Kandahar Hijack
Life term for 3
Patiala, February 5
A special judge here today handed out life sentence to the three main accused — Abdul Latif, Yusuf Nepali and Dalip Kumar Bhujel — in the infamous Kandahar hijacking case in which an Indian Airlines flight, on its way to New Delhi from Kathmandu, was hijacked to Kandahar on December 24, 1999.

More wheat for Punjab
Chandigarh, February 5
Struggling to meet its fiscal responsibilities on the development front, the Badal government has got a big relief on the Atta-dal scheme, as the Union government has raised Punjab’s quota of allocation of wheat to 10,000 tonnes from 1,306 per tonne per month for the above poverty line families.

Punjab page:Improvement trusts told to sell property

Centre to review Advani’s security
New Delhi, February 5
The government is planning to increase the security of senior BJP Leader L. K. Advani in the wake of intelligence inputs suggesting threat to his life from terrorists.

Super Tuesday is here
Washington, February 5
A surging Barack Obama and weary White House rival Hillary Clinton battled coast-to-coast on Tuesday, while John McCain tried to lock down the Republican ticket, in a historic 24-state nominating showdown.

A man cleans the water tank during morning fog at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Tuesday. — AFP

Heavy snow cuts off Kashmir valley
Srinagar, February 5
Fresh snowfall since last night cut off Kashmir valley from rest of the world by road surface and air links today as heavy snowfall was reported from upper reaches of the valley, while Srinagar-Jammu national highway was blocked to traffic for the third consecutive day.

Now, beacon bug bites MPs
New Delhi, February 5
The fascination for beacon light on their vehicles has caught up with the Members of Parliament, prompting the House Committee of the Rajya Sabha to recommend that the lawmakers be allowed such a facility.

Gum chums?
Sydney, February 5
Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds may patch up soon — thanks to an Indian chewing gum manufacturer's offer to make a television advertisement in which the two warring players are supposed to say “Gum Mein Hai Dum (This gum has power)”.

Som Mittal Case
SC caught in tricky situation
New Delhi, February 5
The second judgement of a Division Bench of the Supreme Court involving Justice Markandey Katju has landed in controversy with a larger Bench, headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, today reconsidering it and reserving its verdict on it.