KANYAKUMARI - In a bid to woo Christian voters, AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa Thursday promised travel assistance to those who want to undertake pilgrimage to Israel, extension of reservation benefits to Dalit Christians and permission to Christians to build churches on their own lands.

BEIJING - China has rejected as "imprudent" the Vatican's criticism of a recent national congress of Chinese Catholics, blaming the Vatican for damaging relations between the two sides.

CHANDIGARH - Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Thursday announced that his government will provide land for burial grounds for Christian and Muslim communities in all towns and villages of the state.

ISLAMABAD - A leading Hindu spiritual leader of Pakistan was kidnapped at gunpoint in Balochistan province while he was on his way to officiate a wedding.