Vaihayasi Daniel from KEM: The condition of another victim of the Dadar blast, Dheemabai Palve, 60, turns serious.

May be Chidambaram should tell his family to remain calm...

On Pakistan's Dawn newspaper:

Three bombs rocked crowded districts of Mumbai during rush hour on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people in the biggest militant attack on India's financial capital since 2008 assaults blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

India has remained jittery about the threat of militant strikes, especially since the November 2008 attacks which killed 166 people and raised tensions with nuclear-armed arch rival Pakistan.

And their headline goes: Triple terrorist blasts kill at least 20 in Mumbai. (Don't miss the quote marks)

Vicky Nanjappa provides an insight into the Indian Mujahideen

Operation Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi (BAD) announced the arrival of the Indian Mujahideen. Although this outfit is an offshoot of the Students Islamic Movement of India had carried out blasts at a court in Uttar Pradesh, it was operation BAD which put the IM on the world terror map.

The police were led to believe that this organisation is on the back foot and therefore investigations continued to take place at a snail's pace -- which is precisely why the IM could regroup and possibly carry out today's terror attack.

OK, the 'spirit of Mumbai' and 'reslience' surfaces...

Suhel Seth: The spirit of Mumbai is indestuctible...the people shall rise again but that's no reason for testing India's patience!!

Hrithik Roshan: Feeling sad, angry and helpless!I pray for the families of the victims. On a resilient note, I need to believe

Onkar Singh reports

Girish Chander Saxena, former governor of Jammu and Kashmir and former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, which is investigating the blasts said that the serial blasts were the handiwork of the ISI whose bosses are trying to flex their muscles to spread terror in India.

"I have little doubt that the incidents in Mumbai and the incidents in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir in which three top terrorists including two persons of Pakistan origin and a local Kashmiri militant were killed by the security forces could be linked," he said.

This is what Mumbai looked like in the immediate aftermath of the blasts:

Splattered blood, glass shrapnels, damaged vehicles, dazed and bleeding people were seen at Kabutar Khana on the western side of the Dadar railway station.

Policemen swarmed the area with their bomb and vapour detection gadgets and armoured vehicles within minutes of the explosion.

All the three scenes of the blasts have been cordoned off as police, ATS and forensic experts are scouring the area for clues.

Read: The serial blast coverage on rediff.com

Key IM members spill beans to NIA

Terror strikes not targeting Gujaratis: Chavan

IN PICTURES: Mumbai's 3 deadly bomb blasts

Home grown jihad, external bomb maker

VIDEOS: Eyewitness accounts and the destruction

Date, modus operandi point to IM involvement: Special Cell

Quite obviously, chaos reigned at various hospitals in Mumbai with over 113 injured people being rushed for treatment after serial bomb blasts rocked the Mumbai this evening.

Most of those wounded were taken to JJ, St George, GT, KEM and Harkishandas hospitals as the medical staff scrambled to tackle the sudden medical emergency.

At JJ Hospital, 17 injured were admitted of which one died during treatment. At Harkishandas Hospital, 29 persons, injured at the blast at Opera House, were brought, of which six have suffered serious wounds.

Some of the victims were moved to Nair and Saifee hospitals for further treatment," Jayant Patil, Mumbai City's Guardian Minister.

At St George Hospital, 9 persons were admitted of which one is said to be in a serious condition.

Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan dismissed speculation that terrorists were trying to target areas inhabited by Gujaratis. Talking to this correspondent over the phone said, "Let the investigations begin, but I don't see anything which points to it.

"Let the NIA begin the investigation. We will comment on the perpetrators only after NIA investigates it. There was no alert in the city. We did not have any information that such a strike is possible. In that sense we were not prepared but, we will help victims in every way and we will finish investigating as soon as possible."

No politician has remarked on the "spirit of Mumbai" yet. Whoever does, deserves a slap.

CM is just done with his visit to GT Hospital.

Hours after the serial blasts, an abandoned bag was found in suburban Santacruz. The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad rushed to the spot to check its contents, but nothing suspicious was found.

