A close race awaits a nail-biting finish
Call it what you want - interesting, exciting, incredible or even bizzare - but the fact remains that well into the morning on Wednesday the outcome of the U.S. Presidential election remained unknown. And it might well remain this way for a week at least.

Hillary makes history
It was a sweet moment for Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton - for the first time in American history a First Lady was elected to public office. The victory over the Republican Congressman, Mr. Rick Lazio, for the New York Senate seat saw Ms. Clinton open a political career of her own that many think will not stop at Capitol Hill. ``I just wanted to say from the bottom of my heart: Thank you, New York,'' Ms. Clinton said.

Sensex unaffected
The Indian stock exchanges and the foreign exchange markets remained fairly insulated from the tumultuous U.S. election results today. Despite the fluctuating fortunes of Mr. Al Gore and Mr. George Bush the sensex broke the 4,000-point barrier mid-session, but later closed at a level of 3,954 points, a rise of 73.88 points over Tuesday's close.

Margaret Atwood wins Booker
Ms. Margaret Atwood has won the œ 21,000 Booker prize for her novel ``The Blind Assassin''. She beat five contenders, including Ms. Trezza Azzoparbi and Mr. Kazuo Ishiguro, both of whom were widely tipped to win the prize.

Nityanand is Uttaranchal CM
The midnight hour tonight heralded the birth of Uttaranchal as the 27th State of the country, climaxing long years of struggle by people of the region.

Nedumaran unrelenting
The desperate pleas by the sons of the Kannada actor, Mr. Rajkumar, notwithstanding, the Tamil Nationalist Movement leader, Mr. P. Nedumaran, today ruled out undertaking another mission to the forest to negotiate with Veerappan.

LTTE chief for direct talks with Chandrika?
The chief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam, Mr. V. Prabhakaran, has shown an inclination to hold direct negotiations with the Sri Lankan President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga. At least this seems to be the assessment of a section of the Indian security establishment.

`Maran still 'serious'
The Union Industries Minister, Mr.Murasoli Maran, who is admitted to Apollo Hospitals with a heart ailment, is still in a ``serious condition'', according to hospital authorities. He developed oedema in the lungs on Tuesday night and was subjected to a procedure called ``alcohol ablation'' to meet the emergency.

Daewoo Motor goes bankrupt
South Korea's troubled Daewoo Motor Company was today officially declared bankrupt, creditor banks said.

Violence mars PCC election
Firing and stampede at the Sadaquat Ashram, State headquarters of the Congress here, led to suspension of the organisational poll programme as the BPCC acting president, Mr. Chandan Bagchi, saw a conspiracy to eliminate him.

Goa trust vote today
The Goa Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Parrikar, heading a Bharatiya Janata Party-Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP)