Pope indisposed, cancels Mass
KRAKOW, (POLAND), June 15 (AFP) — Pope John Paul ii has a fever and has cancelled a Mass for more than one million Roman Catholics which he was due to celebrate in Krakow, southern Poland, today, his spokesman Joaquin Navarro said. The 79-year-old pontiff is running a temperature of 100.4°F and has been given anti-inflammatories by his doctors, who have also told him to rest the entire day, he said.

Ayodhya case
LUCKNOW, June 15 (PTI) — The special CBI court, hearing the Ayodhya demolition cases, today fixed July 23 for the framing of charges against the 49 accused, including union ministers L.K. Advani and Uma Bharati and UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh. Passing the order, Additional Sessions Judge J.P. Srivastava directed that in view of the stay granted by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on the proceedings till July 20, the matter would be heard on July 23.

2 kids die in fire
NEW DELHI, June 15 (PTI) — Two children were charred to death while their mother was injured seriously in a fire that broke out in a South Delhi house this morning, fire brigade sources said here. Akash (1) and Nitu (4) were burnt alive in the fire that started in their Madangir house at 9.20 a.m., they said. Their mother Krishna (26) has been admitted to Safdarjang Hospital with 100 per cent burns.

Villagers burn rapist
HYDERABAD, June 15 (PTI) — A man, who allegedly outraged the modesty of a woman and extorted Rs 10,000 from another woman by posing as a Naxalite, was burnt alive by villagers of Golapalli in Andhra Pradesh’s Mahaboobnagar district yesterday, the police said today. The man initially threatened a toddy shop owner Sujathamma, brandishing a toy pistol and demanded Rs 10,000 from her. After extorting the sum, he went to the house of a 25-year-old woman and raped her. On getting this information, villagers caught him and brought him back to the village, where he was tied to a tree and some of the women poured kerosene on him and burnt him alive.

Tension due to clash
LUCKNOW, June 15 (UNI) — Tension prevailed in the Thkurganj area of old city this afternoon following a clash between two sects of a community. The SSP, Mr Girish Prasad Sharma, said here that some members of a sect of a community threw stones at a majlis in the Imambara in Musahibganj this afternoon. This led to a clash between members of the two sects. The irate crowd looted two shops in the area and set a scooter and a bicycle on fire.

Strike by state staff
KOHIMA, June 15 (UNI) — Work in government offices across Nagaland remained paralysed for a second day today following a strike by the Confederation of All Nagaland State Services Employees Association (CANSSEA) demanding pay parity with Central Government employees. Attendance at most of the government offices was thin with only a few staff members reporting for work at the state secretariat. The agitation spread as grade four employees also joined the strike.

HC judge dead
KOCHI, June 15 (PTI) — Mr Justice S. Krishnanunni, a sitting judge of the Kerala High Court, died at a private hospital here today while convalescing after a bypass surgery. Mr Justice Krishnanummi, 60 and a bachelor, was appointed to the Bench of the High court in 1996. President K.R. Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee mourned the death of the judge.

Sanjay Ghosh
GUWAHATI, June 15 (UNI) — The CBI today filed charge-sheet against ULFA Commander-in-Chief Paresh Barua and 10 others holding them directly responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted social worker Sanjay Ghosh. The charge-sheet was filed this afternoon at the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate. Of the 11 charge-sheeted, two of them had already died in the encounter and as many were in judicial custody, while seven of them were absconding