NEWS
Militants kill 2 soldiers in J&K ambush
Three persons, including two army soldiers, were killed and ten others wounded and scores of shops and homes burnt down when a gun battle broke out between security forces and militants at Pattan on the Srinagar-Baramulla National Highway.

NEWS
India hems and haws on Karmapa's future as China frowns
'As of today, we are still inquiring into the arrival of the Karmapa Lama to India,' said a ministry of external affairs spokesperson.

NEWS
Sonia draws flak for staid performance in Parliament
While those who have politically parted company with her are the most disparaging, her detractors within the party are subtler, primarily to escape disciplinary action.

NEWS
Maulana Masood Azhar's speeches do rounds of Kanpur
According to the police, several copies of the tapes are circulating in this communally sensitive town.

NEWS
Orissa turns Naxal haven as AP, MP step up pressure
But the influx has hardly put any pressure on the Orissa government which remains cool to the issue.

BUSINESS INTERVIEW
'We must benchmark ourselves against the best in the world'
'The creation of wealth is very badly needed in India because we need to create more and more jobs. I don't see that happening in the agricultural sector. So we have to move more and more people from agriculture to industry,' says Infosys chairman N R Narayanamurthy.

MONEY
Superior returns but higher risk
Dhirendra Kumar examines the three new sector funds launched by Alliance Capital.

MONEY
Real estate is hot again
A rate war among housing finance companies, increase in foreign direct investment and a positive stock market have resulted in an increased activity in the Indian real estate market. A Brooke International report.

SPORTS
'Computers don't win games because they are superior to humans. This is a myth. They win games because of psychology'
In the second part of his conversation with Shobha Warrier, Vishwanathan Anand discusses, among other things, the role of computers in contemporary chess.

MOVIES
'Mela' opens to decent audience
But the Aamir-Dharmesh combo is unable to repeat the 'Raja Hindustani' magic.

MOVIES
'Mela' is No 1
After weeks of reigning at the top slot, 'Hum Saath-Saath Hain' finally loses out to the Aamir-Dharmesh combination.

REDIFF DIARY
Facing the music
The audio release of Kamal Haasan's 'Hey! Ram' proves to be a lavish affair.

MUSIC
Breaking new ground
Melissa Etheridge wows once again with 'Breakdown', an album comprising songs straight-from-the-heartland.

SPECIAL
'Infosys results are lower than expected'
'That is why the stock price is falling,' Kaiomurz Motawara, equity analyst, Motilal Oswal Securities tells the Rediff Chat.

COLUMNS
Over a surreal horizon
'India needs prime ministers who, should they wear bangles, also possess balls of steel -- like Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher or Golda Meir. Ram Mandir doesn't bother us; the UCC can await a debate; Article 370 is a complex Constitutional issue; but there is NO excuse -- not even 150 "innocent" lives -- for bowing to terrorists. Are security personnel's lives not innocent...?' says Varsha Bhosle

Do it yourself
'Why should India await the world's signal to call off all ties with Pakistan? What is it about our western neighbour that so paralyses our thinking, that so archives our emotions, that petrifies our actions? Will the skies fall on our heads if we do to Pakistan what we are in effect urging the world to do first?' asks Saisuresh Sivaswamy.

What's 'hard', what's 'soft'?
'If what is "hard" can become "soft" in just about 20 months, what is "soft" can surely be transformed into "hard" in two weeks. Remember, circumstances alter cases,' says Arvind Lavakare.

Timely break for Bury
Baichung Bhutia is relieved that Bury FC has no match for the next 11 days as it gives him a chance to shake off the calf strain and push for a starting place for the next match against Wrexham.