Putin wants UN seat with veto
power for India
New Delhi, December 4
The visiting Russian President today put an end to an unnecessary controversy over the wrong interpretation of his yesterday’s remarks when he described the published media reports as “absolutely incorrect understanding of (Russia’s) views.

Nation page: Putin for biotech, IT pacts with India President APJ Abdul Kalam with his visiting Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and first lady Lyudmila Putin at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday. — PTI photo

Mukesh Ambani meets Sonia
New Delhi, December 4
Even as an enthralled nation follows the ups and downs in ongoing feud between the Ambani brothers, the saga acquired a fresh twist today when Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani met Congress President Sonia Gandhi for the first time after this crisis erupted.

Farmer leaders held, curfew imposed
Chak 22 M.D. (Indo-Pak  Border), December 4
Agitated over the arrest of farmer leaders, villagers of this border area have vowed to lay down their lives to get their demand of sufficient irrigation water accepted by the state government.

An attendant gives a last-minute touch on the shoes of a soldier on the occasion of the 34th Navy Day celebrations at Amar Jawan Jyoti in New Delhi on Saturday. — PTI

NSCN (I-M) leaders to visit India today
New Delhi, December 4
Putting aside the recent differences with the Centre, leaders of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) have agreed to visit India beginning tomorrow to continue the Naga peace talks.

Uttaranchal seeks Central help to quell Maoist threat
In video: Indian police says insurgency on the decline in
north-east. (28k, 56k)

Rs 10 lakh cr black money ‘in circulation’
New Delhi, December 4
The government, by making it mandatory of seven categories of high value transactions to file annual information returns, is seeking to bringing in the tax net a part of a huge black money whose size is believed to be in the range of Rs 10 lakh crore.

Business page: Inflation an area of concern, says PM

Mid-day meal scheme runs into rough weather
Kangra, December 4
The mid-day meal scheme for primary schoolchildren in the district has run into rough weather because of ‘mismanagement’ in the department resulting in delay in the disbursement of the grants for the scheme to the teachers facing them to borrow goods from the market at their own level.

Patna Jathedar threatens to declare Vedanti tankhaiya Amritsar, December 4 The Panthic crisis deepened further even as Giani Iqbal Singh, Jathedar, Takht Patna Sahib, threatened to declare Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathedar, Akal Takht as tankhaiya (guilty of religious misconduct) if he failed to dissociate himself from Giani Gurdit Singh, author of the controversial book “Mundavni”, before December 10.