23:17
Indian-born Dharun Ravi, who was convicted of hate crimes after using his webcam to see his college roommate kissing another man is asking a judge to give him probation rather than prison. Read the full story here
22:02
Anna Hazare has said that Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was recently embroiled in a controversy over a CD showing him in a compromising situation, should be hanged if found guilty. Singhvi should be hanged if found guilty, Hazare said, to a reporter's question in Beed district...
21:23
The Prime Minister's Office has said that Army Chief-designate Lt Gen Bikram Singh or his wife is not related to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or his family and dismissed a media report in this regard as scurrilous and mischievous.In a statement, the PMO said, the allegation that Gen Bikram Singh...
21:18
The Supreme Court-appointed Empowered Committee on the Mullaperiyar Dam, over which Tamil Nadu and Kerala are at loggerheads, has concluded that the 119-year-old structure is safe and asked the Kerala government to reconsider its proposal to build a new dam.The five-member...
20:45
Notwithstanding controversy, Tatra trucks produced by the state-owned BEML are taking part in the summer trials conducted by the Army for procuring heavy trucks to ferry missile and artillery systems.The Army had issued a global tender for procuring over 255 heavy eight-wheeled trucks in 2010 and...
20:20
The Supreme Court has dismissed apetition filed by the Ramdev-run Bharat Swabhiman Trust seeking review of its judgement in which it had criticised the yoga guru's disciples for indulging in brick batting with the police during the midnight crackdown at the Ramlila Maidan last summer.We have...
19:34
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday questioned Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh for the third consecutive day in connection with the Tatra all terrain vehicles suppply scam and complaint of Army Chief Gen V K Singh about alleged bribe offer made to him by the senior officer. Singh, who...
19:19
Left parties on Friday held preliminary discussions on Presidential elections and decided to consult with secular opposition parties before taking a final stand on the candidate and met. The parties favoured a wide agreement on a candidate for the President's election. CPI(M)...
18:57
Smarting under the shock defeat in Jharkhand Rajya Sabha elections, BJP central leaders today held a meeting to analyse what went wrong in the polls in which Deputy Leader of the party in the Upper House S S Ahluwalia lost to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress. Bharatiya Janata Party...
18:44
Denied any relief by courts, Nupur Talwar, who is lodged in Dasna Jail here since Monday in connection with killing of her daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj, has started teaching other women inmates. Nupur Tawar expressed desire to teach other inmates which we have allowed, Jail...
18:26
Ahead of the PM's meeting with Mamata Banerjee, the Punjab MPs today asked the Centre to be impartial on the issue of granting financial package to states and sought to be treated on a par with West Bengal, where UPAally Trinamool Congress is in power. The Centre has to deal with all the...
18:11
For the second straight year, the top two positions in the Civil Services Examination 2011 have been bagged by women -- an AIIMS graduate and a social scientist. Shena Aggarwal, who holds a MBBS degree from the premierAll India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) here, bagged the top slot...
18:08
In a major setback to CPI (Maoists), the bodyguard of its leader Sabyasachi Panda alias Sunil surrendered before the police here today. Prasant Majhi (23), who claimed to have worked as a bodyguard of Panda for over two years, surrendered without any weapons before Gajapati district...
18:05
Mamata says if the Centre cannot find a solution, the party would have to find a political solution. I have met the PM and the finance minister many times, nothing has changed. she says with a frown.
17:56
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee addresses the media after her meeting with the Prime Minister. She says the Left made Bengal bankrupt and the state needs funds from the Centre for development. She said the PM is working on a solution it was unfair to compare Bengal, which is in acute financial...
17:47
On the Daily Mail: Thousands of deaths have been prevented in hospitals because medical staff are being more diligent about washing their hands, a study has claimed.Read more Legend has it that after an unusual desultory concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, MS Subbulakshmi by way...
17:42
Nix earlier reports by CNN IBN that the Mamata-PM meet would be at 7 pm
17:35
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today. The Trinamool Congress chief had yesterday met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav andis believed to have discussed the possible candidate for Presidential polls due in...
