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Vajpayee confers with top Chinese leadership

          Beijing, June 24: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Tuesday met with Central Military Commission Chairman and former President Jiang Zemin. He also met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, who took over only in March, and Vice-President Zeng Qinghong. Vajpayee is in China on a six-day visit, the first by an Indian prime minister in a decade, and is likely to set the stage for greater political and trade links between the giant neighbours. Vajpayee also visited the Forbidden City, the imperial palace grounds, on Tuesday.

          He held talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and signed a series of bilateral agreements on Monday, with both sides laying out a vision of a new, closer relationship. The two countries also signed a declaration on Monday which has not been made public but is expected to give a push to resolving territorial disputes.

          Nuclear-armed China and India fought a brief border war in 1962 and despite a thaw in relations, and years of talks, have failed to pin down exactly where their 3,500 km border lies.

          Speaking at a symposium on Sino-Indian economic cooperation, Vajpayee said India's relationship with China, long bedevilled by mutual suspicion and border disputes, has been transformed to cooperate and deal with problems. "There was a period in the India-China relationship when our preoccupation with our differences prevented a pragmatic understanding of the mutual benefits from cooperation. Our present course of developing all-round bilateral cooperation while simultaneously adjusting our differences has transformed the quality of our relationship. This has helped to further narrow our differences and to accelerate our cooperation. Of course, we have much further to go to relay the full potential of our partnership," he said.

Sino-Indian panel to draw up plan for closer economic cooperation    (REPORT)
US pleased with Vajpayee's China success   (REPORT)
'Someone' is suspicious of my China visit, says Vajpayee   (REPORT)

Pak to be categorically told by US to end `terror' in Kashmir: Report (Go To Top)

          Washington, June 24: Notwithstanding Pakistan's recent utterances that there was no activity' on the LoC, and that it was not aiding and abetting terrorist strikes in Jammu and Kashmir, the US will be categorically asking Pakistan to end its support to the Kashmiri organisations and "terrorists" along the Line of Control (LoC), according to a US source quoted by the News on Tuesday. According to the source, the point blank ultimatum for Pakistan to end `terror' in Kashmir will be one of the main issues to be raised by the United States at the crucial Camp David discussions between President Musharraf and President Bush.

Konkan Railway mishap toll 51 (Go To Top)

          Mumbai, June 24: The toll in the Konkan Railway accident has risen to 51 with the recovery of 17 more bodies from the mangled coaches of the Mumbai-bound holiday special. Sixty unjured passengers have been admitted to various hospitals at Oros, Ratnagiri, Kankavli and Goa. Rerscue operations are continuing amidst heavy rains. Late on Sunday night, the 14-coach train derailed between Vaibhawadi and Rajapur stations, 350 km from here, following a major landslide caused by a downpour. This was the first major accident that the Konkan Railway has witnessed since its inception in 1996.

Sikh pilgrims due in Lahore on 26th (Go To Top)

          Lahore, June 24: As many as 500 Sikh pilgrims are arriving here on June 26 through Wagah on a 10-day visit. During their three-day stay at Gurdwara Dera Sahib, they will observe the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. Dawn daily reported the Sikh pilgrims will visit Gurdwara Rorri Sahib in Eminabad, Gujranwala district, on June 28. They will go to Gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hasan Abdal on June 30. On the last leg of their visit, the pilgrims will visit Gurdwara Janam Asthan at Nankana Sahib. The pilgrims will leave for India through Wagah on July 5.

WHO lifts SARS advisory on Beijing (Go To Top)

          Beijing, June 24: The World Health Organization Tuesday lifted its travel advisory on Beijing and removed it from the list of areas affected by SARS. On Sunday Hong Kong was also taken off the SARS list. The WHO decision is based on a comprehensive analysis of the situation in Beijing, Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, said at a press conference. Beijing is now removed from the list of areas with recent local transmission.

