A convict serving life sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case has sought the help of Supreme Court seeking his premature release on the ground that he has already served a jail term of 14 years. The Court on Friday issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu govt. on a petition filed by V Ravichandran, the convict.

Court issued the notice after counsel for Ravichandran submitted that the convict's plea be considered by the Advisory Board along with three others Nalini, S.Jeyakumar and Robert Payas whose application is already pending with the State Government.

New Delhi, Oct 17 : Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon today summoned Sri Lankan High Commissioner C R Jayasinghe to convey India''s concerns over Sri Lankan army’s offensive against ethnic Tamils in the island nation.

According to reports, Menon told Jayasinghe that Sri Lanka should take steps to address India''s concerns over humanitarian situation there and stop killing and harassment of Indian fishermen. 

Lahore, Oct 17 : At the bi-annual meeting between India’s Border Security Force (BSF) Pakistani Rangers officials here last evening, the two countries decided to conduct joint patrols along the border to curb smuggling.

Both sides also agreed to eliminate smuggling and drug trafficking and to counter the problem firmly. Besides, they decided to provide early information to each other regarding practice firing of small arms at ranges located close to the international border to avoid any misunderstanding.

These decisions were announced during a joint press briefing of the Pakistan Rangers and the BSF.

Agra, Oct. 17 : Visiting the Taj Mahal, the magnificent monument of love in Agra, charms people from all over the world. That fascination doubles when an opportunity is provided to view the white marble monument under moonlight.

About 25 years ago, during Sharad Purnima, which occurs exactly a fortnight before Diwali, the festival of lights, people in thousands would converge to watch the marble wonder glowing under natural moonlight. It looks beguiling.

Sadly now, the number of people now converging to view this spectacle has reduced drastically. This time on Sharad Purnima only 260 visitors watched the Taj Mahal under moonlight.

At last the Orissa govt. has decided to act for the major cause of tribals.

The non-tribals holding tribal lands in the scheduled areas of the state will be evicted. The state revenue and disaster management department has issued instructions in this regard to the district collectors and sub-collectors in the scheduled areas. The districts, where the problem of grabbing of tribal land by non-tribals is rampant, include Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri, Raygada, Gajapati, Nawarangapur, Sundergarh, Mayurbhanja, Keonjhar.

Besides, some areas in the Balasore (Nilagiri) and Sambalpur district (Kuchinda) are also included in the scheduled areas.

New Delhi, Oct 17 : A Bill on the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) was introduced in the Rajya Sabha today.

The bill is aimed at incorporating provisions in the existing law to combat financing of terrorism. It also introduces a new category of offences, which have cross border implications.

Under the bill, the Enforcement Directorate will be empowered to search the premises immediately after the offence is committed and the police has filed a report under the Code of Criminal Procedures.