SPORTS
India beat Pakistan by five wickets
A superb bowling and fielding performance, and a fine 50 by Azhar, saw India bounce back from yesterday's defeat to pick up two points in the Sharjah triseries. Prem Panicker reports.

THE CLINTON VISIT
Indo-US pacts touch $2 billion
'These agreements are win-win for India and the United States,' Daley said.

THE CLINTON VISIT
Clinton is a hit in Nayala
He broke security cordons, shook hands, engaged in persiflage and even broke out into a dance.

THE CLINTON VISIT
Narayanan's tough speech upsets PMO
'It was an unwanted and harsh speech. The prime minister's office and the ministry of external affairs were not aware that Narayanan would make a hard-hitting speech at a banquet,' said an official.

THE CLINTON VISIT
India, US finalise terms for trade talks
Commerce Secretary William Daley thinks India is serious business. He says trade and investments between India and America are not only state issues and must be seen in the light of public-private-sector initiatives.

THE CLINTON VISIT
'In the next five years, Indo-US trade will be in favour of India'
'The US will invest in India's knowledge-based industries, but not in agriculture. We are information managers, that is where our expertise is, so let's make money out of this expertise,' says US-based Sunil Puri, chief executive, First Rockford Company.

THE CLINTON VISIT
'We are here as baraatis'
'Look at it this way. Clinton is spending five days in India and just five hours in Pakistan. You need not do any research to sense the deviation that the Indo-US relationship is going through,' says National Federation of Indian-American Associations chairman Subash Razdan.

THE CLINTON VISIT
The visit, in pictures
Sondeep Shankar catches up with Clinton in Rajasthan as Jewella C Miranda captures the mood in Bombay where the US president arrives on Friday evening.

SPECIAL
India's Vietnam
On March 23 exactly a decade ago, the IPKF returned from Sri Lanka after fighting an alien war. In an explosive series over the next fortnight, rediff.com uncovers facets of the operation that have never been revealed.

The IPKF was totally unprepared
Colonel John Taylor (retd), one of the first officers assigned to Sri Lanka, says the army was made to fight with one hand tied behind its back.

BUSINESS

Five airports up for grabs, says Sinha; 'India will be out of fiscal mess'
'The government is enacting a Fiscal Responsibility Act to help India permanently move out of the fiscal deficit problem,' the finance minister told US Commerce Secretary Bill Daley.

BUSINESS
Government liberalises acquisition norms
The finance ministry has eased the norms for overseas buyouts by IT, pharma and other knowledge-based companies to acquire businesses worth up to $100 million.

MARKET REPORT
Market@23 March: Sensex down 83 points
The market opened strongly, but failed to sustain itself at higher levels. Software stocks showed a mixed trend. The pharma sector remained weak while cyclicals moved sideways.

INTERVIEW
'There's no reason for the PM to speak in English'
'I had expressed my feeling that it would be more pertinent for the prime minister of our country to give his speech in Hindi. Hindi hamari rashtra bhasha hai,' says Samajwadi leader Mulayam Singh Yadav.

NEWS
Sikhs demand Amnesty probe into massacre
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, leaders of the Kashmiri Sikh Joint Action Committee rejected a government offer to provide security to the community.

MOVIES
What does Shah Rukh want?
The Bollywood star is undecided between art and commerce.

MOVIES
'I find it difficult to handle success'
'I am not here to change anything. I am here to satisfy the people, the producer, the director and myself as an actor. I am just doing a job,' says Ajith, as he savours his latest hit, Mugavar

BOOKS
'We aim to make reading fun'
'Our books help in providing learning without hardship, they satisfy the curiosity of the child and convey the joy that comes from reading. They also provide more material than routine text books,' says Arvind Kumar, MD, Scholastic India.

MUSIC
A dull debut
Sapnay 2, an album by the Sa Re Ga Ma finalists, fails to impress.

COLUMNS
Whitewash for the White Man
'This is an appeal to you, President Clinton. Ask your Indian hosts to show you the real India. Ask that for the rest of us Indians. Because if you come to India, you should see our country as it is, as we do,' says Dilip D'Souza.

The Russian connection
'As a result of its lopsided policy, the US not only helped India win the naval war of 1971, but also helped its armed forces to become the most powerful in South Asia,' says Admiral (retd) J G Nadkarni.

Trademark disputes in cyberspace
'The biggest and best companies are suing each other, and precedents created by them will hopefully put an end to a lot of hanky-panky in the business,' feels Sucheta Dalal.

Woe and behold!
Sujata Prakash questions the secretive approach of the BCCI. And appeals for one of openness and planning if to defend, uphold and promote the glorious game of cricket in India.