No more pampering Jaya, says BJP
The BJP appears to have decided to take a hard line with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief J Jayalalitha and does not seem to shy away from a showdown. This assumes significance as the Coordination Committee is scheduled to meet in Delhi on June 27. It is uncertain at present whether Jayalalitha will attend the meet.

Rupee, stocks stage recovery
After the sustained fall in the last one week, the rupee and stock markets on Wednesday showed signs of a recovery. Stemming the slide and bringing sanity to the financial markets, the rupee recovered by nearly 20 paise at 42.68/70 and the sensex (BSE sensitive index) by 106 points. The stock market recovery was mainly attributed to renewed buying by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and short-covering by bear operators.

Emperor Clinton takes entire White House with him to China
Call it Emperor Bill Clinton's royal entourage. As the leader of the free world embarks today on the first visit to Communist China by a US President after the Tiananmen massacre, the size and sweep of his retinue compares favourably with that of a medieval monarch on a grand tour. In fact, it is such a titanic journey that one advance agent was quoted as saying the White House was moving to China. In hackdom, the joke is everyone who is anyone in Washington is leaving -- except Monica Lewinsky and Ken Starr.

LEISURE
  Appetising move: Paper from banana stem
  Painters cook up art

SPORTS
  Draw dashes South African hopes
  Moroccan marvel ends in tears

EXPRESSIONS
  The enemy is self-doubt
  For Russia, it's beyond the call of duty

BUSINESS
  US to ban private bank loans to India, Pakistan
  New panel to overhaul Companies Act

GENERAL
  Govt proposes multi-member vigilance panel
  TN warned against opposing Cauvery project

POLITICS
  Kalyan govt paints Lucknow saffron
  Form government if you can, BJP dares Left, Congress