Washington, Sept. 26 : House of Representatives Democrat Howard Berman, a known critic of the US-India civil nuclear deal, has told his fellow representatives that while he believes that integrating India into the global non-proliferation regime will be a positive step, he has concerns about "ambiguities" in the nuclear cooperation agreement that has been negotiated between the two countries.

Srinagar, Sept 25 : Suspected militants on Thursday shot dead a zonal president of People''s Democratic Party (PDP) in Baramulla District of Jammu and Kashmir.

In recent months, this is the first political killing in poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir.

Ghulam Mohammad Mir (58), PDP zonal president for Rafiabad belt, was gunned down by unidentified militants at 2 p. m. when he was moving in Dangiwacha market of Baramulla district, according to reports.

Kuala Lumpur, Sept. 25 : A group of 96 Indian non-governmental organizations want the Government to release the five Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) leaders detained before Deepavali next month.

According to The Star, they said it would be the best gift to the Indian community if the five -- M. Manoharan, P. Uthayakumar, V. Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and K. Vasanthakumar -- detained for 268 days under the Internal Security Act (ISA) were released.

At a meeting organized by the MIC Youth, they said they supported the appeal made by MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to free them.

Washington, Sept. 25 : US President Bush is under pressure to use a meeting with India''s Prime Minister today to press for urgent action to halt the anti-Christian riots that continue to sweep the subcontinent.

At least 45 Christians have been murdered by mobs of Hindu fanatics over the past month, according to church officials.

An estimated 50,000 people have been driven from their villages and 4,000 homes destroyed amid an upsurge in Hindu nationalism.

Amid evidence that the violence is spreading, a US federal commission has called on Bush, a Christian who has worn his faith on his sleeve while in office, to press the issue when he meets the Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh.

New Delhi, Sept 25 : Banking operations were affected as the strike call given by the employees union demanding settlement of issues like wage revision and termination of job outsourcing in banking sector among other issues entered the second day today.

According to reports, operations were almost paralysed in the public sector banks from various parts of the country.

However, cash needs of ordinary customers were met by ATMs.

On Wednesday, operations of state-run banks remained almost paralysed as about nine lakh employees went on stir.