Tipnis in Lanka on 5-day visit
Jaswant doesn’t rule out mediation
COLOMBO, May 7 — Amid speculation about India gearing up to provide humanitarian assistance to over 27,000 beleaguered Sri Lankan soldiers in the northern Jaffna peninsula, Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal a y Tipnis arrived here today on a five-day official visit.

Bargain offer which bombed
RAJPURA , May 7 — It seemed like a lock, stock and barrel bargain. Pay a sum and the exam will be taken care of. Everything from being ferried to and fro from Delhi, selection of a congenial exam centre, copying and if necessary, access to other students’ answer sheets to ensure hundred per cent success.

	Maken murder accused extradited from USA NEW DELHI, May 7 — Ranjit Singh Gill, alias Kuki, an accused in the murder of Congress MP Lalit Maken and his wife, was today brought here following extradition from the USA where he was imprisoned in connection with the case.
Ranjit Singh Gill (face covered), an accused in the murder of Congress leader Lalit Maken and his wife, being produced at Tis Hazari court in New Delhi on Sunday. —PTI photo

Speculation over Prabhakar-Lele meeting
BARODA, May 7 — Former India all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar yesterday met cricket board secretary Jaywant Lele here raising speculations that it had something to do with the raging betting and match-fixing controversy. But Mr Lele said the meeting was to invite Prabhakar for a product launch by his company.

Ammunition storage not proper: George
JAISALMER, May 7 — Defence Minister George Fernandes today said there were lapses in storing the ammunitions during the last two years but steps would be taken to ensure that Bharatpur ordnance depot blast did not recur.

Putin sworn in President MOSCOW, May 7 — Calling for a free and proud Russia, Mr Vladimir Putin took the presidential oath of office at the grand Kremlin Palace today, six weeks after he succeeded Mr Boris Yeltsin in the general election.

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds the identification card in Moscow on Saturday. — AP/PTI photo

Bitumen: this one is not for the road
HISAR, May 7 — Have you ever wondered why Haryana has such bad roads and also why its roads develop potholes at the hint of a shower? If you think it is resource crunch, you are dead wrong!

Govt ‘ready for’ talks with Kashmiris AHGAM (PULWAMA), May 7 — The Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, said here today that the government would decide about a formal offer of talks to the Hurriyat Conference to restore peace in Kashmir. Schoolchildren talk to Home Minister L. K. Advani in Ahgam village of Kashmir on Sunday. Mr Advani visited the village to inaugurate a reconstruction project. In early 1998, the village was destroyed in a gunbattle between militants and security forces, killing 12 persons. — AFP photo