A final update for the day on the Godhra verdict.

Senior VHP leader, Pravin Togadia, has demanded that all the accused in the 2002 Godhra train burning case should be given a death sentence. He said that the Gujarat government should file an appeal in the High Court against the acquittals.

"If all 95 (sic) persons don't get capital punishment, no justice will be done to Hindus," Togadia said, after the special court at Ahmedabad convicted 31 accused, and acquitted 63.

He said the court had accepted the conspiracy theory, which the VHP had been putting forth from the beginning. He said that the Justice Banerjee Commission (which had concluded that fire was accidental) was one such attempt.

In a bid to curb sexual harassment of women sporstpersons, the Sports Ministry wants national federations to frame strict rules, including provisions of filing criminal complaints with appropriate authority if required.

The National Sports Bill, which is to be debated during the Budget session of Parliament, provides for a Complaints Committee to be headed by a woman with not less than half of its members being women. A third party, either an NGO or other body, which is familiar with the issue of sexual harassment, should also be there in the Complaints Committee.

The Supreme Court today reserved its verdict on appeals challenging the Calcutta High Court's order for a fresh CBI into the death of computer graphics teacher Rizwanur Rahman, who had married the daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi, after registering a murder case.

A bench comprising justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan concluded the hearing on cross appeals filed by Ashok Todi, whose daughter Priyanka had married Rizwanur, mother of the deceased Kishwar Jahan and CBI challenging the May 18 order of the High Court.

Rizwanur was found dead near railway tracks in Dumdum area of Kolkata on September 21, 2007, just a month after his marriage on August 18, 2007, to Priyanka.

Ashok Todi, owner of the Rs. 200-crore Lux Cozi hosiery brand, his brother Pradip and brother in-law Anil Sarogi are accused in the case along with senior IPS officers then serving in the Kolkata Police.

Pakistan today said Raymond Davis, jailed for gunning down two armed men, had close links with the Taliban.

In that background, former diplomat MK Bhadrakumar blogs:

Washington has 'hardened' its stance on the Raymond Davis case. It followed an intriguing speech by PM Gilani in the Pak national assembly Monday.Dawnreport says Gilani spoke of 'continuing differences' with US and brought in 'Pakistan's sovereignty and dignity' but vaguely left the door open for an amicable solution so that Davis case 'does not come in the way of this mutually beneficial partnership'.

Read more of this and his other blogs

The MEA yet to confirm whether the worker from Tamil Nadu died under gunfire or in a road accident in Libya.

Meanwhile, cnn.com reports that residents in the Libyan capital of Tripoli reported a food shortage, gunfire and intimidation by security forces today as the country's longtime ruler asserted his power and gave no indication of succumbing to week-long anti-government protests.

-- Residents say they have heard gun shots, explosions, demonstrations and the sound of sirens.

-- Firefighters have not been able to extinguish a fire at the People's Hall government building.

-- Massive protest is expected tonight.

-- Gas stations were closed today because they ran out of fuel, but people believe it was a tactic by the regime to limit people's ability to move around.

American journalist Lara Logan, who has inadvertently become a symbol of the dangers faced by women journalists covering news, is still recovering from the psychological and physical trauma of the assault.

She became a victim of "sexual assault" while reporting on the protests in Egypt, when was stripped, punched, pinched and hit with flag poles.

Giving fresh details of the assault against the CBC correspondent that happened early this month, the report said "her body was covered in red marks".

"Logan was stripped, repeatedly punched, slapped and pinched so hard that sensitive parts of her body were covered in red marks," The New York Post reported.

After being rescued from the attack by a group of women and Egyptian soldiers, Logan, the chief foreign correspondent for the CBC, was taken to the Four Seasons hotel, sedated and then flown to the US, where she is still recovering.

"Lara is getting better daily," a friend said, adding "the psychological trauma is as bad as, if not worse than, the physical injuries. She might talk about it at sometime in the future, but not now."

Mrityunjoy Kumar JhaMEA SOURCES: Initial reports with MEA suggests that he died in a road accident...Murugaiah was travelling from Bengazi to Egypt border.

