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STORIESYOU MAYHAVE MISSED...

JULY 20

Dismiss them!
Congress president Sitaram Kesri will meet I K Gujral early next week to demand the dismissal of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra.
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'Nobody can stop Laloo Yadav'
An exclusive interview with Union Minister of State for Food Raghuvansh Prasad Singh.
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Punjab police arrest key accused in Bathinda train blast
The International Sikh Youth Federation activist revealed that seven kg of RDX was used in the incident.
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Centre waives repayment of Rs 85 bn loan to Punjab
The money was used to fight a proxy war to protect the country's sovereignty, says the prime minister.
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Veerappan finds himself in a tight spot
With the cops snapping away at his heels, the smuggler tries to expedite a surrender.
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And now a desi aircraft carrier!
The new ship will replace the decommissioned INS Vikrant.
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Indians convicted of murder executed in Dubai
The trio were accused of murder, a result of Bombay's underworld rivalry.
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Govt staff threaten strike over 'paltry' pay hike
The unions are protesting against the widening gap between the lowest and the highest-paid staff, non-payment of full arrears in cash and inadequate house rent allowance for those working in smaller cities.
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Bhutto seeks probe into Pak govt playing host to drug smuggler
The former premier hints at official aid to a man claiming to be a minister of Equatorial Guinea.
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JULY 19

Karunanidhi drops
another bombshell
As the UF plunged into confusion due to its leaders's contradictory statements, Gujral admitted that he was helpless.
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Pay panel report accepted, additional Rs 80 billion burden on govt
The decision will take retrospective effect from January 1, 1996.
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US may resume aid to Pak amidst anti-India lobbying
As 10 Congressmen intensified their lobbying to deny aid to India, the Senate passed a pro-Pakistan amendment by a voice vote.
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Five soldiers killed in blast
Bodo militants's involvement suspected
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4 killed, 12 hurt as Gujarat police open fire to control dalit violence
Indefinite curfew has been clamped on Keshod town
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World's 'largest weapon-maker' is in India
Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment also claims that it has developed a world-class small arms system.
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Ruskin Bond's autobiography in Penguin's Independence list
Books of R K Narayan, Satish Gujral and R K Laxman have also been included.
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'Sometimes, I feel ashamed to be the prime minister of the country'
Gujral shakes a weary head: Distressing, most distressing...
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China bullies Tibetan women into sterilisation
One of the victims of the 'brutal' birth-control method succumbed to the operation.
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JULY 18

Mr President!
K R Narayanan wins the Presidency by a record landslide.
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'My brother has got the country's top post not because he is a dalit. He got it because he is a simple, sincere human being'
K R Narayanan has had a Lincolnesque journey from thatched hut to Rashtrapati Bhavan. George Iype visits the President-elect's village in Kerala.
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United Front will not admit RJD into ruling coalition
A decision on the RJD ministers in the Gujral government has been deferred till July 25.
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Centre, states okay major tax-sharing formula
Prime Minister Gujral tells the CMs that Article 356 won't be used to dismiss state governments.
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India may have to upgrade missile programme significantly: Mulayam
That India's prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme is poised for a big leap forward is evident from the fact that allocation for it has been more than doubled to Rs 5.04 billion during the Ninth Plan period.
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American economic interests depend on stability in Asia: US general
The Pentagon has said that General Joseph Ralston's visit is an important step in the continued US effort to expand the military-to-military relationship between New Delhi and Washington.
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75,000 people turn out for Bombay gangster's rally!
Intelligence sources say that Arun Gawli's agents has fanned out across the slums of Bombay with fistfuls of cash, in a bid to induce as many people as possible to attend the morcha. The police say they have no knowledge of any such thing.
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Kazakh aircraft held responsible for Charkhi Dadri mishap
The Lahoti court of inquiry hands report to civil aviation ministry.
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High quality uranium discovered in Karnataka
The Bhima basin will be the fourth promising uranium mining area in the country, the other three being Singhbum district (Bihar), West Khasi hills (Meghalaya) and Nalgonda district (Andhra Pradesh).
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The States
Your guide to India today!
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JULY 17

Another US blockade!
A top Russian official has disclosed that the US had tried and virtually succeeded in sabotaging the $ 1.8 billion deal for the sale of 40 Sukhoi-30 fighter planes to India.
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UF crisis cancels Gujral's trip to Malaysia
The prime minister will not attend the Asian Regional Forum meeting -- his visit to Malaysia from July 26 to 28 stands cancelled.
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Communists want Laloo out!
The Left parties will vehemently oppose the Rashtriya Janata Dal's induction in the United Front unless Laloo Prasad Yadav resigns as Bihar chief minister.
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Gupta unhappy with Maharashtra law and order situation
"I am not authorised to dismiss the Maharashtra government," the home minister said, clarifying that he did not feel the BJP-Sena government had to be dismissed because Opposition leaders's homes were ransacked by Shiv Sainiks.
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Will blood flow in Manipur this autumn?
Intelligence agents said the KNF is currently raising Rs 20 million to buy sophisticated weapons to boost their firepower. The KNF has reportedly collected Rs 4 million already.
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Karunanidhi trying to revive caste-based front
"Not many seem to realise it, but his renewed tirade against the brahmin community, starting with the DMK's conference in Salem earlier this month, is aimed at reviving the Dravidian political ideology," says an informed source.
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Floods ravage Assam
Millions forced out of homes; Kaziranga national park inundated.
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'Those against whom I am fighting are very strong, they have money and political backing'
Mahesh Chandra Mehta, the environmental crusader who won this year's Magsaysay Award for public service, says the honour has given him renewed strength to carry on his ''isolated'' battle.
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Hostage drama continues as Veerappan fails to contact authorities
The Tamil Nadu government is making hectic efforts to contact the brigand to secure the release of the nine hostages in captivity.
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Kerala govt to advertise to end allegations of persecution
The arrest of M V Raghavan, the CPI-M renegade, stirs a hornet's nest.
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JULY 16

