Srinagar, Mar 30: Kashmir is experiencing the effects of global warming, with high altitude glaciers retreating at an unprecedented rate, thus threatening the eco-system of the valley.

Owing to global warming, most of the small glaciers in Kashmir have melted totally, while the larger ones have decreased in size.

According to a study carried out by the Action Aid International (AAI) last year, many areas in Kashmir have seen a complete disappearance of small glaciers.

Katra, March 30 : On the occasion of Navratri festival, the famous Vaishno Devi temple near Jammu has been decorated with special flowers brought from Norway, Sweden, Russia, and other foreign countries.

Officials related to Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board say that this is for the first time that flowers that the temple has been decorated with imported flowers.

The countries from where the flowers have been imported also include Austria, United Kingdom and Australia.

Chandigarh, Mar 30 : Punjab Cooperation Minister Kanwaljit Singh, who was killed in a road accident on Sunday, would be cremated today at Chandigarh Sector 25 cremation ground at 2 p. m.

In the honour of Singh, the Punjab Government has announced a three-day state mourning. All the state government offices would remain closed today as a mark of respect to the 67-year old Shiromani Akali Dal leader.

Gangtok, Mar 30 : Sikkim is blooming these days with ongoing orchid flower festival 2009'.

The flower show commenced on March 21 at the exhibition center of Gangtok.

The flower show is already a hit with the visiting tourists as well as the resident, who are thronging the venue. The show is also drawing foreign tourists in droves.

"These flowers are just amazing and very beautiful. They are perfect. I just love them", said Marina, tourist from Moscow.

New Delhi, Mar 30: India condemned the deadly terror attack on a police training centre in Lahore on Monday.

Offering deepest sympathies to the people of Pakistan, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said, "We are deeply concerned and condemn the terror attack."

Talking to reporters here, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma asked Pakistan to continue dismantling the terror infrastructure on its soil.

Mumbai, March 30 : A special court here today appointed Anjali Waghmare as the new lawyer for Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive in the Mumbai terror attacks last year.

Waghmare, who is a lawyer from the state legal aid cell, will now represent Kasab.

Kasab, during an earlier court hearing on March 23, had said he wanted a lawyer to represent him during the trial and was ready to accept a government-appointed lawyer.

During the hearing, Kasab had also accepted the fact that he hailed from Faridkot in Pakistan.