Murugaiah is the Indian contract worker who allegedly died under gunfire in Libya. Scroll down for the story.

A day of miracles in Parliament.

Slogans like 'We want JPC' were no more heard, there was no trooping into the Well over the 2G issue and all members conducted peacefully as Parliament's Budget session got off today.

In total contrast to the Winter session which was washed out due to stand-off over 2G spectrum allocation issue, the first working day of the Budget Session saw normal functioning in both Houses.

The tone for the peaceful functioning of the Session was set by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he announced the government's decision to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe 2G spectrum allocation.

A 42-year old contract worker from Tamil Nadu employed with a Korean group has been killed and another seriously injured in gunfire during the anti-government violence in Libya, the victim's family said.

The fate of 22 other colleagues, who also hailed from the remote Thalaivankottai village in the district, was not known.

Vellathai said her husband's colleague Ashok Kumar informed the family on Feb 20 about the death of Murugaiah, employed with Hyundai group. She said Kumar also told her he was seriously injured in the gunfire that caused a fire in the camp where the workers had been put up.

Vellathai sought the intervention of the Indian Government to bring back the body of her husband and also the ascertain the condition of the others, whose names were listed in the petition.

According to the petitioner, the 24 semi-skilled workers from the village were employed on a two-year contract by the Korean company for erecting electricity towers on a monthly salary of Rs 30,000.

Four thugsslashed a teacher's face in the UK because they hated him teaching "other religions" to Muslim girls.The four now face jail.

The sun.co.uk reports that Gary Smith suffered a fractured skull and needed three operations after being attacked with a knife, iron bar and lump of concrete.

AMalkangiri fast track court has granted bail to Naxal leader Sriramulu Srinivas as part of deal to free the abducted collector and junior engineer. The bail was given in one case related to dacoity, but he will not be released as there is another case pending against him.

Meanwhile, talks are on to secure the release of collector Krishna and engineer Majhi and the Orissa government is likely to meet eight of the 14 demands made by the Naxals in exchange for their release. Jailed Naxal leader Ganti Prasadam said that that he was willing to speak to the interlocutors.

Alright, this is what happened at the special court inside Sabarmati jail today. Like we told you earlier, our correspondent Sheela Bhatt reporting from the place writes in to say...

Today at 11.07 am Judge PR Patil arrived at a makeshift courtroom inside the historic Sabarmati jail with two set of papers.

One set he gave to the prosecution and another to the defence lawyer. It held the names of 63 accused who had been acquitted and names of the 31 accused who had been convicted.

Most importantly he announced that he has applied section 302,section 120-B, section 149, 307, 323, 324, 332 etc of the Indian Penal Code to the 31 accused and he has also upheld the charge of conspiracy against them.

That was the most important part of the judgement because it has almost divided the nation. The Godhra train carnage was not an accident, said the court, it was a preplanned conspiracy.

Rivetted? Await the details on rediff.com

The earthquake that struck Christchurch has caused some 30 million tons of ice to break off from New Zealand's biggest glacier. Tour guides at the Tasman Glacier in the Southern Alps say the quake caused the ice to "calve" from the glacier, forming icebergs in the terminal lake.

Tourists of Glacier Explorer boats say the icefall caused waves of up to 3.5 meters in height which swept up and down the lake for 30 minutes. The glacier is about 200 kilometers from Christchurch on the west coast.

The powerful earthquake struck Christchurch on Tuesday, toppling tall buildings and churches, crushing buses and killing at least 65 people.

Just in: Honeymoon murder suspect Shrien Dewani is in hospital following a suicide bid, reports the sun.co.uk.

The 31-year-old suspected over the killing last November of his bride Anni - had taken an overdose of pills. Worried relatives were at his bedside in Bristol. A source at the hospital said of the suicide attempt: "It was very serious." The care home tycoon was rushed to hospital after taking an overdose of pills. Distraught relatives were at his bedside yesterday.

