ISLAMABAD: Pakistani intelligence operatives today abducted a staff member of the Indian High Commission here after severely assaulting him along with a security guard of the mission. Yograj Vij was beaten up along with the guard, T R Nair, on his doorstep by more than a dozen armed intelligence operatives before being abducted, high commission sources said. Vij's wife, who tried to stave off the attackers, was manhandled by the intelligence operatives and pushed away before he was bundled into a waiting car and taken away.

Dhaka bus arrives

PETRAPOLE (WEST BENGAL): Two buses, carrying 68 passengers from Bangladesh arrived here safely, reciprocating the June 19 run of buses from Calcutta to Dhaka.

Sahara fare cut

MUMBAI: Sahara Airlines has announced a further fare reduction on the Mumbai-Delhi sector. The Sahara economy class ticket will now cost Rs 3,555, airline sources said. The fare had earlier been slashed twice to Rs 3,800.

Marketsbuoyant

MUMBAI: The financial markets rallied on Monday as the prospects of an early end to the two-month-old India-Pakistan border conflict brightened following a joint US-Pak statement on the Kargil conflict.

Actor dead

PUNE: Marathi stage and film actor Vasant Shinde died here late last night at a nursing home. He was 88. Shinde was ailing since the last fortnight. He had acted in more than 170 films, over 100 plays and 50 loknatyas.