Pak. staffer expelled
India has expelled a member of the Pakistani High Commission for ``indulging in activities incompatible with his official status''.

Rain devastates A.P., toll 95
About 95 people have died in Andhra Pradesh, and life came to a standstill in Hyderabad, with three-fourths of the city coming under water in the torrential rain that lashed the State capital in the last two days.

Woman loses sons, dies
A woman gave up her life while her efforts to save her two sons from the swirling flood waters failed today. The tragedy occurred while the three were being lifted by an IAF helicopter at Kotharajuvaripeta in Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh.

Shimon Peres meets PM
Close on the heels of the visit by the Palestinian leader, Mr. Yasser Arafat, the former Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Shimon Peres, arrived here today to brief Indian leaders on the state of the West Asian peace process.

Veerappan disappointed with response?
The much awaited reply from the forest brigand Veerappan to the ``responses'' of the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Governments to his 14-point charter of demands for the release of the Kannada actor, Mr. Rajkumar, and three others, will be discussed by the Chief Ministers of the two States here tomorrow.

Pak. alleges unprovoked firing
Pakistan has accused Indian troops of launching an ``unprovoked attack'' across the Line of Control in the Rawalkot sector around 3.30 a.m. on Thursday. A statement by a military spokesman said two Pakistani soldiers were killed and two were missing.

Uma Bharti meets PM, firm on quitting
Ms. Uma Bharti, who met the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, for 50 minutes today is firm that she wants to quit the Lok Sabha. She also met the Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, for an hour and explained that she was neither dissatisfied with the functioning of the Government nor with that of the party.

Urea scam accused held
The CBI today formally arrested the London- based Brazilian businessman, Mr. A. E. Pinto (left in the photograph), one of the main accused in the Rs.133-crore urea scam soon after his arrival here after being extradited from Britain. Mr. Pinto was brought by a three-member CBI team to the agency's headquarters, where he was taken into custody.

14 killed, RDX seized
Security forces shot dead 14 militants in encounters, smashed several militant hideouts and seized a big cache of arms and explosives, including 50 kg. of RDX, but lost two of their personnel in Jammu and Kashmir since yesterday, a spokesman said here today.

Telecom strike
No untoward incident was reported on the first day of the two-day nation-wide telecom strike called by the pro-CPI(M) unions against corporatisation/privatisation of the Telecommunications Department.

Indian crew member among victims in Gulf Air crash
An Indian woman cabin attendant was among the 143 passengers and crew killed when a Gulf Air flight GF 072 crashed into the sea near Manama (Bahrain) late on Wednesday night.