New Delhi  - Five persons were killed and at least three critically injured on Saturday in an explosion at a waste dump in the northern Indian town of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh state, police said.

A group of waste collectors were sorting out rubbish in the Bengali Basti area when a mortar shell discarded by the army exploded, senior police official Raghuveer Lal said.

The victims were boys aged between 10 and 19, the police said. The three injured had been admitted to hospital.

New Delhi - India's moon mission Chandrayaan-1 was successfully placed in lunar orbit on Saturday, officials at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said.

"The lunar orbit insertion placed the Chandrayaan in an elliptical orbit with its nearest point 400 to 500 kilometres away from the moon and the farthest, 7,500 kilometres," ISRO director S Satish said from the southern city of Bangalore.

The complex positioning which depended on precision timing was carried out from the space control room in Bangalore.

New Delhi - Five persons were killed and at least three critically injured on Saturday in an explosion at an army waste dump in the northern Indian town of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh state, news reports said.

A group of waste collectors were sorting out rubbish when the blast occurred, PV Ramashastri, deputy inspector general of police said.

The blast may have been caused by dynamite sticks in the scrap heap, NDTV television reported quoting police sources.

New Delhi  - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday began a three-day visit to the energy-rich Gulf nations of Oman and Qatar for talks on investment, trade and energy.

Federal Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi and Planning Comission chief Montek Singh Ahluwalia are accompanying Singh.

In a statement ahead of his visit, Singh said: "The Gulf region is an area of vital importance for India's security and prosperity. We have always enjoyed a very special relationship with countries of the region."

New Delhi - Indian domestic airlines Jet airways has terminated the contracts of at least 25 expatriate pilots, news reports said Saturday.

A major hike in aviation fuel earlier this year combined with the impact of high inflation has led to a downturn in India's aviation sector and the sackings are part of an effort to cut costs and streamline operations.

The foreigners among the staff who had been sacked included captains of Boeing 737 aircraft, a Jet Airways spokesperson was quoted as saying by PTI news agency. The airlines had earlier grounded five of these aircraft.

New Delhi, Nov 8 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani on Saturday celebrated his 81st birthday.

In an attempt to bring Advani closer to the people ahead of the assembly and general elections, BJP activists are launching a 700 page and 350 images interactive website-''lkadvani. in'' to mark his birthday.

The BJP party members thronged his house with bouquets and sweets to wish him on his birthday.

Advani, who spent the day with his family, said that he was overwhelmed by the goodwishes of the people.