Big story to follow tomorrow is the court hearing on the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case. Stay with us for all the news. Here are the big stories at this hour.

1. Sonia to Anna: I don't support smear campaigns
2. 2G fallout: Jailed Unitech chairman sacked
3. Ishrat fake encounter hearing tomorrow
4. Lokpal Bill will be drafted irrespective: Hegde
5. Delhi, Mumbai squeeze into global cities list
6. Bhushans sue Digvijay for defamation
7. Ferrero Rocher heir dies in cycling accident
8. Pak's new N-missile 'aimed' at India
9. Cong, SP question land allotment to Bhushans
10. No decision to play cricket in Pakistan: MEA
11. Raja gets company: Tihar for 2G corporates
12. Don't go to India for cheap healthcare: Obama
13. Watch Wills wed Kate on YouTube
14. SL snubs BCCI: Players have to return by May 5
15. Home ministry help to find Hasan Ali terror links
16. India test fires remote sensing satellite

Congress President Sonia Gandhi replies to Anna Hazare's letter: I do not support or encourage politics of smear campaign. She added, "You should have no doubt of my commitment in the fight for probity in public life. I strongly support the institution of a Lokpal that is consistent with the practices and conventions of our Parliamentary democracy."

Earlier it was believed that Sonia was unlikely to reply to anti-corruption crusader Hazare's letter appealing to her to stop her colleagues from 'derailing' the process of drafting the Lokpal Bill

Here's the full text of Hazare's letter to Mrs G

David Cameron may be the British PM, but when it comes to sartorial decisions, his aides make them -- without consulting him. Cameron says he will now wear a morning suit to the royal wedding.

Read the fuss about the dress

News flash: Telenor, the Norway based comapany, that jointly operates the mobile phone company Uninor with Unitech has asked Sanjay Chandra to step down as Unitech chairman.

Today, the trial court in the 2G case rejected bail to five accused in the 2G case -- Sanjay Chandra, Vinod Goenka along with three Reliance ADAG executives -- Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara.

In effect this means, all five executives will spend the night in Tihar jail (and may be share dinner with A Raja and his cronies).

The hearing in the case will be held tomorrow.

The SIT had earlier on April 5 submitted its progress report in the case to the Gujarat High Court.

If you remember, Ishrat Jahan was allegedly gunned down by the Gujarat police along with Javed Ghulam Sheikh alias Pranesh Kumar Pillai, Amjad Ali alias Rajkumar Akbar Ali Rana and Jisan Johar Abdul Gani in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.

The encounter was allegedly carried out by a team of the Ahmedabad Crime Branch led by DIG DG Vanjara (also involved in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter killing). The police alleged that all four were Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives involved in a plot to assassinate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

In August 2009, the Ahmedabad Metropolitan court ruled that the killing of Ishrat Jahan was a fake encounter.

And read: Ishrat was LeT fidayeen: Headley

More dope on the Lokpal Bhushans: Karnataka Lokayukta and former Supreme Court Judge N. Santosh Hegde said today that the Lokpal Bill would be drafted irrespective of the Bhushans past.

Hegde, who is part of the 10-member Joint Committee, set up by the government to draft the new bill, however, refused to comment on the allegations surrounding the Bhushans.

Fresh allegations were made against the Bhushans today after they declared their assets. Media reports allege that the Bhushans were allotted land by the Mayawati government at a nominal price and the Bhushans didn't declare that a farmhouse given to them was from the Mayawati government.

For whatever its worth, we hope the Bhushans are absolved and the Lokpal Bill gets tabled and all is well with the world

Another way you can meet the Emperor of Maladies -- cancer. A telegraph.co.uk reports says that energy saving light bulbs emit cancer causing chemicals.

Read

Two Indian cities have made it to the list of top global cities index by the Annual Citi/Knight Frank Wealth Report and the next decade is likely to witness significant improvements from emerging market cities particularly in the Asian behemoths.

New York has topped the overall cities index ranking, followed by London and Paris. New Delhi and Mumbai were ranked 37 and 38 in the coveted list.

The other cities in the top 10 slots include Paris in the third position, followed by Tokyo and Brussels in fourth and fifth ranks, respectively, while Los Angeles was slotted at sixth rank, Singapore (7th), Beijing (8th), Toronto (9th) and Berlin (10th).

Notwithstanding the fact that this year's ranking looks slightly too European and North American in flavour, but in the next 10 years time the list is all set for a big reshuffle, barring the top two slots which are likely to be retained by New York and London, respectively.

