NEW DELHI: The SC has cautioned courts against basing conviction of an accused solely on a dying declaration which is not corroborated by other evidence on record. ``In order that a dying declaration may form the sole basis for conviction without the need for independent corroboration, it must be shown that the person making it had the opportunity of identifying the person implicated and is thoroughly reliable and free from blemish,'' the court said.

Nishant tested

BALASORE (ORISSA): The indigenously-built unmanned aircraft Nishant was successfully test-fired on Wednesday from Interim Test Range at Chandipur-on-Sea. However, there was no confirmation from Pakistan on the test-firing of the 3000 km range Ghauri-III missile slated for today. Pakistan has reportedly banned officials from making any statements on missile programmes.

Check Dalai: China

NEW DELHI: China has asked India to stop ``splitting activities'' of Dalai Lama fromIndian soil as part of measures to improve relations. ``India should not allow the Dalai to do any political and `splitting' activities against China from India,'' its envoy said.