UF crisis
blows over
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and Industries Minister Murasoli Maran says DMK president M Karunanidhi's threat to pull out of the Gujral government was only intended to strengthen the United Front.
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Laloo wins trust vote
The Congress did not participate in the voting while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (Soren), the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (Mardi) and the Jharkhand Peoples Party voted in favour of the motion.
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Laloo's win boosts RJD's chances of entry into United Front
The legislative triumph will upset the chief minister's critics within the ruling central coalition.
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'The dalit reawakening will be a violent one -- they want an eye for an eye'
In a hard-hitting piece, Arun Mhatre, the wellknown Marathi poet, explains the reasons for the dalit fury in Maharashtra this week.
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Environmental crusader M C Mehta wins Magsaysay Award
The lawyer who fought to save the Taj Mahal and clean up the Ganga wins the prestigious prize.
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Tussle with TMC may be behind DMK's bombshell
Prime Minister Gujral is rattled as rivals try to exploit the fissures in the United Front.
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Delhi high court asks Centre, Congress to file replies in Kesri case
The judges asked the additional solicitor general to identify the NRIs who had donated the funds to the party.
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Thackeray meets governor; tells cadres to behave
The Shiv Sena chief had an hour-long meeting with the governor, and has instructed his party activists to desist from acts of vandalism.
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Mayawati shatters saffron dreams
The chief minister feigns illness to avoid L K Advani's yatra.
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'I thought she would be different from other politicians. But she turned out to be the worst'
Latha, the wellknown Tamil actress, has just joined the rival AIADMK faction. The scene is now set for a bitter clash between MGR's former heroines, Latha and Jayalalitha. In a frank and exclusive interview, Latha lashes out at Jayalalitha.
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'Clashes rocked TN as backward caste elite couldn't digest the poor's victory'
The grassroot political leadership is shifting towards a new class of young, literate, lower and middle income groups belonging to the depressed castes, poor and women, according to a recent survey.
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With mixed signals from India, Gama's celebrations begin in Portugal
Amidst hostility in India -- especially in Kerala and Goa about Gama being a forerunner of colonialism -- a joint celebration between Portugal and India has run into rough weather.
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Ignorance makes breast cancer leading killer of Indian women
India's health delivery system is still not sensitive towards the socio-cultural aspects of diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer patients, says Dr Tarang Patel of the Ahmedabad-based Yash Oncosurgical Institute.
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JULY 15

Another Crisis!
The United Front confronted another crisis on Monday with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam announcing its decision to pull out of the Gujral government. The DMK feels like "a fish out of water in the Front," says party president M Karunanidhi.
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DMK wants to teach CPI-M a lesson
"You should not be surprised if at the end of it all, we return to the ministry unscathed, and the Leftists are muted. In a way, it means freeing Gujral from the CPI-M's bondage. Why, that could even lead to the Leftists leaving the United Front," says a DMK source.
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Supreme Court judges admit to "tremendous" pressure in hawala case
After making a revelation unprecedented in Indian judicial history, the judges pull up the CBI director and former director for talking too much to the press.
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Karnataka, Tamil Nadu promise pardon for Veerappan
The Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments have agreed to an offer of surrender by the notorious brigand, Veerappan, and promised him that he will not be killed.
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95 per cent turn-out in Presidential poll
After the polling, the ballot boxes were sealed and brought to Parliament house for safe custody. The counting of votes will be taken up at 11 am on Thursday, July 17. The result will be declared a few hours later.
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Supplementary defence budget on its way
Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav confirmed that proposals for urgent requirements are being prepared in his ministry. These would be ready for submission to the finance ministry in about a week's time.
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CBI applies for extradition of Beant Singh 'killers'
The Central Bureau of Investigation has initiated action to extradite three Punjab militants from the US, Britain and Germany for their alleged involvement in the assassination of Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.
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Punjab CM calls all-party meet to discuss law and order situation
Attempts are on to destroy communal harmony in the state, warns Badal.
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Mixed response to Maharashtra bandh
Rumours rife, but little violence in state.
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BJP blasts Congress for politicising statue desecration issue
Demand for President's rule in Maharashtra while keeping on mum on Bihar exposes the Congress's double standards, says the BJP.
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Right to Information Bill introduced in Goa assembly
Bowing to pressure from organisations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Goa became the second state in the country to move towards a Right to Information Act, but one that makes many allowances for secrecy.
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'I shall never be silent,' says Bangladeshi exile Taslima Nasreen
The writer vows to fight Muslim fundamentalism.
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Nepal finds gender equality on wheels
And a revolution begins in the Chitwan valley.
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