India’s parliamentary elections today entered a crucial third round that will determine the fate of opposition leader Sonia Gandhi and her son, first-time candidate Rahul, the latest member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to enter politics.

Pakistan’s military president met with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today on the sidelines of a South Asian summit, building on momentum toward better relations after a half-century of venom.

India will not reciprocate on Pakistan’s offer to dismantle its nuclear weapons, but hoped never to have to use them against its long-time rival, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee told parliament in New Delhi today.

A truck crowded with members of India’s ruling political party plunged from a mountain road into a gorge today, killing 17 people and injuring 25 others.

THE death toll from a stampede at a railway station after a huge political rally in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh rose to 16 yesterday when two more people died in hospital, police said.