Power to be restored within 2 days
Delhi page: Centre to help Delhi get gas for power projects

No demilitarisation of J&K: Pranab Jammu, May 9 Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee today rejected the demand for the demilitarisation of Jammu and Kashmir and said that the "numerical presence" of security forces could not be reduced in the state because of the continuing incidents of terrorist violence. A relative of the recent Doda massacre victims at Tawa village in Jammu and Kashmir breaks into tears during the Defence Minister's visit to the area on Tuesday. — PTI photo

Pak MPs meet PM
New Delhi, May 9
A six-member delegation of parliamentarians from the Pakistan People's Party today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed the status of the
India-Pakistan Composite Dialogue process.
In video (28k, 56k)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur adjusts her husband’s shawl during the presentation of Usha Uthup’s music album on Tsunami to the Prime Minister on Tuesday. — PTI

Key suspect in Varanasi blast shot in Kashmir
Srinagar, May 9
A top militant of the Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia and one of the main brains behind the twin blasts that rocked Varanasi recently was shot dead in a gunbattle in the Handwara area today.

Bill next week to shrink office of profit list
New Delhi, May 9
The UPA government will shrink the list of posts that fall under the office of profit category by amending the Prevention of Disqualification Act, 1959.

Sunita allowed a “scribe” for UPSC exam
New Delhi, May 9
In a major victory for Chandigarh girl Sunita Dogra and many other aspiring UPSC candidates like her, who are suffering from the upper-arm disability, the Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disability has asked the UPSC to allow Sunita and all other cases with similar disability “scribes of their choice as per norms” for the May 14 Civil Services Examination (preliminary).

Anchored to a tree, widow barely lives Chappar (Along the LoC), May 9 The horrors of the October-8 earthquake come alive in the face of Sakina Jaan, a 30-year-old mother of four who now lives more by the side of a Chinar than under a roof. Sakina Jaan stands behind the Chinar tree — the only component of her home that survived the October 8 earthquake. — Photo by writer