The police control room was flooded with phone calls regarding unattended bags and abandoned vehicles found in the city.

After the initial shock, Mumbaikars smile again. And anyone using the word 'resilient' deserves a slap. We're sick and tired of our famed resilience.

Vaihayasi Daniel reports from KEM hospital: Ashwini Sawant, neighbour of Vishwakarma who is serious and is a furniture contractor, says the victim has a one-year old daughter, Soni. His wife's name is Rinku.

The family got a call at 8.30 pm to come quickly to KEM. They are now at KEM but have been told to wait. Wife's been told to wait, and she's been crying piteously.

Here's all the help you need if you're stranded in Mumbai or have a dear one missing. Hospital helplines, home stays, police control room numbers... It's all here.

See the amazing Google spreadsheet.

Heads up. The taxi union has called off its 'strike'. If you can find them after midnight and they are willing to ply, go ahead and try.

Kshamalya Patil says...

It was around 7 pm and I was at the Dadar market, shopping for groceries. I was at the market opposite the Dr Antonia da Silva high school gate, when the sound of a blast paralysed me.

I turned around, and all I could see was smoke, flames and chaos.

People were running helter-sketer. A big puff of smoke went up the air followed by a flash of fire. All I could see was people crying for help and a few good people lending help.

Counter-terrorism expert B Raman tells Sheela Bhatt: "The National Investigative Agency needs to investigate if these blasts are retaliation for the arrests of two alleged Indian Mujahideen operatives, who provided vehicles used in 2008 serial blasts in Gujarat. The blasts had killed 56 and wounded over 200."

On July 6, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, led by Rakesh Maria, had arrested Mohammed Mobin Abdul Shakoor Khan alias Irfan (32) and his cousin Ayub Raja Amin Shaikh (28) in an Arms Act case from suburban Mankhurd.

The two have been remanded in police custody till July 16.

Remember, two Indian Mujhaideen operatives were arrested in Mumbai yesterday. TV reports say the IM or the LeT may be behind the blasts.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai police have told people to stay indoors. Hopefully, the terror tourists will oblige.

Toral Varia reports that Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan will be visiting all the three blast sites. He said 81 have been injured in the blasts.

"Initial reports we are getting is of scooter and car used in the blasts, but investigations are on currently and we will be able to confirm our findings only after the the police make sufficient progress in the investigations."

Meanwhile, NCP leader Ajit Pawar has gone to the blast site at Dadar.

High alert has been sounded in Gujarat, Minister of state for Home Praful Patel said.

The minister also called a meeting of top officials to discuss the emerging law and order situation. Director General of Police Chitranjan Singh said special operations group in districts and crime branches in major cities like Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot have been put on alert.

Quick Response Teams have been sent to places such as bus stations, railway stations, airport, religious places and other public places.

Vaihayasi Daniel reporting from KEM hospital says three people who were injured in the car at Dadar have been hospitalised. The occupants of the car -- the driver and two passengers -- were the victims.

MLA Nitin Sardesai came to the hospital as well as the mayor.

Viewer discretion advised: Site of the bomb blast at Opera House.

The CM puts the injured figure at 81, death toll 13. He says the attack is at the heart of India.

While there are conflicting information about the blasts at Dadar, Assistant commissioner of police Madhukar Sankhe says that the explosion occurred from the eletric meter box that powered the illuminated advertisement placed over the Hanuman Mandir bus stop at Dadar.

The three injured at Dadar have been identified as Varsha Kariya, L D'souza and Mankeshwar Vishwakarma.

Rediff.com's N Ganesh says that Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has camped at the Mumbai police control room along with his deputy Ajit Pawar.

He said that 54 ambulances were pressed into service to move the injured to the hospitals.

Chavan appealed for peace in wake of the serial bomb blasts engineered by terrorists.

He added that the explosive device were IEDs.

Vaihayasi Daniel reporting from KEM Hospital says seven victims have been admitted.

They are: Mandkeshwar Vishwakarma, 48, whose condition is stated to be serious.