The 21-year-old woman was carefully trained not to flirt with anyone who came into the laboratory over the course of several months. She kept eye contact and conversation to a minimum. She never used makeup or perfume, kept her hair in a simple ponytail, and always wore jeans and a plain T-shirt.

Each of the young men thought she was simply a fellow student atFlorida State Universityparticipating in the experiment, which ostensibly consisted of her and the man assembling a puzzle of Lego blocks. But the real experiment came later, when each man rated her attractiveness.

Previous research had shown that a woman at the fertile stage of her menstrual cycle seems more attractive, and that same effect was observed here '" but only when this woman was rated by a man who wasn't already involved with someone else.

Read from the NYT story on the The Threatening Scent of Fertile Women

In case you've forgotten, yesterday, the Bombay High Court upheld the death penalty for Pakistani gunman Mohammad Ajmal Qasab.

Now, hangman Mammu Singh says that it is his wish to execute Qasab, who has been sentenced to death in the 26/11 case. The 62-year-old hangman says he want to hang Kasab in public view, if given permission.

"Mammu jallad", as he is popularly known, says hanging Kasab in public would send a strong message to the world that enemies of the country will meet a similar fate.

Mammu's hails from a family of hangmans.

His grandfather Ram Rakha had executed Bhagat Singh during the British period.

His father Kallu Singh, who was also involved in the same profession, hung notorious criminal duo Billa and Ranga in 1981, besides executing the killers of Indira Gandhi.

Mammu, who has so far executed more than 12 convicts, said he would feel proud in hanging Kasab in Meerut jail where eight convicts are awaiting their turn for the gallows.

And while on the Taliban, the terror group's top leadership, under pressure from their protectors in Pakistan, has ordered stepped up insurgency in Afghanistan by pushing many unwilling mid-level commanders across the porous border, according to a media report.

"They (Taliban fighters) are now coming under pressure from their leaders to return to Afghanistan to step up the fight again," The New York Times quoted a Taliban commander as saying.

After suffering defeats with the influx of thousands of new American troops in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand last year, many Taliban fighters retreated into Pakistan.

Remember American official Raymond Davis who's still sweating it out in some dank Pakistani jail for gunning down two armed men? Well, the Pakistan government has now said that Davis had "close links" with the Tehrik-e-Taliban and was "instrumental" in recruiting youths for the militant group.

This comes a day after US media reported that Davis was working for the CIA as a security contractor. Call records retrieved from mobile phones found on Davis had allegedly established his links with 33 Pakistanis, including 27 militants from the banned Taliban.

Interesting story from the dailymail.co.uk. It says that disturbing evidence has emerged that the psychological seeds of a criminal career can be seen before kids even reach nursery school -- before the age of three -- and it can be treated.

Read it, but don't get paranoid

In case you missed it amid the excitement of the Godhra verdict,Libya's beseigedleader Muammar Gaddafi appeared on Libyan State TV last evening.

Whenit was imminent that a statement from Gadhafiwas expected, word spread quickly through the streets in Libya and also across the world through Twitter, says the Huffington Post.

WhenGaddafi finally began speaking, it was over in a blink.

His "speech" was less than 20 seconds long to dispel rumors that he had fled Libya.

Most bizarre of all was the setting. Gadhafi is holding an umbrella. He says he had been talking to young people at the Green Square in Tripoli, but stepped away because he wanted to speak to the Libyan nation and make it clear he was in Tripoli.

He adds that he's not in Venezuela as the "dogs" (foreign media) have said.

See the picture

In what is a 'big deal' politically, two Iranian warships have entered the Suez Canal to make a passage to the Mediterranean Sea.

The warships are headed to Syria for training. But Israel has described the operation as a "provocation" since this is the first time since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution that Iranian warships have passed through the Suez Canal.

Sixth day today for Malkangiri district collector and engineer abducted by Naxals in Orissa.

The update is that Maoist-chosen mediators held discussions with hardcore Naxal leader Ganti Prasadam on the release of the two men and said they were hopeful of a resolution of the six-day crisis "very soon, may be today".

