Rival Muslim and Communist militias battled with machine guns and rocket propelled grenades in Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli for the second day.

Finance ministers of the Commonwealth are divided at their annual meeting on whether the world economy needs reforming or merely reviving, sources said.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared that India would not neglect its basic duty of protecting its borders while continuing earnest efforts to improve relations with neighbours. India faced aggression five times since independence and could not afford to lower vigil, she said.

It said that at the cabinet meeting, the Minister for Industries and Scientific Affairs had referred to “libellous reports about him by The Indian Express, the BBC and other papers.”

The report concedes that the terms of aid to India from the bank have hardened, resulting from the increasing share of World Bank lending relative to that of IDA, its soft affiliate.

The government is planning to amend the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act of 1976 and strengthen the administrative arrangements to ensure a more effective monitoring of the flow of funds from abroad to various organisations in the country.

Soviet Union used its veto in the Security Council to kill a western sponsored resolution “deeply deploring” the destruction of a South Korean airliner by a Soviet jet fighter with consequent “tragic loss” of civilian life.

At least 105 people were killed in continued landslides in the last two days in and around Mangan, the headquarters of Sikkim’s north district. Of the victims, 52 belonged to the Border Road Organisation (BRO).