Dhananjay Adhikari, 62

Abhinav Shivaji Rao, 26

Prashant Buwar, 22

Shirish Kandarkar, 45

Varsha Kariya, 25

Lucania D'Souza, 29

Home minister P Chidambaram addresses a press conference in Delhi. Encapsulated, here it is.

-- 10 dead, 54 injured.

-- Mumbai on high alert.

-- Three blasts confirmed.

-- Maintain peace and calm.

-- NSG on standby

-- There will be a statement every two hours.

Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik confirms that 15 people have been killed in the three blasts that occured between 6:30 pm and 7 pm.

The ATS and Crime Branch team are at the sites.

Toral Varia reporting from the three blast stites at Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and Kabutar Khana in Dadar say all the blasts are Low to medium intensity (as confirmed by our terror expert B Raman, see earlier post). And interestingly, all three areas are Gujarati strongholds. The buzz is: If you can't get them in Narendra Modi's Gujarat, get them in Mumbai in the Gujarati strongholds.

Raman adds, "If you observe the places selected by terrorists you find a similarity between these blasts and the serial blasts of Mumbai in 2006."

He said, "Even at that time the target were people returning home from bazars via trains. At that time they targeted businessmen and traders, largely Gujaratis, who were returning home. Zaveri Bazar and Opera House areas are populated with Gujaratis.

NIA investigators should explore this line and check have they selected these areas to target Gujaratis? Since, terrorists are unable to do much inside Gujarat, have they again targeted Gujarati areas? This point needs to be double-checked."

Sheela Bhatt, quoting B Raman, who is a terrorism/security expert: "From what I have seen on TV, I can say that this seems the explosives were NOT  high density. It may have been triggered using time a device."  

Army in touch with the Mumbai police. PM Manmohan Singh is in touch with Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Patil.

CM said blasts were reported in Panchratna building in Diamond Market area at Opera House, Bank of India branch in Zaveri Bazaar near Mumbadevi temple and Kabutarkhana near the Hanuman temple in Dadar west.

Confirmed reports say over a 100 people injured in the serial blasts. Victims have glass shards, deep injuries. '

Mumbai Police has appealed: Don't drive for two hours so that emergency crews have empty road.

Vaihayasi Daniel, who is at Dadar Kabutarkhana, reports that the site of the blast is behind a bus stop. Crowds mulling around. More despatches soon.

Vicky Nanjappa adds that looking at the manner in which these blasts have been planned, it becomes clear that the intention of the terrorist group was not to scare, but to cause major casualties.

Vicky Nanjappa says investigators looking for leads into the case say the attack has been planned over a couple of months.

The targets have been chosen carefully -- not only are these areas sensitive in nature, but they are crowded ensuring high casualties.

Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa says the Intelligence Bureau and the Home Ministry have confirmed the blasts as terror attacks. A red alert has been declared across the nation.

The IB which is investigating the case says that it is too early to determine who is behind this blast, however, the Indian Mujahideen is being considered a possibility.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that 7 IEDs were used and the explosive device was wrapped in cloth bags and tiffin carriers -- the signature of the IM.

Reports also say there is an unexploded bomb at Dadar, but it is yet to be found. Eyewitnesses speak of the grievous nature of the injuries on the victims.

Toll so far is 10. Remember, these are early reports, so the figures are bound to change, we hope the figure is exaggerated.

Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt spoke to jewellers at Zaveri Bazaar, the site of one of the three blasts. The jewelers say they are petrified. Ankit Jhaveri told rediff.com, "We heard the blast at around 7.05 pm. It was very loud -- we were shaken; I have never heard such a loud noise before."

High alert has been declared across Mumbai.

OK, the Home ministry has confirmed that the serial blasts are terror attacks, say TV reports. The explosions are in fact, bomb blasts.

Casualty figures so far: Six people dead in Dadar, four in Zaveri Bazaar...

The redoubtable National Security Guard is on standby. One of the blasts was in a meter box in Zaveri Bazaar. The NIA team is on its way to Mumbai.