Suggestions made by Ganti Prasadam will be discussed with the state government and negotiations were likely to be complete and crisis resolved very soon, may be today," said interlocutor Prof G Hargopal.

Let's leave the Godhra verdict for a bit, since the story has almost been put to bed for the day.

In Afghanistan, Taliban's mid-level field commanders are reluctant to return to some battle zones despite pressure from their top leaders based in Pakistan. Many Taliban members had withdrawn to Pakistan after their defeats in Kandahar and Helmand, where American troop presence had increased by thousands.

The Taliban leadership based in Pakistan wanted them to go back and fight but many of the Taliban fighters were not keen on returning, it claimed.

abstract_voidHow shamelessly on TV Congress spoke person Jayanti asking affected litigants to go for higher courts and don't rely on this verdict

ravioletiRavichandra Oleti If what happened afterGodhrais blot so is theGodhra.. Congress must treat both in same way if they are really secular.

barbarindianby Suratsuri Riot accused acquitted = miscarriage of justiceGodhravictim acquitted = justice prevailed

Hermanprit Singhby amsrjn Godhraverdict is bigger judicial success than the open-shut case of Kasab. Proving a conspiracy - "prior meeting of minds" is never easy.

KiranKSKiran Kumar Sby S_Chaitanya 2#Godhrapetrol pump men, Ranjitsingh Patel & Prabhatsingh Patel said they sold 140 lt of petrol the previous evening to Muslim looking men

The CBI has sought sanction of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to prosecute former Prasar Bharti CEO B S Lalli and Doordarshan Director General Aruna Sharma in connection with allegations of corruption in award of broadcasting rights of Commonwealth Games.

The PM wanted explanations be sought from Lalli and Sharma in the award of broadcasting rights of Commonwealth Games causing a Rs.135 crore loss to the exchequer.

Here's when and how the conspiracy theory came to roost in the Godhra case.

September 4, 2004: A Committee headed by former SupremeCourt judge U C Banerjee was constituted following a Union Cabinet decision to inquire into certain aspects of the train burning incident. This was when Lalu Prasad was the railway minister.

September 21, 2004: Decision to review POTA charges against the accused as POTA is repealed by the newly elected UPA government.

January 17, 2005: U C Banerjee submits preliminary report suggesting that fire in S6 coach was an 'accident' and ruled out the possibility of fire having resulted after any external attack.

May 16, 2005: POTA Review Committee gives its opinion to not charge the accused under POTA.

October 13, 2006: Gujarat High Court rules formation of U C Banerjee committee as "illegal" and "unconstitutional" since Nanavati-Shah Commission was already conducting inquiry in all riot-related cases and said Banerjee probe results stand 'invalid'.

March 26, 2008: SC constitutes Special Investigation Team to investigate Godhra train burning incident and eight other post-Godhra riot cases.

September 18, 2008: Nanavati Commission submits its report on Godhra train burning incident, saying that it was a pre-planned conspiracy and S6 coach was torched by a mob which had poured petrol inside it.

Here's why the special court has upheld the conspiracy theory in the Sabarmati train burning case. This is what special public prosecutor JM Panchal said:

-- Petrol was brought and the train was made to stop.

-- Electricity was then cut and there was pouring of huge quantity of petrol and thereafter it was set afire so far as S-6 coach is concerned.

More power to the Kerala government. Here's why...

In a significant legislation againt the corporate giant Coca Cola, Kerala's CPI (M)-led LDF Government today introduced a bill in the state Assembly seeking to set up a special tribunal to realise compensation from the softdrink for the losses its plant at Plachimada caused to the people in the area.

The bill was introduced on the basis the recommendation of a high power committee which found that a huge loss to the tune of Rs 216.16 crore had been caused by the plant of the Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd at Plachimada village in Palakkad district.

More reactions coming in on the verdict.

Jayanthi Natrajan, Congress spokesperson: This is the first court. The litigants have other courts of appeal. Cannot comment on the judgment per se. In the political sense, however, whatever happened post-Godhra, are still a blot on Narendra Modi and his government, and they are single-handedly responsible for it.

