With ‘intent’ clear, nuke Bill passed
UPA pleases BJP, drops contentious provision in case of accident
New Delhi, August 25
The Lok Sabha today passed the controversial civil nuclear liability Bill by an overwhelming majority after the government agreed to rework the provision on the liability of foreign suppliers to the BJP’s satisfaction, thus marking the successful culmination of an arduous exercise by the UPA government.

  Editorial: N-Liability Bill

Tension mounts around Babri verdict in UP
Mayawati seeks 400 companies of paramilitary forces to deal with the possible law and order situation
New Delhi, August 25
The Centre, grappling with the stone-throwers in the Kashmir valley and the uncertainties hovering over the Commonwealth Games, is also worrying over what officials describe as a ‘silent time bomb’ that is ticking. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court last month reserved its judgment on the title suit (ownership) of the controversial site in Ayodhya, where the Babri mosque was demolished in 1992.

Delhi knee-deep in Yamuna waters
New Delhi, August 25
The National Capital is witnessing the wettest August of the past 15 years. The precipitation so far has been the seventh heaviest over the past 110 years, which has virtually brought the city to its knees. 
A bus plies on a flooded road near the ITO after heavy rain in New Delhi on Wednesday. — PTI

The Tribune Ladakh Relief Fund: An Appeal To Readers

PC warns against saffron terror
BJP takes offence, says govt hiding its ‘failures’
New Delhi, August 25
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today cautioned the police forces against the recently uncovered phenomenon of “saffron terrorism” that has been implicated in many bomb blasts of the past even as he hoped the government would be able to find that elusive “starting point” soon to reach out to protesters in Jammu and Kashmir and resume the dialogue process.But Chidambaram's remarks on “saffron terrorism” drew sharp reaction from the BJP, which described his statement as an attempt to divert attention from the government's failures.

Hooda’s no to law on honour killings
New Delhi, August 25
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today denied that khap panchayats had any role in the increasing number of honour killings being witnessed in the state. Expressing his views before the nine-member Group of Ministers (GOM) which met here this evening, Hooda did not agree with the move to bring a law on honour killings and asked the Centre to exercise extreme caution while handling social reform. Describing honour killings as a “social evil,” he said the present laws were sufficient to deal with these incidents, which were essentially cases of murder. 

Secure Sikhs in J&K: Punjab MPs to Centre
New Delhi, August 25
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today asked the Centre to take a serious view of the threats issued to the Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir to either embrace Islam or leave the state. 
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, along with Lok Sabha members SS Dhindsa, Harsimrat Kaur, Navjot Singh Sidhu and some Rajya Sabha members, addresses mediapersons after meeting President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal