13 guilty in Bilkis case
Mumbai, January 18
A Mumbai sessions court has found 13 persons guilty in the infamous Bilkis Bano rape case dating back to the post-Godhra riots of Gujarat in 2002. The case was being heard by a Mumbai court after it was transferred out of Gujarat on orders of the Supreme Court.

Flu outbreak very serious, says Buddha
Kolkata/New Delhi, January 18
More areas in West Bengal reported death of birds today as Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee described the bird flu outbreak in the state as “very serious”. The fresh bird deaths were reported from Burdwan and Bankura districts.

Burns to quit; N-deal job to stay
Washington, January 18
Undersecretary of state Nicholas Burns, the American pointsman for the landmark Indo-US civil nuclear deal, is resigning in March but will continue to handle the controversial deal which got bogged down in Indian politics.

Goa rebels continue bargaining
Mumbai, January 18
The political situation in Goa continues to be fluid with Congress leaders still bargaining with MLAs from the Nationalist Congress Party and other outfits to save the Digambar Kamat government in the state. Kamat has left for Delhi for negotiations with the party high command.

No urgency to import wheat: Pawar
New Delhi, January 18
The government today said it had no immediate plans of importing more wheat as buffer stock was satisfactory and the season’s produce was expected to be near the targeted level. Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said the Centre was satisfied with the buffer stock position compared to the norms.

Gritty kids win bravery awards
New Delhi, January 18
She’s all of 13 but when Congress Kanwar of Rajasthan defied her parents’ diktat to tie the knot and stood firm on her determination to study further, she set an example to many others to raise their voice against child marriage. A hero, Kanwar is one of the 22 children to be honoured with the National Bravery award, 2007.

Winners of the national bravery award, 18 are boys and four girls, in New Delhi on Friday. Four of the awards will be given posthumously. — A Tribune photograph

BJP drops demand for women’s quota
New Delhi, January 18
In a sudden change of stand, the BJP today dropped its demand for 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies citing lack of consensus and favoured making it mandatory for parties to earmark those seats for them.