Pak ‘mortal threat’ to world
As the Taliban spreads its tentacles toward Islamabad, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday accused the government of “abdicating” to the extremists and urged the people of Pakistan to speak up against the militant menace.

World page: Pak rushes troops to Taliban-infested Buner

A Pakistani policeman watches burning tankers on the outskirts of Peshawar on Thursday. Taliban militants destroyed seven trucks loaded with supplies for NATO forces. — AFP

55 pc cast vote in second phase
5 cops die in Naxal violence
New Delhi, April 23
Just a week after Naxals carried out coordinated attacks during the first phase of polling, five policemen were killed and a civilian driver of their vehicle was critically injured when Maoist guerrillas set off a landmine in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district as the polling for 13 LS seats in the state ended today.

Editorial: The electoral odyssey
Spreading menace

Ballot wins over bullet in Banihal Kaskoot (Banihal), April 23
In the Udhampur-Doda parliamentary seat that went to the polls today, the Banihal Assembly segment showed “ballot to be superior to bullet”. Over 12 former militants stood in queues at polling stations in and around Kaskoot in the hope of achieving what their guns could not. Former Harkat-ul Ansar militant Abdul Hamid Khan shows the ink mark on his finger after casting vote.

UN, US call for pause in Lanka
United Nations, April 23
Terming the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka’s war zone as “absolutely critical”, the United Nations, the US and the UK today called for a pause in fighting and demanded access to the embattled northern areas to help the trapped Tamil civilians.

World page: Lankan forces close in on Prabhakaran’s hideout
Nation page: Narayanan, Menon to visit Lanka today

Pay panel stumbles on typing errors
Chandigarh, April 23
The Punjab Pay Commission has informed the Election Commission of typographical errors in its report. It is not clear why the Commission felt it necessary to bring typographical mistakes to the notice of the EC.

Triple Murder
3 brothers get death, wives life term
Hisar, April 23
Three brothers were today sentenced to death by a local court on a charge of committing murders. The wives of the three convicts and their uncle were sentenced to life imprisonment in the same case.

Tanda Case SC: Gun culture of West may catch on Court expresses concern over parents’ unreasonable demands New Delhi, April 23 The Supreme Court today reserved its verdict in the ragging case relating to the Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, and various other states after expressing concern over the deteriorating value system and parents’ unreasonable expectations that had a devastating effect on the psyche of the students.