Four people have apparently been killed in Zaveri Bazaar, which is an extremely congested area, guaranteed to have high casualties. Unconfirmed reports say 20 people have been killed in Zaveri Bazaar alone.

OK, let's not be alarmist -- unconfirmed reports say 100 have been injured, but various TV channels put the figure between four and 12.

At least a 100 people have been injured in the blasts, but again the number has not been confirmed by the Mumbai police. 

The NIA team will be sent to Mumbai for pre and post explosion investigations.  

NDTV says there has been a blast in a car in Dadar West. The information was first relayed to the police in a phone call. 

It's three,  not two blasts. Again, these are explosions, not bomb blasts, as yet. 

One of the blasts, and we are not calling it a bomb blast yet, is at Prasad Chamber in Opera House, while the other one is at Dadar. Police and the fire brigade have reached the sites.

Early reports contradictory: Some channels say two blasts -- Opera House, Dadar and other channels say three -- Zaveri Bazaar

Newsflash: Yet to be confirmed, but news comes in that there has been a bomb blast near Opera House, Kabutarkhana and Zaveri Bazaar.

News just in now, is that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has withdrawn his bid for BSkyB. Almost nearing arrest, Mudoch had little choice.

The other stories today...

1. PM accepts Gurudas Kamat's resignation
2. UP govt wants CBI probe into Sachan's death
3. US$23 bn upgrade for Mirage 2000 aircraft
4. NIS guards beat up anti-doping whistleblower
5. Mamata declares Junglemahal tribals BPL
6. Secret report nails Pak for fake currency
7. Sulking Jena yet to assume charge as MoS
8. Devastated, weeping Karzai buries brother
9. 2G: HC slams 'rubbish' petition against Tata
10. Six convicted in post-Godhra riot case
11. Kalanidhi granted more time to appear before cops
12. Rajini to return from Singapore tonight
13. Coimbatore man beaten to death on busy street
14. Murdoch, son, NoW former editor summoned
15. French prefer rape-tainted DSK to Sarkozy
16. ISI chief in Washington for terror talk

Remember the interlocutors who were quickly put together last year as J-K burned? Well, news coming out of the state is that a majority of people there are against any division of the state and favour a political settlement through dialogue, central interlocutors said today.

Wrapping up their 10th visit to Jammu and Kashmir, head of the panel of interlocutors Dileep Padgaonkar said four "common" views have emerged from the team's interactions with the people with the other two being -- power sharing among the state's regions and restoring the pluralistic and tolerant culture.

Meanwhile, CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat today said the recent cabinet reshuffle will do little to improve the UPA government's scan-tainted image.

"We are concerned with the government and its policies, and not individuals. The question is whether the rejig will help to boost the image of the government... I don't think so," Karat said when asked for comment on yesterday's reshuffle.

Just in: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has accepted Gurudas Kamat's resignation. Yesterday, Kamat refused to attend the swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in a show of defiance over his transfer in the reshuffle to the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

Kamat's grouse was over two things - he considered the portfolio too low-key for him and he wanted to a ministerial berth.

UP government today recommended a CBI inquiry into the mysterious death of Deputy CMO Y S Sachan in a jail here, a day before the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court is to give its order on a PIL seeking probe by the central agency.

"The CBI inquiry has been recommended on the directives of Chief Minister Mayawati, who reviewed the progress of Sachan's case in a high-level meeting and pulled up the police officers," an official spokesman said here.

The decision came after judicial probe into Sachan's death found it to be prima facie a case of murder, contradicting Uttar Pradesh government's claim that it was a suicide.

Opposing a PIL in the High Court seeking a CBI probe into the case, the Mayawati government, which had come under attack after the death of Sachan, had yesterday said it was ready for a probe by a Special Investigation team after the report by Chief Judicial Magistrate Rajesh Upadhyaya was opened before the Lucknow bench.

And more on Dominique Strauss-Kahn. DSK reportedly sent a text message to a French writer who has filed a criminal complaint against him for attempted rape, asking, 'Do I scare you?'  

Former IMF chief sent the message to Tristane Banon, 32, who accused him of attempted rape, after the incident. 

