Sunday, October 24, 2010, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Food security for ‘almost’ all
Experts say universalisation of food security not possible
New Delhi, October 23
Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council today recommended three-fourths of the country’s billion plus population to be covered under the UPA government’ proposed Food Security Act through a differential legal entitlement and reformed PDS network from the next financial year.

Bill to tackle corruption in judiciary in the offing
New Delhi, October 23
New laws and new systems are being developed to make the judiciary more transparent, ensure that people with dubious backgrounds do not get in and to reduce the time in administering justice, says Union Minister of Law and Justice, Veerappa Moily.

The Tribune Interview by Raj Chengappa, Editor-in-Chief
For full audio interview click here

Beijing rakes up border issue again
Beijing, October 23
An online mapping service launched by China to rival ‘Google Earth’ shows Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as part of this country, in what is being seen as the latest move by Beijing to assert it claim over the Indian territory.

DRDO to roll out own fifth-generation fighter
Chandigarh, October 23
While the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas, is expected to receive operational clearance in the next two months and its induction into the IAF is scheduled for next year, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has embarked upon a project to develop its own fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

Kanishka Bombing
$25k more for each victim family
Toronto, October 23
The Canadian Government has reportedly offered $20,000 to $25,000 to families of each Air India Kanishka victim 25 years after all 329 people on board Flight 182 from Montreal to New Delhi perished when the plane was blown off mid-air near the Irish coast June 23, 1985.

A file photo of a visitor signing the book of condolences for Kanishka victims. — AP/PTI

Ajmer Blast
RSS leader’s name figures in chargesheet
Jaipur/New Delhi, October 23
A senior RSS leader's name figured in the chargesheet in the 2007 Ajmer blast in Rajasthan, a development that was rubbished by BJP and RSS but latched onto by Congress which accused the outfit of disturbing communal amity. Indresh Kumar, the RSS leader, was present at a secret meeting held in a Gujarati guest house in Jaipur on October 31, 2005, in which six other functionaries of the organisation were also present, the chargesheet said.

Farmers protest against slow lifting of paddy
Moga, October 23
Anguished over the slow pace of procurement of paddy, hundreds of farmers descended on the roads, raised slogans against the state government and blocked the Moga-Barnala highway at Badhni Kalan here this morning.
(Details on Punjab page)

Polio on its way out from country
Just 39 cases reported nationwide this year against 394 in 2009
New Delhi, October 23
India is on its way to eradicate the polio virus, as per the latest World Health Organisation data, which shows a sharp decline in the number of cases this year as compared to last year. (Details on Nation page)

Heavy bat invasion in HP apple belt Kullu/Nandpur, October 23 An invasion by bats seems to have caught farmers in this region by surprise. The number of bats in the hills could be counted on finger-tips earlier but their number, they say, has grown alarmingly in recent years. “ We now spend much of our time chasing monkeys and wild parrots during daytime and trying to drive away bats at night,” rues Laxman Thakur of Nandpur.