Wednesday, January 24, 2007, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Amritsar Seat
It’s Sidhu vs Singla
New Delhi, January 23
Following an unprecedented Supreme Court verdict staying the conviction of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu's in a road rage case, the Bharatiya Janata Party today moved swiftly renaming him as its candidate from the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, which he had quit last month. In video (56k)

Two Malwais, both Patialvis, to cross swords in land of Majhails
Chandigarh, January 23
Two Patialvis, Mr Navjot Sidhu of the BJP and Mr Surinder Singla of the Congress, will battle it out for Amritsar- the heart of Majha. The two from Malwa will match swords in Majha. The removal of the DGP, Mr S.S. Virk, by the Election Commission, had come as a shock to the Congress.

Punjab page: SC order on Sidhu will boost SAD-BJP fortunes
Nation page: SC relief for Sidhu

No review of list: Amarinder
Chandigarh, January 23
“There will be no change of candidates. We hope to get between 70 and 75 seats and break the jinx that no party in Punjab has been in power for two terms in a row.”, says Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

Capt Kanwaljit promises tax-free regime Kang invokes divine help (Details on Punjab page)

SEZ: Centre awaits relief packages for farmers
New Delhi, January 23
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath said today that the Central Government was awaiting land acquisition rehabilitation package from the state governments for farmers whose land is acquired for SEZ and categorically ruled out placement of any cap on their number.

India hikes Afghan aid by $ 100 million
Kabul, January 23
The Indian Government today hiked its grant to Afghanistan for its reconstruction and development by $100 million, raising its aid assistance to $ 750 million. The announcement was made by visiting External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee at the start of his two-day official visit to the Afghan capital.

India: The Tasks Ahead
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
125TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS,
INAUGURAL SESSION

	PUNJAB: SC order on Sidhu will boost SAD-BJP fortunes
	HARYANA: Chidambaram gets Jai Parkash award
	HIMACHAL: Widow fights a lone battle
	J&K: Two jawans killed, 6 injured in blast
	CHANDIGARH:  City police comes under a cloud
	LUDHIANA: Beeline for nominations
	DELHI: GoM okays Draft Master Plan
	OPINIONS: Back from space
	BUSINESS: Murli Deora seeks Re 1 excise cut on diesel
	NATION: SC comes to Sidhu’s rescue, stays conviction
	WORLD: Umer calls meeting of PoK parties
	SPORTS: India to play five bowlers

In Jalandhar Plus today

Candidates with promise(s)

In Amritsar Plus today

Promise, I will walk this talk

Umer calls meeting of PoK parties
Islamabad, January 23
The visiting Hurriyat delegation led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has called a conference of all parties based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on January 26 to evolve a united approach for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. (Details on World page)

All clear for ‘live’ telecast on DD
In an interim order, the Delhi High Court today paved the way for the telecast of tomorrow’s India-West Indies one-dayer at Cuttack and other matches of the series on Doordarshan, even as it directed Nimbus Communications to provide “clean” signals to public broadcaster Prasar Bharati. But the “live” telecast would be available on DD with a delay of seven minutes. (Details on Sports page)

‘Water’ bags Oscar nomination Mumbai, January 23 Deepa Mehta’s “Water”, the story about the plight of Hindu widows in the 1930s whose shooting in India had to be scrapped following protests from Sangh Parivar outfits, was today nominated for the Oscar award in the Best Foreign Film category. (Left) Lisa Ray in ‘Water’. (Right) Actress Salma Hayek and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announce the nominees in the Best Picture category, during the Academy Awards nominations announcement in Beverly Hills, California, on Tuesday. The 79th annual Academy Awards will be held February 25 at Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. — AFP photos World page: 8 Oscar nominations for ‘Dreamgirls’