17:22
With Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma pressing for CBI probe into the death of his niece Dana Sangma, Amity University today dismissed allegations that the student, who allegedly committed suicide after being caught with a mobile phone during an exam, was discriminated...
17:12
French prosecutors said on Friday they are examining witness testimony that suggests disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn took part in a gang-rape at a sex party in Washington DC. Strauss-Kahn, two businessmen and a police chief had already been charged with aggravated pimping...
17:03
In one of his satsang discourses, which he typically infuses with levity to sustain 'devotees' interest, self-styled spiritual guru Swami Nityananda narrates a joke about God and Adam. God approaches Adam and tells him, I have good news and I have bad news for you.' Adam asks to be told...
16:57
Here's what else has been happening in Delhi today.Members of Parliament from Left parties in Tamil Nadu plan to lodge a protest against the Union Minister of Environment Jayanthi Natarajan after she refused to give appointments to the AIADMK and Left MPs to discuss and redress their grievances...
16:50
The appointment time has finally been decided. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will meet PM Dr Manmohan Singh at 7 pm today.
16:48
Just in: Stock analyst Gautam Vora's bail plea has been rejected in the Arun Tikku murder case. Vora was arrested for allegedly helping Vijay Palande, the key accused in the murder of the Delhi-based businessman, after his escape from police custody.
16:42
Update on the Prez polls: CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat today met Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and the two leaders are understood have discussed the pros and cons of probable candidates for the upcoming Presidential election. Yadav, who has been holding parleys with...
16:26
Our sources in Delhi tell us that although Pranab Mukherjee has denied that he is a front-runner for the top post, the question doing the rounds is, who will be the leader of the Lok Sabha in the monsoon session of Parliament? Probable names include Ghulam Nabi Azad and P Chidambaram, both...
16:12
Up ahead tomorrow, the Centre will try its best to get a nod from Chief Ministers to set up the controversial anti-terror hub NCTC at a crucial meeting which is expected to witness fiery scenes. Non-Congress Chief Ministers such as Odisha's Naveen Patnaik, Tamil Nadu's J Jayalalithaa...
16:08
The Supreme Court has postponed Nupur Talwar's bail plea hearing to next week. This means, Talwar, an accused in the Aarushi-Hemraj murders stays in jail. She was sent to judicial custody on April 30. Her bail plea hearing will now be heard on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
15:52
Defending the mechanism of self regulation for the Media, Information and Broadcasting minister Ambika Soni today said that this slower but surersystem only needed more time to establish itself. Soni was speaking at an event hosted by ASSOCHAM where Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey...
15:39
The Army's Western Command is conducting a major exercise in the plains of Punjab during this month as part of its operational preparedness. The battle manoeuvres being undertaken aim at validating the army's fighting concepts and the absorption of new technologies, a defence spokesman said...
15:30
For months following their split her Twitter handle has remained as Mrs Kutcher. But Demi Moore has finally dropped her ex-husband's name on the social networking site. Today the 49-year-old changed her name to @justdemi.More
15:20
In the wake of the 12-day hostage crises that ended after the release of Sukma Collector Alex Paul Menon, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh sought a national policy to deal with such situations. There has to be a national policy to deal with hostage crises. I will ask Prime Minister...
15:17
Close on the heels of a Manipuri student who was found dead in mysterious circumstances in his college hostel last month, another student from thenorth-eastern state allegedly committed suicide in Bangalore by hanging. The deceased was identified as Jackio Heisnam (23), a second year student...
15:11
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar's wife Saira Bano, veteran actors Tanuja and Vinod Khanna and others have received Dadasaheb Phalke Academy awards. Bahchchan got the Phalke Ratna award, while SairaBanu and Dilip Kumar got Saraswatibai Phalke award, at a ceremony held in Mumbai last...
14:51
Congress member Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who had got into a CD controversy last month, is unwell and will not be attending Rajya Sabha during in thesecond half of the budget session of Parliament. Citing illness and family commitment, the Rajya Sabha MP sought leave from April 24 to May 22,...
14:41
Security forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations in various states, includingChhattisgarh, have decided to get different variants of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) ranging from small drones to long-range surveillance ones.Forces deployed in Maoist hotbeds of the country have recently begun to...
