All-party meeting on Bihar
JEHANABAD (Bihar), June 19 — Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi today called an all-party meeting on June 22 to evolve a strategy to check the cycle of caste violence.

Cook was strangulated, says report
LUCKNOW, June 19 — The post-mortem report of the slain priest Brother George’s cook, who died in police custody in Mathura on Saturday, today revealed that the cause of the death was “asphyxia due to strangulation”.

Disqualification of Akali MLAs
Badal’s comments sought
CHANDIGARH, June 19 - The Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, hearing the disqualification case of 11 Akali MLAs , today asked the Shiromani Akali Dal President, Mr Parkash Sing Badal, to submit his written comments by June 21, the next date of hearing .

Vaidya denies he was witness
NEW DELHI, June 19 — Former Indian cricketer Prashant Vaidya today denied to the CBI that he was a witness to any commotion over Kapil Dev’s offer to Manoj Prabhakar in 1994.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani shake hands during a meeting in Tel Aviv on Friday. — AP/PTI

India seeks French support
PARIS, June 19 — India and France would discuss ways and means to tackle international terrorism and New Delhi had sought Paris’ support to bring a comprehensive global convention to counter the menace, Union Home Minister L.K Advani said here today.

Speight says Indians can join govt
WELLINGTON, June 19 — Fiji rebel leader George Speight, who has been holding the government hostage at gunpoint for over a month, said today that he was ready to make concessions, prompting hopes of an early end to the crisis, news reports said.

Babu Parmanand sworn in
CHANDIGARH, June 19 — Babu Parmanand was sworn in as the 12th Governor of Haryana by the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice A.B. Saharya, at a simple, but elegant ceremony here today.

Dr Yogesh Chawla to get MCI award
NEW DELHI, June 19 — Dr Yogesh Chawla, Professor and Head, Department of Hepatology of the PGI, Chandigarh, has been chosen for the prestigious Medical Council of India Silver Jubilee Research Award.

HP to insure poor women
SHIMLA, June 19 — The State Cabinet today introduced an insurance scheme for covering 5.72 lakh women of the age group of 10 to 75 living below poverty line in Himachal Pradesh.

Woman sells daughters JALANDHAR June 19 —Throwing all values of life to winds, a woman sold her two married daughters for money. Middle-aged Lakshmi Bai, a resident of Kakya village in Mandal district of Madhya Pradesh, today stands as a sign of degeneration of morality after she was arrested for being a member of a gang involved in human trafficking.