US rehearses strikes on Pak
Islamabad, May 30
The US military has already completed “dry exercises” for launching a unilateral strike inside Pakistan if any terrorist attack in America in future is traced to that country, according to a media report published today. Also known as dry run, the trial exercise is a rehearsal of a military’s combat skills without the use of live ammunition, the Dawn said in a dispatch from Washington.

Upcoming Talks
India, Pakistan discuss agenda
New Delhi, May 30
India and Pakistan have initiated discussions on the agenda for the high-level meetings that are coming up as part of the normalisation process. Sources today said Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao met Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik last week and discussed the contours of the talks.

Ombudsmen to keep tabs on NREGA scheme
Gurdaspur, May 30
Now, ombudsmen will keep an eye on the disbursal of funds for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) scheme in Punjab. The ombudsmen will act in an independent manner as envisaged under Section 27 of the scheme.

Mangalore-type tragedy averted
Jammu, May 30
An alert pilot averted a Mangalore-type air tragedy at Jammu Airport this afternoon after his plane overshot the runway and took off again. The pilot managed to land the Indigo Airlines flight from Srinagar to Delhi via Jammu on the second attempt here, sources said.

Special to the tribune
Indian experience can help ‘Cleggeron’ stay on
History rarely offers exact parallels, but British politicians from the ruling coalition could benefit from India’s experience of running a government with the support of another minority party.

The Cleggeron: Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron (R) with Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. — AFP

A first in 44 years: Queen to skip CWG
Prince Charles to attend the event on her behalf
London, May 30
For the first time in 44 years, Queen Elizabeth II will miss the Commonwealth Games owing to "heavy workload", leaving it to Prince Charles to represent the British Royal family in Delhi this October.

For tough airfields, follow set rules Chandigarh, May 30 The crash of an Air India aircraft while landing at the “table-top” Mangalore airport located atop a hill has focused attention on other airfields where operations are relatively difficult. While a large number of such airfields, referred to as “critical” in aviation parlance, exist across India, there are three in this region, at Leh, Shimla and Kullu. A flight takes off from Leh, the highest airfield from where scheduled commercial airlines operate flights in India. A file photo