Friday, June 8, 2007, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

G-8
Pact to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
Heiligendamm (Germany), June 7
The developed countries reached a broad understanding on the opening day of the G-8 summit to make substantial cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and reach a post Kyoto agreement by 2009, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced here today. She spoke of a consensus that rises in CO2 emissions “first be stopped and then followed by substantial reductions”.

MOVING FORWARD: G8 Heads of State arrive for a family picture in front of the Kurhaus building in Heiligendamm, northeastern Germany, during their first working session on Thursday. (Left to right) European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, British Prime Minister Tony Blair (hidden), French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Italian Prime minister Romano Prodi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President George W. Bush. — AFP photo

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

Mush Blows Cold & Hot
TV gag goes but newsmen banned from entering Parliament in Pak
Islamabad, June 7
Opening yet another front of confrontation with the media, Pakistani authorities today banned the entry of journalists to its Parliament, hours after suspending implementation of an ordinance imposing sweeping curbs on TV channels, till a committee submitted a review report on it.

PM, Hu cement ties, but mum on Arunachal
Berlin, June 7
Despite indications of China hardening its position on Arunachal Pradesh over the past few months, the issue did not figure in the interface between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao though the two leaders reviewed the strategic partnership expressing satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations.

Nation page: PM remains inaccessible In video (56k) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Hu Jintao of China in Berlin on Thursday. — PTI photo

5 m tonnes of wheat to be imported
New Delhi, June 7
Days after the centre scrapped a tender to import one million tonnes of wheat, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar today said India would buy five million tonnes of the grain from overseas this year to augment buffer stock for meeting any exigencies.

Tribune Impact
Groundwater toxicity: HR panel seeks report
Chandigarh, June 7
Taking suo motu notice of The Tribune report on lethal concentrations of arsenic in Punjab’s groundwater, the Punjab State Human Rights Commission has sought a report from the state chief secretary.

Oman cyclone: 1 Indian killed, 1 Punjabi missing
New Delhi, June 7
One Indian was killed, while eight Indians, including an unidentified person from Punjab, were reported missing in the cyclone that hit Oman yesterday. The deceased has been identified as Prakash from Kerala and his body has been found.

A First By India Biotech-based anti-rabies vaccine Chandigarh, June 7 India has achieved a major breakthrough in preparing an anti-rabies vaccine for animals, the first of its kind in the world. The new vaccine, technically called DNA vaccine, has been prepared through the application of biotechnology.