Policeman killed in raid on militant hideout
The militants took two police officers and a radioman hostage, but the latter managed to escape.

Fear stalks Srinagar
But there is hope. Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti sees a churning in the Jammu and Kashmir capital. "People are tired of militancy. They are looking for alternatives," she said.

PDP gaining from discontent with NC
Six years of hard work are coming to a climax for Mehbooba Mufti and her party hopes to win at least 20 of the 87 seats in the state assembly.

NC floats its hopes on Dal Lake
National Conference chief Omar Abdullah led a boat rally in the Dal lake in Srinagar where the separatist Hurriyat has called for a poll boycott.

Water will motivate Hizb chief's village to vote
Residents complain that at times, they go without a bath for days at a stretch. They see the election as payback time.

Jammu administration all set for polls
`We are not tense at all. We have made the required arrangements to hold free and fair polls in Jammu,' Chief Electoral Officer Rohit Kansal told rediff.com.

Rajnath Singh predicts coalition govt
The former UP chief minister and BJP general secretary in charge of J&K said no government could be formed in the state without the help of his party.

No post-poll alliance with National Conference: BJP
The BJP spokesman, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, claimed that the NC had treated his party 'shabbily'.

SPECIAL
On Dal Lake, his mask is his only shield
Basharat Peer reports on Kashmiri boatmen campaigning under the shadow of death on Srinagar's most beautiful lake.

INTERVIEW
'The issue of Sonia's foreign origin is over'
'In order to save this country, we need the Congress, and the Congress needs very good leadership, and that we see only in Sonia Gandhi,' says E V K S Elangovan, president of the Tamil Nadu Congress.

COLUMN
Back to the future
'Indeed, the NGOs, "secularists," etc, have founded an entire industry based on laying all the evils at the door of Hindutva,' says Varsha Bhosle.

CAUVERY WATERS ROW
Tamil Nadu to boycott Cauvery panel meet
The Tamil Nadu chief minister said her state would be committing contempt of the Supreme Court if it attended the Cauvery Monitoring Committee Meeting scheduled for September 29.

Cauvery row: Rajakumar to lead protest march
But farmers in Mandya district were angry that the matinee idol had been silent over the issue. They burnt effigies of the Rajakumar and pelted stones at cinema halls.

Contempt petition: SC notice to Krishna
The Karnataka chief minister has been asked to explain his stand on Tamil Nadu's allegations about non-release of Cauvery waters as stipulated by the apex court and the CRA.

Karnataka farmers form 'suicide squads'
They would maintain a day-and-night vigil over the dams in the state and commit suicide if any water was released to Tamil Nadu, farmers' leaders warned.

OTHER REPORTS
Gaurav Yatra aimed at Gujarat polls: BJP
Party president Naidu on Monday denied allegations that the yatra had led to tensions in some parts of Gujarat.

Bacteria theft sparks bio-terrorism fears
Two vials of a genetically altered bacterium that causes encephalitis in pigs were stolen from a Michigan State University research laboratory.

CIA inducts special forces for Iraq
This will allow the Pentagon to officially deny the presence of US military forces in the country.

DEAR REDIFF
Ask the FBI!

MONEY
Govt to keep Provident Fund rate at 9.5%
Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma said his ministry had rejected a finance ministry call to lower the rate.

MONEY COLUMN
Who's afraid of globalisation? The poor, of course
'Do not grab from the needy to give to the greedy in the name of globalisation,' says Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.

SPORTS INTERVIEW
Beenamol is a cinch for gold: Shiny
The former middle distance ace said Beenamol, Bobby Aloysious, Anju George and Neelam Singh are India's best medal prospects at the Busan Asian Games.

MOVIES
'Do Aankhen Barah Haath'
The reformist zeal and gut-wrenching drama of V Shantaram's stark and sedate black-and-white classic.

Amritraj and his Moonlight Mile
Three Oscar winners come together for a thought-provoking film.

Kapur bested by Ice Cube
For the first time, US marquee sees movies of two India-born filmmakers.

NET GUIDE
'Bigfoot' believers attend convention
Big believers in 'Bigfoot' have ignored a history of hoaxes and misidentifications and gathered in the US to exchange stories and peruse books and items on the creature.