Police questioned Banon for five hours on Monday as part of a preliminary probe into whether to pursue or dismiss the case.   Banon alleges she fought to repel Strauss-Kahn as he tried to unhook her bra and open her jeans like a 'rutting chimpanzee' during a pre-arranged interview for a book she was writing.

It's Sushma Swaraj's marriage anniversary and on Twitter, the senior BJP leader has been surprisingly forthcoming on personal details.

She says (in this compilation of tweets) ...

Today is our wedding annniversary.I got married to Swaraj Kaushal in 1975. We were both practising lawyers before Supreme Court of India. I was elected to Haryana Assembly in 1977 and became the youngest Cabinet Minister in the country at the age of 25 years.

Swaraj ji was designated as a Senior Advocate by Supreme Court of India in 1986 and became the first Advocate General of Mizoram. He was Governor of Mizoram for three years (1990-93).

He holds the distinction of being youngest Governor in the country at 37 years of age. He was Member of Parliament from 1998-2004.

Our only child is a daughter Bansuri. She is a Barrister from Inner Temple. She has done her Masters from Oxford University.

Unbelievable, but true.

Moscow's first sex museum opened last month is already courting controversy for featuring soviet condoms, a wall of drawings celebrating spanking, and US President Barack Obama and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin fighting against each other with oversized penises as main attractions.  

The museum, subtly titled Tochka G ('G Spot') opened off Arbat, Moscow''s famous tourist street boasts of offerings ranging from the absurd to the historical, reports the Guardian.  

The museum''s main draw is an oil painting by St Petersburg artist Vera Donskaya-Khilko titled Wrestling (2011). The canvas is dominated by Putin and Obama, standing face to face as they prepare to do battle with their enormous penises.

More than one million websites closed down in China last year, a state-run think tank has said, reports bbc.co.uk.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said there were were 41 per cent fewer websites at the end of 2010 than a year earlier.

Chinese officials have tightened regulations on the internet in recent years, and they launched a crackdown on pornography websites in 2009.

A former medical officer of NIS Patiala, Dr Sanjib Nandi was today assaulted by guards as he tried to enter the institution premises in Patiala to meet Justice Mukul Mudgal, who is probing the athletics doping scandal.

Nandi, who blew the whistle on the doping practices in NIS Patiala, wanted to meet Justice Mudgal but was stopped by the guards at the gates this morning, refused entry and beaten up.

After giving a call to Maoists to lay down arms, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today turned her attention to the poorest of the poor in the Junglemahal region of Bengal by announcing that all tribals in the three districts would be included in the BPL list.

Banerjee is on  a two-day visit to the Maoist-hit areas, her first as chief minister. Stating that the key to development in Junglemahal comprising West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts, lay in food for all, she said, "Our government's top priority is to give food to all. The huge population living in junglemahal is poor. If all get food, the problem will be solved. The previous government neglected development of junglemahal," she said.

India's National Investigating Agency has recently filed a 'confidential' report before the special NIA court in Mumbai. Rediff.com's Toral Varia who has access to the report says the findings nail Pakistan's role in the manufacturing and circulation of Fake Indian Currency Notes in India.  

The NIA in a recently filed supplementary chargesheet before the special NIA court in Mumbai, has claimed that there has been a significant rise in the instances of counterfeit currencies being funneled in the Indian market by elements of state of actors of some foreign country.

The report goes on to clarify that the 'foreign country' is Pakistan. This supplementary chargesheet has been filed against 7 accused arrested in 2009.

Full report on rediff.com shortly

Even as Home Minister P Chidambaram welcomed the ceasefire announced by ULFA, Paresh Barua, heading the ULFA's anti-talk faction, rejected the unilateral ceasefire declared by the Arabindo Rajkhowa-led group.

"The ceasefire declared by Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa is against the ULFA's constititution and we refuse to accept it," Barua said. Citing the ULFA "constitution", he said no member who had been jailed or was in the custody of 'enemy camp' could take any decision on the ULFA's behalf.

He pointed out that the chairman and some senior members were currently out of jail on bail.

