Antony now says Pak Army did it
LoC killings Warns neighbour of impact on ties; BJP welcomes statement
New Delhi, August 8
Two days after the killing of five Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch, India today directly blamed the Pakistan Army for the act, warning the neighbour of possible consequences and its impact on relations between the two countries.
Soldiers carry the coffin of Naik Kundalik Mane at his native village Pimpalgaon in Kolhapur district on Thursday. — PTI

J&K page: Troops make tactical changes on border
Editorial: Soldiers' killings

Peace talks with Pak unlikely to resume
New Delhi, August 8
With Defence Minister AK Antony directly blaming the Pakistan Army for the killing on Indian soldiers along the LOC on Thursday, early resumption of the third round of dialogue between the two countries is ruled out.

Sharif sad, says keen to meet Manmohan
New Delhi/Islamabad, August 8
Hours after Defence Minister AK Antony blamed the Pakistan Army for the killing of five Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC), Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sought to cool down tempers by expressing sadness over the incident which “resulted in flaring up tensions and (causing) loss of precious human lives”.

Retaliate to Pak firing as per norms: Army Chief
New Delhi, August 8 Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh has made it clear to his commanders along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan that they should retaliate to Pakistani firing and events across the LoC as per laid down policies and instructions. Family members of jawan Vijay Kumar Rai during his cremation at Vyapur in Patna district on Thursday. — PTI

Italy says sensitive to Sikhs’ concerns
India takes up turban issue, Italian Ambassador called to the foreign office
New Delhi/Amritsar, August 8
Italy today reassured India that it was sensitive to the concerns of the Sikh community in the wake of a controversy after a Sikh delegation was held up at Rome airport and members asked to remove their turbans.

Punjab page: Harsimrat raises turban issue in LS
Centre owes apology to Sikhs: Sukhbir

Bus travel to cost more in Punjab from today; fares hiked by 5%
Chandigarh, August 8
Come Friday, and hundreds of thousands of passengers using state transport buses in Punjab will have to pay more for their travel. Bus fares will go up by 4 paise per km from tomorrow. After the 5 per cent increase in fares, passenger travelling by ordinary buses will have to pay 83 paise per km, while those travelling by AC buses will have to pay 99.60 paise per km.

Lakshmi, show-stopper buffalo at Jind show, sold for Rs 25 lakh  Hisar, August 8 ‘Black Beauty’ Lakshmi, the show-stopper buffalo in the Murrah catwalk two years ago in Jind, has fetched a whopping Rs 25 lakhs to its owner. The deal has been finalised and an Andhra Pradesh farmer has accepted the offer. Black beauty: Lakshmi has been bought by an Andhra Pradesh farmer