New Delhi, Apr 13: President Pratibha Patil today greeted the nation ahead of the festivals of Bihu, Naba Barsh and Vishu, which fall tomorrow.

In her message, she has said: "On the auspicious occasion of Rongali Bihu, Naba Barsh, Puthandu Pirappu, and Vishu, I extend my greetings and good wishes to all my countrymen."

Darshan nagar village/Madna village (Faizabad), Apr 13: The Uttar Pradesh Government is involving villagers in digging of a sewage line and a pond to generate employment.

In Darshan Nagar village under the Purabazar province in Faizabad district, a sewage line is being dug in front of the concrete houses.

The construction work is being done under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) promoted by the Ministry of Rural Development.

Varanasi, Apr 13: One person was killed and two injured here on Monday after a fire broke out in a lane full of shops.

A transformer in the lane caught fire and gradually the flames spread to the entire area engulfing three saree shops.

Residents complained that the fire went out of control because of the carelessness of the administration.

Srinagar, Apr 13: National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Monday said that he would raise ''very important'' issues in Parliament after the elections, including the matter of resuming the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan.

Talking to reporters here, Abdullah said: "We will raise very important issues in the Parliament after the elections. One such issue will be a discussion on Indo-Pak relations and resumption of the stalled dialogue between the two countries."

New York, Apr. 13: The long time lesbian lover of tennis great Martina Navratilova is threatening to wash their dirty laundry in public if she doesn''t get a settlement to her liking based on their eight years together.

"There are a lot of skeletons in Martina''s closet. It is more like a storage facility full of them, and I know them all," the New York Post quoted Toni Layton, as saying.

Patna, Apr 13: Janata Dal- United (JD-U) leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh `Lalan' on Monday filed a defamation case against former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi for making inflammatory remarks against him and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar earlier this month.

The complaint said such malicious and slanderous statements did not behove a former Chief Minister.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate A. K. Jha received the case under Section 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).