Sri Lanka's former World Cup winning captain-turned politician Arjuna Ranatunga was today acquitted by a court of charges of assaulting police and being part of an unlawful assembly demanding release of ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka Ranatunga.

Fonseka is an MP from the opposition Democratic National Alliance party. Ranatunga and two more colleagues -- Vijitha Herath and Ajith Kumara -- were charged with assaulting police and being members of an unlawful gathering.

Jena had yesterday suggested that coalition compulsion had blocked his promotion.

However, he made it clear that he would not quit the Council of Ministers and that he would talk to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, highlighting his seniority in politics and "views of people of Odisha" on lack of representation in the Cabinet.

Jena, who was a Cabinet Minister in United Front government in 1996, feels a Cabinet berth would suit his profile and stature as he has been four-time MP.

All eight new ministers assumed charge of their portfolios except for Gurudas Kamat (who quit) and Srikant Jena.

Jena kept everyone guessing as to whether he would assume charge as Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation with Independent charge. Jena remained at his home but incommunicado, with his staff saying he was scheduled to go to Odisha either this evening or tomorrow morning in connection with the rally of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi in the state.

Officials in the Statistics and Programme Implementation ministry said no function regarding assumption of office by the new minister was scheduled for today.

CBI today sought clarifications from Standard Chartered Bank officials in connection with its probe into former Aircel chief C Sivasankaran's allegations that the then Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran forced him to sell his company to Malaysia-based Maxis group in 2006.

The agency has registered a preliminary enquiry into sale of telecom spectrum during 2001-07.

Sources in the agency said Standard Chartered was the banker in the deal in which Maxis bought 74 per cent stake in Aircel. They said documents from the bank could provide crucial details about the financial transactions.

Beleaguered former Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas has moved the Delhi High Court requesting stay on the appointment of the new CVC.

Thomas has sought the court's direction on the appeal filed by him on March 16 and urged President Pratibha Patil to wait for the decision before the new CVC is appointed.

The Supreme Court had on March 3 quashed the appointment of Thomas as CVC, as a chargesheet was pending against him in a corruption case.

A weeping Afghan President Hamid Karzai led thousands of mourners today in burying his brother, assassinated by his own head of security in Kandahar.

Ahmed Wali Karzai was for years dogged by allegations of links to the drugs trade and corruption, but his death is a huge blow for NATO and the government, who made him the key powerbroker in the south and threatens to fan insecurity.

The Afghan leader cried openly during the burial, at one point climbing inside the grave to help move his brother's body and kissing his forehead as the corpse was lowered into the ground. Friends and officials tried to calm Karzai and help him out, but he stayed inside the grave and many in the surrounding crowd were also in tears.

Al-Qaeda is plotting a devastating "cyber jihad" against Britain and the West, it was revealed yesterday. The Sun.co.uk says that terrorists have even tried to "invade" Facebook in their campaign of electronic warfare.

The extremists have launched crack units to target key computer systems. And Google Earth and Street View are being used to help plan atrocities.

Read

Bizarre news. Malaysia's Islamic National Fatwa Council has asked Muslims not to eat geckos or use them for medicinal purposes, saying it fell within "filthy"category of animals. 

After a two-day consultation, the council ruled that geckos fell within "filthy" category of animals for Muslims and it urged them not to make eating the reptiles a habit.

The reptiles, which are quiet popular, can reportedly fetch up to thousands of rupees each for their purported medicinal value, including supposedly being a remedy for diseases like AIDS.

The Delhi High Court today refused to entertain a petition seeking a direction to the CBI to make Reliance ADAG chairman Anil Ambani, Tata Group chief
Ratan Tata, corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and DMK chief M Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal, as accused in 2G case. 

"It is a rubbish petition. If I find that we you (petitioner) have tried to interfere with the investigation then you may be in bigger trouble," Justice Ajit Bharihoke
said. 

"Either you withdraw your petition or argue at your own peril," he said, forcing the petitioner M Furquan, a Delhi-based scribe, to withdraw his plea.
"The petition is dismissed as withdrawn," Justice Bharihoke said in his order.