House adjourned indefinitely over sex scandal (Go To Top)

          Dehra Dun, June 24: The sex scandal involving the Revenue Minister Harak Singh Rawat once again rocked the Uttaranchal assembly on Tuesday. As soon as the House assembled, the opposition members stormed into the well of the House demanding admission of a no-confidence motion. However, their demand was rejected by Speaker Yashpal Arya. After that, looking at the tough stance of the opposition parties, the Speaker adjourned the assembly for an indefinite period. It was the third day when the assembly was adjourned over the sex scandal issue.

Trishul test-fired for third successive day (Go To Top)

          Balasore, June 24: Trishul, the short-range surface-to-air missile, was successfully test-fired on Tuesday, the third consecutive day, from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Orissa. It was test-fired from a mobile launcher at a micro light unmanned aircraft at about 1.20 pm following tests on both Sunday and Monday, according to defence sources. Developed by the scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Trishul is propelled by solid fuel and has a triple battlefield role for the Army, Air Force and Navy. It has a range of 500 metres to nine km, and can carry a 15 kg payload.

Bottomlines

Haunted Schiffer calls in the Ghost busters (Go To Top)

          London, June 24: Supermodel Claudia Schiffer has called in ghost busters to rid her house of evil spirits. According to a report in People News, a ghost club called 'Spooky' warned the German model that Coldham Hall, the Suffolk mansion she shares with husband Matthew Vaughn, is haunted. A spectral nun called Penelope was believed to be haunting the place. The Vaughns had also been told to beware two cursed pictures, which might bring the couple and their new son bad luck if removed. Schiffer called upon the famous ghost hunter Elizabeth Bridgeman for help. "Elizabeth came and did her stuff and the atmosphere in the house has changed already. What she did to rid the house of the ghost no one is quite sure, but Claudia seems very happy with the results," says a friend of the actress. Friends also believe that Schiffer, who was once engaged to magician David Copperfield, has been targeted by the spirit world since the christening of her son, Caspar.

'Charlie's Angels' stunts nearly got me killed: Barrymore (Go To Top)

          New York, June 24: Doing stunts for the 'Charlie's Angels' sequel created hell for Drew Barrymore. The Hollywood hottie nearly died on set after a stunt went wrong. The 28-year old actress was strapped to a car travelling at 40 mph when her harness came undone. She also revealed she cracked her tailbone filming another scene, according to a report in the Mirror. Drew, who plays Dylan in movie sequel 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle', said, "I got hurt. First, I got harnessed onto a car that fishtailed down the road and my harness came off, so I nearly died". "There was one stunt where I had to be hurled into a chair and I cracked my tailbone", the 'Poison Ivy' star added.

Adam Sandler marries girlfriend Jackie Titone (Go To Top)

          New York, June 24: In typically lavish Hollywood style, comic actor Adam Sandler has married his 28-year-old girlfriend Jackie Titone in Malibu. The 'Anger Management' star worked with Jackie in the 1999 flop 'Big Daddy', according to a report in People News. The ocean front ceremony was attended by a celeb-packed congregation. Guests, including Jack Nicholson, Winona Ryder, Sharon Osbourne, Dustin Hoffman, Rob Schneider and Quentin Tarantino were ferried to the wedding in buses from the nearby Malibu High School where Adam had arranged for them to drive into a large tent to avoid prying cameras. Privacy-loving Sandler went to extremes to prevent unwanted paparazzi attention, floating giant balloons above the grounds of the marquee to avoid helicopters and the pesky long lenses of the photographers inside, the report added.

15-year old reads 766 pages of Harry Potter in 104 mins (Go To Top)

          London, June 24: It's all about reading as fast as you can. To win a bookshop contest, Jennifer Gosling, a girl of 15, read the 766 pages of the latest Potter book in just 104 minutes - a rate of 8.5 pages a minute. According to a report in the Sun, she was up against nine fellow classmates and teacher Anne Jones - who is the world champion at speed-reading. Ms Jones, 51, and two pupils from Burleigh College, Loughborough, finished ahead of Jennifer at around 101 minutes at a Manchester shop after the novel went on sale at midnight on Saturday. But Jennifer was pronounced the winner by officials who quizzed the contestants on how much they could remember about the book, says the report. Ms Jones set the world record for "effective speed reading" in 2001 at 1,347.8 words per minute. She said: "I thought the pupils would give me a run for my money and they did."