Mumbai Heat
No violation of Pak air space: India
New Delhi, December 18
India today asserted that it had not violated the Pakistani airspace as has been alleged by Islamabad in a note verbale handed over to the Indian mission in the neighbouring country. Responding to questions, external affairs ministry spokesman Vishnua Prakash told the media, “Today morning the Pakistani foreign office handed to our mission in Islamabad a note verbale alleging airspace violations by an Indian aircraft five days ago.

Dawood directly involved: Russia

Post Mumbai, self-regulation guidelines for media in place
New Delhi, December 18
With visual media drawing the flak for coverage of the Mumbai mayhem and the government mulling an emergency protocol, India’s broadcasters association today unveiled self-regulatory guidelines. These include no live reporting of hostage crises and blocking information, which may help terrorists.

Army to grill ISI agent
Lucknow, December 18
Senior Army officials have arrived in Lucknow today to interrogate the suspected ISI agent Abdul Jabbar, alias Sikandar, who was arrested from Lucknow railway station yesterday with sensitive documents about the Army.

UPA was against tough terror law all along: BJP
New Delhi, December 18
The Opposition today took a dig at the government for bringing in a tougher law to deal with terror after “95 per cent of its tenure” was over and said the ruling UPA was forced to do a rethink on its position due to the “10 evil men” who attacked Mumbai.

82, 000 scholarships for ‘non-creamy’ students
New Delhi, December 18
The human resource development (HRD) ministry today announced a major scholarship scheme for college and university students falling in the non-creamy layer. The new income ceiling for creamy layer being Rs 4.5 lakh, a significant number of students are likely to be benefited by the new central scheme. The government recently revised the income criterion for creamy layer from the earlier limit of Rs 1.5 lakh annually.

Pak tour off
New Delhi, December 18
It’s official now. India’s cricket tour of Pakistan will not take place. The government has called off the Indian team’s tour of Pakistan when it denied permission to the team to travel to Pakistan as a direct fallout of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai.

A curious cop angles for a wider view of the PCA stadium on the eve of the second Test between India and England on Thursday. Will high security choke the fun? Tribune photo: Vinay Malik

2 killed as cops, villagers clash
Bhiwani, December 18
Two youths were killed and more than 25 persons, including 15 policemen, injured in a clash that took place between villagers and the police in Kharak village, 18 km from here, today. Six of the injured were referred to the medical college, Rohtak, where two of them were declared as “brought dead” by doctors.

Extra Cover The Bottomline Flip side: Polls might see more protectors... 25 per cent cut is very well, but will someone stand up and be counted? Chandigarh, December 18 Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal may have ordered a 25 per cent cut in security cover to VIPs in the state, but as far as the Punjab police is concerned trying to make even a 10 per cent cut may be difficult. Nation page: Home ministry prunes security of 50 VIPs