Chandigarh administration has on Friday announced to ban auto-rickshaws from ferrying schoolchildren.

This will be effective from Jan1, 2009.

Chandigarh's state transport authority secretary Vandana Disodia said the administration's decision has been conveyed to the auto-rickshaw union and its members.

In a significant development, Pakistan had stopped the visit of famous Ghazal singer Ghulam Ali to India.

Ghulam Ali was scheduled to visit eight cities of India and perform there.

The ghazal maestro was to kick-off his umpteenth India visit - this time with Bihar's Rajgir Mahotsava on Saturday.

After this sudden development Ghulam Ali told an Indian English daily over phone that, "Hum sadme mein hain. Hamein roka gaya hai (I am traumatised. I have been stopped from travelling)."

Two Naxalites were killed in a gun battle with the police near a village in Bijapur area of Chhattisgarh on Friday.

The exchange of fire took place when the extremists were trying to attack a police camp near Pamalvaia village in Bijapur area, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) A N Upadhya said.

A rifle and explosives were recovered from the site, he said.

The Naxalites attacked the Chhattisgarh Armed Police Force (CAF) camp, following which the police returned fire, killing two of them, Upadhya said.

Prominent OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal was on Friday named as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra by the Sharad Pawar-led NCP.

Bhujbal, besides taking charge of Deputy CM’s post will have an additional responsibility of Home Ministry.

"Our state legislature party has decided that Chhagan Bhujbal will be the leader," NCP supremo Sarad Pawar said.

Bhujbal succeeds RR Patil, who had quit owning moral responsibility for the Mumbai terror attacks.

The Orissa High Court on Friday directed Crime Branch to conduct the identification parade of catholic nun, who allegedly raped during kandhamal violence, at Cuttack.

The single judge bench of Justice B K Patal, which had earlier completed hearing on the nun's petition, did not, however, fix any date for the TIP.

Accordingly the prosecution (crime branch of Orissa police) was directed to make an application before the court of the sub-divisional judicial magistrate at Baliguda in Kandhamal district for further action.

Maharashtra chief minister-designate Ashok Chavan said that the security of his state would be his "top priority".

"The aam aadmi (common man) is not concerned with who is chief minister or the deputy chief minister. They just want the administration to be strong," Chavan, the son of former union home minister S. B. Chavan, said.

He said, "I will do everything to strengthen the state police force so that carnages of the kind that occurred last week were not repeated."