This is from MK Bhadrakumar's blog

The Indian expectations are that its bid for UN security membership can be brought to fruition by end-2012 when its current two year term of non-permanent membership runs out. Of course, the establishment's optimism never really carried any credibility with the foreign policy analysts in Delhi. But the optimism survives.

Read more

Sheela Bhatt will dissect the judgment into bite sized pieces for easy consumption shortly. But while we await that, here's what's happening in the rest of India and the world.

Normal life in Kashmir was affected partially today following a strike call given by the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference to protest against the Delhi Police's restriction order against its Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani barring him from leaving the capital.

While shops and business establishments in Lal Chowk, a commercial hub, and adjoining areas remained closed, the shutdown call was partially observed in civil lines area of the city and other suburbs.

Saeed Omerjee, son of the main accused Maulana Omerjee says, the police did not want the real story to be revealed.

Point to note. No family members of either the accused or the victims were at the Sabarmati jail where the Godhra verdict was announced. As Sheela said earlier, the mood in Ahmedabad is a mix of bitternessand fatalism.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad says the verdict will lay to rest those who blamed the victims.

Congress: Says it respects thejudgment, but asks what about those acquitted who have spent nine years in jail.

IM Munshi, defence lawyer: The acquitted who are in Navsari jail can ask for compensation. It's unfortunate that they had to spend nine years in jail.

RK Raghavan, Head, SIT: Would like to study the judgment before commenting, but the SIT stand has been vindicated.

A quick retake on the Godhra verdict.

-- The special court of Additional Sessions Judge P R Patel convicted 31 undertrials today for burning down coach S-6 of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra Railway Station in February, 2002.

-- The act of violence killed 59 passengers.

-- The designated court inside the Sabarmati Jail premises acquitted 63 of those charged.

-- The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on February 25.

-- An unidentified mob had attacked the train which carried members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad returning from Ayodhya.

-- Most of the dead were VHP members.

-- The Godhra verdict is the first among the nine 2002 Gujarat riots cases in which the Supreme Court had ordered further probe by a Special Investigation Team.

-- At present, 95 persons are undergoing trial in the case. Of them, 80 are lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad. Fifteen are out on bail and five other accused are juvenile. Another 16 accused in the case are absconding.

One of the main accused Maulvi Omerjee has been acquitted for lack of evidence. Read the exclusive rediff.com interview with his son, Saeed Omerjee.

Let no family suffer like we have

More on what special public prosecutor JM Panchal said immediately after the verdict was read out in court.

-- Conspiracy has been accepted by the court.

-- 31 convicted of criminal conspiracy

-- Motive of conspiracy to set the train on fire. The vestibule was cut, kerosene poured and the coach was set on fire.

-- There can be no debate on judicial verdict.

-- Verdict based on oral evidence, eyewitness accounts.

-- Quantum of punishment to be decided on Friday.

-- Don't want to comment on Banerjee Commission. (Justice Bannerjee committee report that the burning of the train wasn't a pre-planned conspiracy but a spontaneous event)

Razak Kurkur, another prime accused, found guilty.

JM Panchal, special public prosecutor says, no debate on judicial verdict. Personal views have no place in the case. Conspiracy has been accepted by the court. The motive behind the conspiracy is to set the coach on fire.

This means that the central government appointed Justice Bannerjee committee report that the burning of the train wasn't a pre-planned conspiracy but a spontaneous event, stands quashed.

Maulvi Omerjee, one of the main accused in the Godhra train burning case, acquitted. This is the first verdict in the case after nine years. The quantum of punishment will be announced on Friday, February 25.

Thirty-one have been convicted of criminal conspiracy -- 120 B and 301 of the IPC has been applied.

The Special Court has just announced the verdict in the Godhra case. Thirty-one guilty and convicted in the case. Fifty-three acquitted. Court has upheld the conspiracy aspect of the case.

