PM talks Kargil, flaunts Agni
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday deftly overcame the handicap of his caretaker status and used his Independence Day speech to present his credentials to the nation as the man to lead India into the 21st century.

Five killed in J&K, blasts rock N-E
In stepped up violence on Independence Day, five security personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir amid a Hurriyat Conference-sponsored general strike while blasts rocked Assam and Nagaland following a 17-hour bandh.

India's claim on Ladakh road denied by China
China has refused to admit India's claim that the road built in the forward Ladakh area infringed on a pocket that has been recognised and registered as disputed by the Joint Working Group (JWG), the Army's Northern Command said.

  Electronic voting in 47 LS constituencies
  I-Day Sidelights
  Centre's stand on top PSU posts challenged
  Train mishaps averted
  Bid on CM -- Police divided over news leak
  Kerala power project grinds to a halt
  Hazare fasting again
  New agro body to face economic challenges
  Bombs seized in Andhra district
  Centre clears Pope's November visit to India
  Faulty BSES transformer damages gadgets
  DD is too late in airing pictures of missing persons
  Kashmir -- China moots frank Indo-Pak talks
  Truth panel delves into women's deaths
  Diary shows architect of Holocaust showed no remorse before execution
  Emergency in Chechnya as conflict rages in Dagestan
  China floods toll touches 825
  4 tourists abducted by gunmen in Iran
  Clashes mar bombing anniversary in N Ireland
  US scholar restores old-world Marathi
  Varsity gives Marathi Centre of attention
  Highway to Ahmedabad takes turn for the worse
  Kargil high on Independence Day agenda
  Mumbai Beat
  Billionth baby is nine months away
  Quicktakes
  Police unearth stamp duty scam
  India facing new offensive by Islamic terrorists, says report
  BMC says it cannot afford cellphones for ward officers
  Sweeper stabbed to death at Khar
  Mumbai Notes
  44 trees illegally hacked at VJTI campus
  Pakistani smuggler denied bail
  Chandigarh Headlines
  Rich tributes paid to Kargil heroes on 53rd I-Day
  President's Police Medal for two
  Poor hygiene continues to dog PU hostels
  All schools closed today
  Vegetable prices stabilise
  Sector 37 house burgled
  No code violation -- Upinderjit
  Crime Beat -- Chandigarh
  Rashtriya Dal flays govt on one rank, one pension scheme
  Samtel opens branch office
  Free coaching for needy students
  In Brief -- Chandigarh
  Handicapped celebrate I-Day
  Joy Lal's wife honoured
  Adiwal unfurls national flag
  Headmaster, four teachers honoured for services
  Sacrifices of martyrs lauded
  Apang opens hotel management institute
  Mohali MC to give Rs 20 lakh to martyrs
  Artists seek their pound of flesh
  Pensioners to back party which will support their cause
  Four Patiala residents honoured
  Liquor shops remained open in Kharar on dry day
  Cultural function held for patiala jail inmates on I-Day
  Stop illegal slaughter of cattle, Maneka tells DC
  City Scape