14:18
Another piece of news from Delhi is that West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is set to meet the PM today. She said yesterday that she wanted to discuss a three-year moratorium on payment of interest on central loans worth crores for her debt-ridden state, which she says is a legacy of...
14:12
Rejecting the contention that students from North East are subjected to discrimination and racial profiling, Home Minister P Chidambaram today said the Government will take every step to ensure their security and asked states to do the same. The Government of India will take every step...
14:00
The Supreme Court has given a life sentence to the nine people convicted in the Ode massacre. The verdict in the 2002 post-riot Ode killings was read out this morning with the Supreme Court convicting nine people and acquitting 32. Three persons including two women were killed at Ode village in...
13:57
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar today announced in the House that Kanauj MP Akhilesh Yadav, who is now Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, had submitted his resignation on May 2 and it was accepted by her the same day.Akhilesh Yadav had submitted his resignation from the Lok Sabha with immediate...
13:52
If you have sneakily picked up food that's fallen on the floor and popped it in your mouth, here's what you need to know. The idea that food is not contaminated if it is retrieved quickly has been believed for many years - but there has not been extensive proof that this is the case. Now though,...
13:44
The Bombay High Court has ruled that a wife's refusal to have sex with her husband without a condom does not constitute grounds for divorce. Read the full report on the bbc.
13:41
Facebook Inc aims to raise about $10.6 billion in Silicon Valley's largest IPO, dwarfing the coming-out parties of tech companies like Google Inc and granting the world's largest social network a market value close to Amazon.com's.Read the full report on Reuters. Also read on...
13:38
Update on the Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng story. China today said Chen can apply to study abroad, potentially indicating a way out of the diplomatic crisis with the US over him. A foreign ministry statement said Chen could apply through normal channels in accordance with the law.More on the...
13:29
Haqqani was forced to resign as Pakistan's ambassador to the US after American businessman Mansoor Ijaz made public the memo last year.Ijaz claimed he had drafted and delivered the memo to the then US military chief on the instructions of Haqqani. The government has dismissed Ijaz's...
13:27
A Pakistani judicial panel probing a mysterious memo sent to the US has rejected Husain Haqqani's plea that ex-ISI chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha appear as a witness, amid claims by the former envoy that the commission has beenconverted into a virtual prosecution against him. The Supreme...
13:21
Another rape in the rape capital of the country. A girl was allegedly raped in the basement parking lot of a shopping mall in suburban Delhi. She was raped in a Scorpio by two men, residents of Noida, both absconding at the PVR Mahagun Mall in Noida.
13:14
The battle for Rashtrapati Bhavan continues. Today, NCP leader PA Sangma said, Tribal leaders belonging to all political parties are meeting on May 9 here and our demand will be to make a tribal the next President, Sangma said. However, the former Lok Sabha Speaker and Meghalaya MP made it...
13:07
Menon is the first collector of the newly-created Sukma district and was known to be pro-active in undertaking development work in the backward region. Yesterday evening, speaking to the media, Menon had said he had no problems with being posted in Sukma and in any case it was a government decision.
13:00
Just in: For now, District Collector Alex Paul Menon has been relieved from his posting at Sukma. The Dantewada DM OP Chaudhary takes over as Sukma DM.
12:55
After six days of negotiations between the United States and China, blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng left the US Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon. Details remain sparse, but the deal is already proving controversial. Chen apparently told reporters that he...
12:47
An analysis of recent events related to Maoist terrorism shows that the four-decades-old phenomenon has entered its most dangerous phase. The abduction of two Italian nationals, Paolo Bosusco and Claudio Colangelo, on 18 March, the deportation of 10 French tourists from Bihar in the last...
12:44
Noted Bollywood producer-director Subhash Ghai, whose film institute Whistling Woods is embroiled in a property battle, has said his academy will goon to live for 100 years. Last month, the Supreme Court had asked Ghai to return the Whistling Woods land in Mumbai, measuring 20 acres,...
