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New Delhi, October 19 Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday backed the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the context of reports on various scams, saying the government auditor has not exceeded his jurisdiction. FM Pranab Mukherjee at a conference in New Delhi. — A Tribune photograph

Kayani: US must think 10 times before anti-Pak offensive
Not ruling out the possibility of a US ground offensive against militants in the North Waziristan tribal region, Pakistan’s all-powerful Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said that Washington will think “ten times” before launching such an attack.
Pak Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (R) with ISI chief Shuja Pasha

Don’t splurge, EC tells parties in poll-bound states
New Delhi, October 19
All political parties in Punjab must stick to the Election Commission’s guidelines on the use of money in the coming Assembly elections or face its wrath.

Delay doesn’t render Bhullar’s execution unconstitutional: Home Ministry to SC
New Delhi, October 19
The Home Ministry has rejected the contention of Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, sentenced to death for the 1993 bomb attack on the then Youth Congress president MS Bitta, that he was entitled to have his death penalty commuted to life term in view of the delay over his mercy petition.

MiG-29 crashes in HP; pilot’s fate unknown
Kullu/Jalandhar, Oct 19
The search for the wreckage of an IAF MiG-29 aircraft, which crashed somewhere in the Himalayan ranges in Lahaul-Spiti around 8.30 pm yesterday evening, was suspended on Wednesday after the sorties failed to locate the wreckage or the pilot.

3 dead as BSF copter crashes near Ranchi
6 killed in Nepalese army plane crash

Pawar remarks strain Cong-NCP ties further
New Delhi, October 19
Tensions within the ruling alliance have surfaced with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar publicly stating that the UPA leadership had been weakened by the recent string of scams, because of which the judiciary had become more assertive.

Barnes wins Booker amid row
London, October 19
Julian Barnes was fourth time lucky at this year's Man Booker prize with his latest novel 'The Sense of an Ending' winning the prestigious award, in the middle of a raging row between 'readability' and 'literary merit'.