After a gap of almost a fortnight, intermittent rains lashed Mumbai and its suburbs last night, bringing relief to the people who were reeling in the hot and humid temperature. The Weather Bureau has forecast occasional rains and thundershowers for the city and suburbs in the next 24 hours. A bureau spokesperson said there is no indication that the monsoon will withdraw from the state by September 30, which is normally the end of the monsoon season in the western parts of the country.

`Pak firm taking advantage'

The Mumbai-based Adam and Company, dragged into a controversy over the sugar import row by the Pakistan-based Fauji Foundation, has denied all allegations and said there was a move to generate unnecessary controversy and take mileage out of it. ``Fauji Foundation is trying to implicate us and make capital out of media reports and it is fuelling controversy,'' said leading exporter-importer of sugar Haroon Adam, proprietor of the city-based Adam andCompany.

There is no dispute, they are just trying to rake up the issue unnecessarily, he said. According to reports, the Pakistani high commission recently intervened on behalf of the Karachi-based export house, Fauji Foundation, which is run by ex-servicemen and have dashed a letter to the Ministry of Commerce alleging the deals with Adam and Company were unfair and disputed.

US grant for AIDS control drive

The World Bank and USAID will give $ 41.5 million to Maharashtra for the AIDS control programme. An agreement will be signed on Tuesday, an official release said. Financial aid will be provided for the AIDS control project `Avert' for seven years to increase effective responses for reducing the transmission of, and mitigating the impact of , AIDS and related infectious diseases.

MJCTU poll

In the just-concluded elections of the Mumbai Junior College Teachers Union (MJCTU), A J Singh and M R Andhalkar were elected as president and general secretary respectively.