Reuters says Russia PM Vladimir Putin has sanctioned 1.5 trillion roubles ($53.30 billion) to boost birth rate by up to 30 percent by 2015.

If only India, with a 1.21 billion population, had similar problems.

Following in the footsteps of her son, Congress president Sonia Gandhi launched a tirade against the CPI(M)-led Left Front government in West Bengal, alleging that it was siphoning off central funds and had turned the state bankrupt.

"In the last 34 years, crores of rupees have been given to West Bengal by the Centre for development, but the state remains backward. Where have central funds gone? Left Front is responsible for this," Gandhi told an election rally at Salar in Murshidabad district during a whirlwind tour of the state on the second leg of her campaign.

"I am sorry to say that during the 34-year rule of the Left Front, West Bengal's debt burden has grown to Rs two lakh crore and it has turned into a bankrupt state," she alleged.

The Left government, on the other hand, at every rally states that the Centre never sanctions funds.

OK, Hasan Ali Khan (India's biggest tax offender) will remain in Arthur Road jail, Mumbai till April 29, which is when his bail plea comes up for hearing.

Former Union Law Minister Shanti Bhushan on Wednesday sent a legal notice to Congress Party General Secretary Digvijay Singh, asking him to apologise for questioning his character and legal credentials.

It maybe recalled that earlier this week, Singh had criticised civil rights activists and accused them of spending a huge amount ofRs 50 lakh on their campaign for a tough anti-corruption law.

He had then wondered why the civil rights activists were targeting politicians for spending on elections. "If people representing the civil society can spend Rs 50 lakh, then why are they targeting us politicians?," Singh had asked.

While India is still undecided about allow our cricketers to play in Pakistan (see our 13:54 pm post), our neighbour is keen to invite the hockey team for a Test series later this year as part of a process to revive sporting ties.

The series could be held in Lahore, Karachi and Faisalabad.Pakistan Hockey Federation President Qasim Zia said talks were being held with their Indian counterparts as Pakistan was keen to play at least a three-match series before the Champions Trophy which will be held in India in December.

Italy mourns its beloved ambassador of chocolate -- the shocking death in a cycling accident of the billionaire heir to the Ferrero Rocher confectionery empire.

Read

In almost-forgotten Fukushima, workers struggling to stabilize the nuclear plant now risk facing depression or death from overwork.

The workers are not only undertaking dangerous work in severe conditions but also feel a sense of moral responsibility as employees of the firm to blame for the nuclear disaster, one of the worst in the world.

Few workers barely escaped death in the March 11 quake and tsunami or the subsequent hydrogen explosions that severely damaged the plant.

Good news is Arunima Sinha is finally doing well after three operations on her amputated leg.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court today directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pay an interim compensation of Rs five lakh tothe sportswoman, who lost her leg after being pushed from a moving train.

This is in addition to a government job and Rs 2 lakh compensation.

A sub-editor at PTI is obviously having fun with this headline:

Attractive men have long... ring fingers.

The report goes that the longer a man's fourth or ring finger is compared to his index finger, the more likely he is to be judged attractive by women. Irrespective of whether that's true, somebody, somewhere has spend man hours on it. Imagine.

Yesterday, we told you Pakistan had launched its new short-range nuclear-capable Hatf-9 missile.

Now, strategic experts say the missile is primarily aimed at deterring India's Cold Start military doctrine that envisages quick thrusts by small integrated battle groups in the event of hostilities.

The Hatf-9 or Nasr, described as a missile with a range of 60 km and designed to carry "nuclear warheads of appropriate yield with high accuracy", was tested for the first time at an undisclosed location yesterday.

The missile will be deployed with a mobile multi-barrel launch system that has "shoot and scoot attributes", or the ability to fire at a target and immediately relocate to another position to avoid enemy counter-fire.

From the time they were inducted in the 10-member joint committee to frame the Lokpal Bill, the Bhushans have been in the news for all the wrong reasons.

First, Baba Ramdev said including father-son duo of Shanti and Prashant Bhushan smacked of nepotism. Anna Hazare, who led the Lokpal Bill movement, ignored the Baba and insisted they be part of the team.

Then came the CD controversy, which allegedly showed Shanti Bhushan talking to Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh about fixing a judge for Rs 4 crore.

Both Amar Singh and the Bhushans have sued each other and claimed the CD has been spliced.

And another controversytoday that says Shanti Bhushan and his son Jayant received land allotment from the Mayawati government at a throwaway price.

