Tuesday, September 12, 2006, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

SC refuses to restrain Speaker
Jharkhand MLAs’ plea
New Delhi, September 11
The Supreme Court today refused to pass any order on the petitions of three Jharkhand MLAs, seeking to restrain state Assembly Speaker from taking a decision on his notices to them on disqualification plea, virtually giving him free hand to decide the matter.
In video (56k)

PM’s visit to give fillip to Indo-Brazil ties
Brasilia (Brazil), September 11
When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives here on Tuesday on a two-day visit, he is likely to give concrete shape to the IBSA dialogue forum, besides providing a fillip to Indo-Brazil ties.

Nation page: India to join Brazil’s Ethanol Initiative

Sikri quits in protest
New Delhi, September 11
The appointment of Mr Shiv Shankar Menon as Foreign Secretary, who superseded 16 officers, has caused the first ripple in the Ministry of External Affairs with the resignation of Secretary (East) Rajiv Sikri. Mr Sikri met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday before the latter’s departure for Brazil and Cuba and submitted his resignation in protest against his supersession by an officer two years his junior.

7 killed, 16 hurt in bus-truck collision
Jhakolari (Gurdaspur), September11
Seven passengers were killed and sixteen injured, three of them seriously, in a collision between a Punjab Roadways bus and a truck coming from the opposite direction this morning.

Sensex plunges by 368 points
Mumbai, September 11
The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today lost a whopping 368 points to end at a two-week low of 11,550.69 points as funds resorted to profit selling, but the fall itself was regarded by experts as a much-needed correction.

Dr Bedi gets bail in Jessica case
New Delhi, September 11
A Delhi Court today granted bail to Chandigarh-based Dr J. S. Bedi, who was arrested on charge of giving false medical certificates to Vikas Gill, an accused in the Jessica Lall murder case. Gill had left for a foreign country after the medical certificate was issued to him.

1993 blasts: verdict today
Mumbai, September 11
Ahead of the verdict tomorrow in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case a security drill was held today at the designated TADA court in the city’s high security Arthur Road Jail.

Mumbai, Malegaon blasts similar
Mumbai, September 11
Investigators probing last Friday's bomb blasts in the town of Malegaon have found links between the blasts and the train blasts in Mumbai on July 11.

Catholic schools remain closed
Attack on Loreto chapel
Lucknow, September 11
The 13 Catholic schools in the city remained closed in protest against the vandalism on Loreto Convent premises by a group of young Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha activists on Sunday evening. Many public schools also downed their shutters to express solidarity.

1 more held in paper leak case
Shimla, September 11
Wanted by the Punjab as well as Chandigarh police in the PMT leak case, the Himachal police has arrested Dr Goverdhan Singh Gaba from Makhu village in Ferozepore district of Punjab. (Details on Himachal page)

India go down to Korea
Monchengladbach, September 11
India’s agonising sequence of conceding late goals continued to haunt the team as they suffered a stunning 1-2 defeat against Korea in a pool B encounter of the men’s hockey World Cup here today. (Details on Sports page)