12:39
On Firstpost.com: Lessons from the Alex Paul kidnap on dealing with Maoists. Read
12:35
The mediators-- Prof G Hargopal and B D Sharma -- told reporters a day after the release of Collector Alex Paul Menon by the Maoists that the committee, headed by Nirmala Buch, one of the two state government negoatiators, had started its work this morning. On the demand for...
12:33
Read: Arundhati Roy's essay Walking with the Comrades here
12:30
Raman says that kidnapping is a national problem and it needs to be tackled by the Centre. He says as per the promise, the committee has been formed and is working on the cases. The government had agreed to set up a high-powered committee under the chairmanship of Nirmala Buch, one of the two...
12:27
Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh says he will taken up the Naxal issue with the PM and reiterates there is a need for an unified policy on Naxals. Yet again, he denies any swap and says there is no Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh and there is nothing called Green Hunt. Raman says the three-member...
12:22
On April 19, India welcomed Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's remarks on demilitarisation of Siachen and said the money spent on deployment of troops there could be diverted for development work. There is definitely a requirement to go in for demilitarisation of the...
12:18
How the might fall!Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines hit another air pocket with two real estate developers slapping eviction notice on it for allegedly defaulting on rent payments since last November. The airlines sources confirmed the development and said the management is...
12:10
Politicians better tune in Sunday morning. Given that some have speculated that actor Aamir Khan's turn in the 2006 movie Rang de Basanti led to an upsurge of patriotism that fed into last year's anti-corruption movement, there's no knowing what his first foray into...
12:03
On the Wall Street Journal: A rare Mughal-era diamond necklace is up for grabs. Bonham's, the London-based auction house, announced this week it is offering the necklace for private sale for a whopping Rs 106-crore. What makes it so special, above all, are its mirror-like, flat-top diamonds --...
11:57
In a shocking development, Indian troops are found to have been drilling in the Siachen Glacier with the purpose of the geo-thermal exploration owing to which the glaciers, which are water tanks for Pakistan, are fast receding. That's the fantasy piece on The News, Pakistan. Read
11:51
This morning, and a day after Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon was set free, the 32-year-old IAS officer returned to his Sukma home, about 450 km from the state capital, this morning to an emotional welcome from his pregnant wife Asha and other family members.Menon spent the night at CRPF...
11:40
This is the third case of the 2002 riots at Ode village, probed by the Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT). According to details of this case, during communal violence that broke out in Ode village of Anand after the Godhra train burning incident on February 27, 2002, three...
11:33
The verdict in the 2002 post-riot Ode killings has just been declared. The Supreme Court has convicted nine people and acquitted 32. Three persons including two women were killed at Ode village in Anand a decade ago. This is the third case of the 2002 riots at Ode village being probed by the...
11:30
Just in: The Supreme Court dismisses a petition seeking action against Anna Hazare and team members for dishonouring national flag during their agitation. A case was filed in a Bihar court in August 2011 against social activists Anna Hazareand Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly insulting the...
11:22
An official Chinese newspaper hit out at dissident lawyer Chen Guangcheng, accusing him Friday of being a 'tool' for the US in an attempt to undermine the Communist Party by ginning up human-rights controversies. More on that story on msnbc.
11:19
Here's the latest on the Chinese activist/dissident Chen Guangcheng. He has telephoned a US Congressional hearing to plead for help in his attempts to leave China with his family. Chen said he feared for the safety of his family and wanted to meet visiting US Secretary of State Hillary...
11:13
India can tackle terror effectively only when politicians and officials stop looking at it as a piece of turf to fight over, and start treating it as a threat to our nation.That's the editorial in the Hindu. Read
11:10
And news of another blast. Two blasts near a police post killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 20 in Dagestan, part of Russia's restive Caucasus region. At least 15 people have been killed, including 12 police officers and three rescue workers from Russia's emergency services...
11:04
Details on that suicide bombing attack in Pakistan we posted a while ago. A teenage suicide bomber targeted security personnel in a crowded market in the restive Bajaur tribal region of northwest Pakistan today, killing 17 peopleand injuring 42 others, officials said. The security personnel...