A tweet from Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao says she has been asked about the "resumption" of cricket ties with Pakistan. And replies, "Want to clarify, that no such decision (has been taken), although sporting contacts may be encouraged."

It may be remembered that in a friendly gesture to Pakistan, post the World Cup win and the success of the Mohali diplomacy, India decided to resume bilateral cricket series in Pakistan, which was put on hold in retaliation against the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai. The decision was announced by foreign minister S M Krishna.

May be Krishna, Rao had a rethink

Back toreal people, read Sucheta Dalal's story: The only woman director on the board of Infosys Technologies quit last year, and the usually politically-correct company does not have a single woman on the board of the company or its subsidiaries.

Infosys has also been in the news recently when TV Mohandas Pai, board member and director of the company's Human Resource, education and research operations, quit. Jungle drums said he quit, miffed at not being offered the top job, though Pai denied it.

Read more on Rama Bijapurkar

Would give a lot to be a fly on the wall when Prince William and his dad Prince Charles share a series of heart-to-heart chats in the hours leading up to the wedding. (Reliable sources tell us he will advise Wills not to have an extramarital affair.)

Prince Charles is expected to cut short his Easter break in Scotland, to offer his eldest son support as he prepares for the biggest day of his life, says the omniscient Brit tabloid, the Sun.

The pair will spend the night before the wedding at St James's Palace and will see each other before William and brother Harry, his best man, head to Westminster Abbey.

Just in: Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was complicit in shootings of anti-regime protesters during a period of upheaval in the country, a member of an official fact-checking commission said yesterday.

Cnn.com quotes, "Whether the president gave the official order or remained silent knowing the shooting of protesters would take place, he is responsible for the 846 protesters who died during the January 25 revolution, especially since the killing started from Day One," said Judge Omar Marawan, the commission's secretary-general.

It may be remembered that Mubarak and his son Saif, have been detained by the Egyptian government for 15 days.

Read more

Staying with the US, Bradley Manning, the US Army private accused of sharing classified documents with the whistleblower website, Wikileaks, will be moved from near-solitary confinement at the Marine Corps Brig in Virginia to another prison under conditions that are less restrictive.

The Pentagon announced this amidst furor about Manning's treatment. Manning was reportedly forced to sleep naked for several nights, and then only permitted to wear a "tear-proof smock' because of what the military described as safety concerns.

All the bonhomie when US president Barack Obama visited India eems to have disappeared. Obama has now urged his countrymen not to India or Mexico (the other option) for affordable health care.

"My preference would be that you don't have to travel to Mexico or India to get cheap health care. I'd like you to be able to get it right here in the United States of America that's high quality," Obama said amidst applause at a community college in Virginia.

Obama was responding to a question from the audience on increasing health care cost in the US. "Before we went on the path of you can go somewhere else to get your health care, let's work to see if we can reduce the costs of health care here in the United States of America. That's going to make a big difference," he said.

Let's see how that happens because on an average, health care costs in the US are approximately five times that in India for comparable facilities.

The Sri Lankan cricket board and their sports minister have turned down the BCCI's request to allow their players continue in the IPL. The SL cricket board today has mandated that 11 players have to return by May 5. They include Deccan Chargers skipper Sangakkara and Kochi Tuskers Kerala captain Jayawardene, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Tilakaratne Dilshan and Nuwan Pradeep.

The Lankans are scheduled to leave for England on May 10, and the IPL-contracted players have to return home at least by May 5 to prepare for the tour. The IPL ends on the May 28.

The ED team is reported to be on its way to Puducherry to question Lt. Governor Iqbal Singh in connection with the alleged facilitation of a fake passport for money laundering suspect and Pune-based stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan.

Since you aren't going to the event of the year, you can now watch the Kate-William wedding broadcast live on YouTube as part of an operation to make it the most accessible royal event in history.

The dailymail.co.uk reports that Live updates and unique material will also be released on the official royal wedding website, through the British Monarchy's picture-sharing Flickr account, Twitter and Facebook.

For the first time, broadcast footage of a royal wedding will be streamed in real time on The Royal Channel (www.youtube/theroyalchannel) accompanied by a live multi-media blog put together by St James's Palace.

Pop the champagne.

It has now been confirmed that the brother-in-law of Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda's second in command, is reported to have been killed in Afghanistan, according to an Islamist website. Osama Hassan, whose sister, Omayma, is married to Zawahiri, was killed in Afghanistan sometime over the past several months, according to a martyrdom statement released by the Al Maqrizi Center for Historical Studies.

