New Delhi, Oct 21 : Minister of Labour and Employment Oscar Fernandes has informed the Lok Sabha that Uttar Pradesh tops in child labour prevention followed by Rajasthan and Bihar as the maximum number of children in the age group of 5-14 year were rescued and rehabilitated.

During the year 2007-08, Fernandes said 71,479 children were withdrawn from work and enrolled in special schools under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh was followed by Rajasthan and Bihar where 39,601 and 34,650 children were withdrawn from work and enrolled in special schools.

New Delhi, Oct 21 : Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora today said that the present volatility in the global economy has affected India and though the Government is trying its best to overcome the present difficult times, it is the duty of each one of us to use the hydrocarbon fuels prudently and in most efficient way.

Speaking at a function here, Deora said unless we adopt such technologies which help us to increase fuel efficiency leading to conservation of the fuels, it would be enormously difficult for us to sustain this level of growth.

Islamabad, Oct. 21 : Lawmakers in Pakistan, it seems, don''t have the stomach for battling militants.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is reported to have sent a letter on Monday to Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, calling for dialogue with militants.

The letter suggested a halt in military operations while negotiations were given a chance, according to Ahsan Iqbal, an aide to Sharif.

Sharif, according to the New York Times, believes that there is no harm in talking with the militants, though he has sought to differentiate between them and the Taliban, and Al Qaeda.

New Delhi, Oct 21 : Photo electoral rolls will be used all over the country, except in the north eastern states, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami said.

Addressing the National Police Academy in Hyderabad, Gopalaswami said that though the process of issuing electoral photo identity cards started in 1995, 100 per cent success has never been achieved for several reasons.

He said a list of missing voters was also being prepared in each polling station to ensure the eligible persons did not lose their voting right.

The CEC said multi-level checking of electoral rolls was being undertaken to compare the 18-plus population as per census data with the number of registered voters.

Kiev  - Relatives of a mostly-Ukrainian crew held hostage aboard a ship off the Somali coast are preparing to pay a ransom demanded by pirates, a crew spokeswoman told the Ukrainian Fakty newspaper

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 21 : Armed pirates in speedboats have hijacked an Indian dhow with 13 crew members off the northern coast of Somalia, a maritime official has said.

The cargo-laden vessel was en route to Somalia when it was seized over the weekend, said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur, on Saturday.