Northern Alliance captures Kabul
Kabul: Northern Alliance fighters captured Afghanistan's capital Kabul after the city was abandoned by the Taliban under cover of darkness.

Heavily-armed Alliance troops took over military bases, roamed the city, hunting down Taliban stragglers and their Arab, Pakistani and Chechen allies from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda movement.

For the first time in five years, music was played, some young men shaved off their beards or wore jeans - actions forbidden by the Taliban religious police who banned music and western dress and made beards compulsory for men.

Opposition defence minister Gen. Mohammad Fahim and foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah drove into the city in a black Toyota landcruiser, followed by a column of military police dressed in dark green uniforms and armed with rifles. Behind them moved hundreds of armed Northern Alliance fighters in camouflage.

Witnesses said armed men had occupied all major government buildings, many of which were looted by residents. Prisoners broke out of jails abandoned by the Taliban.
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Johris had bribed Mehta: CBI
New Delhi: CBI officials claimed that the agency had secured confession from the Johri brothers, promoters of Cyberspace Infosys, that they had paid bribe money to stockbroker Rakesh Mehta in the Cyberspace-Unit Trust of India deal.

The CBI confession forms the basis of the chargesheet being prepared by the CBI in the case.

It is alleged that senior UTI officials, including the UTI chairman had caused losses to the investors by investing Rs 32 crore in Cyberspace shares.

The CBI has alleged that these officials invested unit holders' funds despite their knowledge of Cyberspace being a dud company.
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Govt approves sugar exchanges
New Delhi: The Government on Tuesday approved three exchanges for futures trading in sugar and permitted exports of raw sugar.

The government has given approval to three exchanges for the purpose of futures/forward trading in sugar, food minister Shanta Kumar told reporters.

Kumar said the three exchanges given approval to trade in sugar futures were e-Commodities, e-Sugarindia Private and NCS-Infotech, Hyderabad.
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French car majors plan foray into India
Chennai: Two major french car manufacturers are planning to venture into India, French ambassador in India, Bernard de Montferrand said here on Tuesday.

Speaking at a luncheon meeting organised by the Confderation of Indian Industry, the ambassador without identifying the companies said that these manufacturers were quite keen to enter India and were considering various options to set up bases in India.
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