11:02
The district collector is yet to address the media. We'll get you that as it happens. In other news, the UPA leadership was aggressively wooing West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday in order to sew up her support for the presidential elections, and shut any opening for...
10:55
Mediator G Hargopal says that the committee has begun reviewing cases of the tribals they want released and the maximum possible prisoners will be released after the committee has finished studying the cases.
10:53
BD Sharma says the Nirmala Buch committee has begun work today. The mediators say 341 Naxal cases are being reviewed.
10:53
Sukma District Collector Alex Paul Menon to address the media in a bit. The government mediators G Hargopal and BD Sharma say that the Nirmala Buch committee will take up the demands of the Naxals. But they reiterate there has been no swap. Sharma says that under the government has agreed to...
10:40
Update on the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case. Aarushi's father Rajesh Talwar is due to appear in court today. The trial is to begin on May 9. The Supreme Court is to hear Nupur Talwar's bail plea (in Dasna jail since April 30) and the review petition filed in January 2011.
10:37
Last evening, when the DC finally arrived at Chintalnar, his father-in-law speaking to news channels, lined up in his living room, said the government had supported them throughout the ordeal and treated them like family.
10:34
Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh government has denied that there was a secret deal with the Naxals and says anti-Naxal ops will resume. Naxals had demanded the release of 376 prisoners. CM Raman Singh says Operation Green Hunt will continue.
10:31
Just in: Several people have been feared dead in a suicide attack at a market inBajaur tribal region of northwest Pakistan. Details awaited.
10:30
Freed collector Alex Paul Menon will address the media shortly. Menon reached home last night after spending 12 days in captivity. Here's a blow-by-blow account of what happened yesterday.
10:21
The Indian men's hockey team suffered a second straight defeat, losing 2-4 to hosts Great Britain in the test event for the London Olympic Qualifiers here.India conceded two goals in the first 11 minutes with British striker Rob Moore and Simon Mantell doing the early damage yesterday. VR...
10:11
Sukma Collector Alex Paul Menon, who was released by Maoists on Thursday after almost two weeks in captivity, reached home on Friday morning. His brother and brother-in-law were at the Sukma helipad to receive him on Friday morning. When the convoy of cars with Menon reached his home,...
10:02
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday dismissed as speculation reports that he has emerged as a front runner in the race for presidential election. It is speculative. I don't want to comment on it, he told reporters on way to Manila where he will be attending the 45th Annual Meeting of...
09:44
Telephone call by blind Chinese dissident relayed to US Congress, hours after Mitt Romney condemns Barack Obama's handling of controversy. Read the full story on guardian.uk
09:38
Sitting in his secret refuge, hiding from the world, Osama bin Laden spent the last months of his life rethinking strategy, worrying about his legacy and struggling to maintain control over the sprawling terrorist network that operated in his name.Read the full story on NYT here
09:27
Facebook has set the share price for its upcoming initial public offering at between $28 and $35 per share, valuing the company at between $85bn-$95bn.The IPO is set to be the largest ever for an internet firm, bigger than Google's valuation of $23bn in 2004.Read the full story here.
08:52
The US transportation department has slapped a $80,000 fine on Air India for failing to post customer service and tarmac delay contingency plans on its website and adequately inform passengers about its optional fees. This is the first penalty assessed for a violation of the department's new...
08:50
China will start issuing a new type of passport with an electronic chip that will contain a record of cardholder's personal informations. The new passports will look like the traditional ones but a chip containing informations like the cardholder's name, his date of birth, photograph and...
01:35
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is focussing on the arenas that will decide the 2012 election, with a new poll showing he has pulled even with President Barack Obama in two key swing states.Read the full story here
01:16
According to a leading Chinese dissident, Washington has made a 'serious mistake' in allowing blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng to leave its embassy. He said that Beijing will never allow him out of the country. Read the full story here
00:16
I thank Chhattisgarh govt: Sukma collector after releasePM to mirror Zardari, likely to visit Pak on pilgrimage'Christian' Jagan's visit to Tirupati temple sparks rowAt Rs 630 crore, 'The Scream' is world's most expensive paintingDissident seeks asylum, clouds China-US dialoguePak Taliban take...