The statement announcing Hassan's death was published on April 18 at the Al Maqrizi Center's website.

British police have claimed extremists belonging to the group Muslims Against Crusades has vowed to turn the April 29 royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton into a 'nightmare'.

The police said they are planning to arrange a ''forceful demonstration'' with thousands of protesters to burn the Union Jack, images of the Crown, and the bridal couple.

The group, including Emdadur Choudhury, who was fined 50 pounds for burning poppies (synonymous with war memorials) on Armistice Day last November, has reportedly applied for permission to protest outside Westminster Abey on the day of the wedding.

The Enforcement Directorate has sought the help of the Home Ministry to find out if India's biggest tax evader Hasan Ali Khan has links with terror outfits.

Screws are being tightened finally on the Pune-based stud farm owner,after aPatna court issued an arrest warrant against him by April 30.

The Patna police had on March 24 seized documents from the Regional Passport Office there relating to passports being issued on a fake address to Hasan Ali Khan.

Investigators have said that a portion of Hasan Ali's money came from infamous international arms-dealer Adnan Khashoggi and Ali's funds in Swiss Bank were the proceeds from weapon sales.

Neighbourhood watch:

The Pakistani paper Dawn reports that efforts to calm overwrought bilateral ties with the US got into high gear today, but with little hope of an enduring rapprochement because of marked divergences in strategic agendas of the two countries vis--vis Afghanistan and the region.

Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen will be in Islamabad for talks with the military leadership on Wednesday, while Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir will start a two-day meeting with American officials in Washington on Thursday.

A plane carrying First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, had to abort landing at the Andrews Air Force base on Monday evening as it was flying too close to a military aircraft.

"The aircraft were never in any danger," the Federal Aviation Authority said in a statement about the incident without specifically mentioning the First Lady.

FAA said its controllers at Andrews Air Force Base instructed an incoming Boeing 737 on approach to Runway 19 to perform a "go around" on Monday, April 18, 2011, just after 5 p.m. because the plane did not have the required amount of separation behind a military C17.

The morning health bulletin on Sathya Sai Baba (86) says that his condition remains critical. "Although his vital parameters and indices are near normal, the condition of his liver and intermittent episodes of low blood pressure are still a cause of worry," Dr A N Safaya, Director, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences.

Sai Baba continues to be on ventilation to help his lungs. A panel of doctors are monitoring him round-the-clock and giving all the necessary treatment to keep him in a stable state of health. Sai Baba was hospitalised on March 28 following problems related to heart and respiration.

A day after Pakistan's military said it has test-fired a newly developed short-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, India test firedthe PSLV-C16 rocket, carrying India's Resourcesat-2 and two nano satellites, from Sriharikota.

Good morning. Whoever invented air-conditioning should have been given the Nobel Prize. Nothing betters it in Indian summers! Good thing is at least the weather bureau predicts a normal monsoon this year.

But enough with the mumblings, and on with the news. The headlines this morning...

After Pakistan missile test, India flexes muscle (The Times of India)

The 1.13m strong Indian Army is honing its war-fighting machinery with a major combat exercise in the Thar desert to practise "high tempo" ops. Read

Only 6% of doctors held for sex-selection practices convicted ((The Times of India)
According to govt data, a total of 805 cases have been filed against doctors till March 31. Only 55 convictions have been recorded since then. Read

Jaitapur project: Prohibitory orders given after bandh turns violent (DNA)

Violence and arson marked the Shiv Sena-sponsored bandh in Ratnagiri district today against the police firing on anti-nuclear power project demonstrators in Jaitapur. Read

Bhushans get two prime plots from Mayawati govt for a song (The Indian Express)
No lottery, no auction in allotment of two 10,000 sq m farmhouse plots to Shanti Bhushan. Read

First forecast: it will be normal monsoon (The Indian Express)
The Met Department predicted today that the overall rainfall in the July-September period would be 98 per cent of the average. Read

Kidnapped Mumbai boy traced in UP (The Hindu)

A five-year-old boy, kidnapped from outside his residence in suburban Kandivali early this month, has been rescued from Uttar Pradesh, police said on Wednesday. Read

'We are walking in a state of famine' (The Hindu)
Dr. Binayak Sen spoke of the need to re-examine the sedition law and build a platform to tackle the structural violence, that he believes, pervades society. Read

Cricketers wanted bigger reward for World Cup win, Board said no (Indian Express)
Crore not enough, sought Rs 5 crore each; also thought some support staff getting too much. Read