The special court in Ahmedabad is debating the Sabarmati train burning case that killed 59, even as the Parliament is in session.

Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt who is at hand outside the Sabarmati jail (journalists have not been allowed inside the jail) where the verdict will be read out says that people of Ahmedabad, particularly the middle class, is showing no interest in the case. A senior citizen from Vastrapur, Ahmedabad explains the apathy, "We believe Godhra was a conspiracy. We believe 59 people were burnt alive. We don't need proof or explanation on it.

"Whatever the judgment, we will keep voting for Modi. For development, Modi is the best."

The PM looks forlorn listening in to the Sharad Yadav (JDU) presenting his view. Yadav makes a dig at Suresh Kalmadi, sitting smug.

Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI) says its good that the PM has done his job. Better late than never.

Speaker Meira Kumar is like a conducter of a symphony orchestra,where every member wants to play a different tune. Yet she manages togetthe symphony going without jarring notes.

Question hour begins.

Alright, the budget session of the Parliament begins. PM Manmohan Singh addresses the house, amid pleas of "baith jaiye". PM introduces newly appointed ministers and says country cannot afford to lose out on another session. PM announces JPC on 2G scam

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj says itsa victory of democracy, not the opposition, that the government has conceeded to a JPC.

"I don't have any words to describe our plight in the last nine years. My Ammi (mother) says if Islam allows suicide she would like to end her life," says Saeed Omerjee, son of Maulvi Omerjee, one of the main accusedin the Godhra train burning case.

The judgement of the case dealing with the burning of the compartments of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra station on February 27, 2002, will be deliveredtoday by the special court in Ahmedabad.

Read the full story

As we await the Godhra verdict, in Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, appeared on state TV dismissing reports that he had fled amid the unrest sweeping the country.

Calling foreign news channels "dogs", Gaddafi said he was in Tripoli and not in Venezuela," after rumours that he had flown to Caracas.

Col Gaddafi's statement came after security forces and protesters clashed in the capital for a second night. The UN Security Council is to meet in closed session to discuss Libya.

Sheela and other journalists sitll outside the jail where the verdictin theSabarmati train burning case will be read out. Police officials say they don't have the court's permission to letjournalists in. They say that the judgment will be known only after the lawyers emerge from the courtroom.

The burning of the Sabarmati Express has proven to be a turning point in contemporary Indian history. The trial of one of the most controversial legal cases of independent India went on for more than 18 months.

Many non-government organisations and accused had objected to the conduct of the trial in Gujarat. Almost every legal point of the case had been challenged in court.

The case has 15 accused named as main conspirators and executors of the plot. There are another 119 accused facing smaller charges. They had complained that in the fight between the Gujarat government and secular organisations, they have suffered due to delayed justice.

Sheela Bhatt tells us that the security arrangements in the communally sensitive area of Ahmedabad are very good. Had the security arrangements been this good after Godhra, there would have been no deaths in the riots. The Gujarat government seems determined to keep peace.

The reports in the local media claims the Modi government is silently and secretly cultivating Muslim leaders. The most backward areas of Godhra where Muslims lived are now getting regular water supply and power. All the accused are from the Signal Falia and adjoining lanes.

Civic facilities are better now compared to 2002.

Good morning. A special court today will deliver the verdict in the Godhra train burning case in a courtroom inside the Sabarmati Jail in Ahmedabad. Reporting from the site is rediff.com correspondent, Sheela Bhatt.

Sheela reports:

I am outside Central Jail, Ahmedabad. More than 50 reporters and and a dozen cameramen are waiting to witness the unfolding of the event. Judge PR Patel will deliver the judgment at 11 am.

The trial was stayed between 2002 and 2009 because of the numerous petitions filed in the Supreme Court. The trial ended on September 2010.

134 accused have been tried, five were juvenile, five died in judicial custody -- ninety-eight were finally tried. Three accused are in Pakistan.

The Godhra case is related to the burning of Sabramati Express's compartment C-6 at Godhra on February 27, 2002, in which 59 people were burnt alive.