6 districts of J&K declared disturbed
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani.

BJP to end confrontation with Shiv Sena
Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, Union Home Minister L K Advani, External Affairs and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan decided at a meeting to end the ongoing confrontation in the larger interests of the NDA.

Oppn prepares for a united assault on govt
CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee met Congresss president Sonia Gandhi to arrive at a united strategy to attack the government.

JAMMU AND KASHMIR
Police fire in air to disperse rampaging mob in Jammu: PTI
The police took this step after a mob, protesting Tuesday's militant attack, ransacked some government buildings, court annexes, market places and damaged some buses.

Jammu killings: Oppn stages walkout in LS
Union Home Minister L K Advani said he had convened a high-level meeting on Wednesday evening to take stock of the situation.

OTHER REPORTS
Lakshmi Parvathi files defamation suit against doctor
The wife of the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister, NT Rama Rao, said in her petition that Dr Karkala Rao had made unfounded allegations against her and NTR in his book.

Gulshan murder case: Approver turns hostile
Shaikh flatly refused to identify any of the accused in the court and told the court that he did not know main accused music director Nadeem Saifee.

FEATURES
Former rebel now revives Tripura's folk music
From wielding a gun to rendering folk songs on stage, life for Hemanta Jamatia has turned a full circle. He is now considered the sole custodian of Tripura's dying folk music

'Mail runners' going strong even in information age
The runners cover long distances on foot across isolated river valleys and high mountains covered with snow. Their territory begins where the motorable roads end.

MONEY NEWS
S&P lowers rating outlook on Reliance
Standard & Poor's on Wednesday lowered its rating outlook on India's largest business conglomerate Reliance Industries and 11 other companies.

MARKET REPORT
Sensex sheds 17 points
Market is subdued. Old economy stocks lose ground. Tech pivotals rise on renewed buying interest.

MONEY COLUMN
The more things change...
'From Haridas Mundhra in 1957 to Harshad in 1992 and Ketan in 2001, the politician-industrialist-broker nexus has been the recurring theme,' says Sucheta Dalal.

MOVIES
That brooding intensity
Ajay Devgan promises to sear in Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke.

Cover versions, anyone?
Originality is not the USP of the tunes in Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Meraa Ghar.

CRICKET
Zaheer Khan cleared to play in Lanka
National selector T A Shekar said: 'The injury is more to do with the muscle. Nothing to do with the bone.'

SPORTS
India score over England
Deepak Thakur's late goal gave India their first victory in the Azlan Shah hockey tournament.

Paes-Bhupathi beat Jensens
The ace Indian pair entered the second round of the Masters Series doubles tournament at Cincinnati.

GUIDE TO THE NET
The Khan
Post-Lagaan: 8 sites

Man rescued after falling into erupting volcano
A man has been rescued after falling 85 feet into the summit crater of Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano while trying to retrieve his baseball cap.

DIASPORA
Texas lawmaker arrested for beating up school owner
The issue was that of three African-American teachers who were being replaced and Garnet Coleman, who has made a career out of race related issues, wanted the teachers to stay, Harsh Kumar explained.

Riverside residents drop opposition to Gandhi statue
The plan to set up a Gandhi statue was opposed by local Muslims in Riverside. After months of negotiation, a compromise, perhaps a sister-city relationship with a Pakistani city, has been worked out.

INTERVIEW
Pamela Singh's new passion
Photographer and former Miss India Pamela Singh took the perilous leap from photo-documentarian to photo-artist with the reckless courage that has characterised most of her public ventures. An interview.

COLUMN
The end of tradition
'The new policy of replacing the ensign appears to be the navy's effort to get on the swadeshi bandwagon. Will we also now obliterate the names of the navy's first four chiefs and remove their portraits from South Block?' says Admiral (retd) J G Nadkarni.