MK Bhadrakumar on Pak ISI chief's visit to Washington today. 

The Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence Shuja Pasha left Pakistan toay on a day's visit to Washington for consultations with the United States security and military establishment.

The brief visit indicates he is on a specific mission rather than to flesh out broad-based cooperation.

Read

A court has discharged social activist Anna Hazare in a case of alleged misappropriation of funds belonging to the Hind Swaraj Trust, which is headed by him.

Chief Judicial Magistrate N T Ghadge issued the order yesterday, discharging Hazare after the complainant Hemant Patil withdrew the case, Harshad Nimbalkar and Milind Pawar, both lawyers who represented the Gandhian, told Patil cited Hazare's age, ailments and also "enhanced status in the society" as reasons for withdrawing the case filed in 2005.

A bomb attack today hit the motorcade of a key Afghan governor en route to the funeral of President Hamid Karzai's brother, wounding two Afghan troops.

The governor of Helmand province, Gulab Mangal, and the provincial chief of Afghan intelligence escaped unhurt, and the group attended the funeral of Ahmed Wali Karzai in neighbouring Kandahar province.

Milind Deora today took charge as Minister of State for IT and Communication and said his top priority will be to increase telephony services in rural areas."My first priority as minister will be to increase the telephony services in rural areas and that too, at affordable prices," Deora said.

He further said, "The service offered will have to be affordable, but has to give revenue to the government as well."

A trial court has convicted six persons while acquitting four others in a post-Godhra riot case from Viramgam taluka of the district. Three persons of the minority community had been killed in the incident, nine years ago.

Vahala Ghela and Mula Ghela were awarded five years' sentences, while Mera Ghela was given a four years' sentence. Out of the seven eye-witnesses, five turned hostile at the trial, which began only in 2009.

From the Pakistan newspaper, Dawn.com.

A wealthy San Francisco-area suburbanite yesterday rebutted charges that she was the ringleader of a scheme to illegally export special paint used in the construction of a Pakistani nuclear plant, a project some Western experts fear will produce plutonium for the country's expanding nuclear arsenal.

Xu Wang, 51, was arrested at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport last month, court records show, as she and her family were headed to Italy to celebrate her oldest daughter's graduation from prep school before starting Princeton in the fall. Wang has been in custody ever since.

Read more

New union railway minister Dinesh Trivedi has been going to town saying he visited the victims of the Kalka Mail accident at the urging of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Does this mean, he wouldn't have made the cursory visit if Mamata hadn't prodded him? Boggles the mind.

Media magnate Kalanidhi Maran, who has been summoned by the city police in a cheating and intimidation case against his Sun Pictures, was today grantedmore time to appear before it after he cited prior engagement. 

The counsel for Kalanidhi, grand nephew of DMK President M Karunanidhi, sought time, saying his client was out of station and would return only on July 26.

Kalanidhi, CMD of Sun Network and brother of former union minister Dayanidhi Maran, was summoned by police to appear before it today on a complaint by a film distributor who accused Sun Pictures of cheating him of Rs 83 lakh which it "owed" him and threatening him when he sought return of the money.

Always bitten by mosquitoes? Wash your feet and your socks.

Here's why. Scientists say mosquitoes are drawn to smelly socks and feet and have used this to develop a new trap for malaria-spreading mosquitoes.

This, they believe will drastically reduce the transmission rate of the disease. The traps would be able to attract up to four times as many mosquitoes as to humans themselves, and then kill the bloodsucking insects with a lethal dose of insecticide. 

Malaria is one of the biggest killers in the developing countries. Each year, there are almost 250 million new cases of malaria and almost 800,000 people die, according to the WHO.

After a hiatus of over a month, news on the Anni Dewani murder.

The alleged hit man used by honeymoon murder suspect Shrien Dewani to kill his bride Anni, is on his death bed with cancer.

Xolile Mngeni, 23, is said to have shot Anni, 28, dead during a car-jacking incident last year. He underwent an unsuccessful surgery a month ago to halt the growth of his brain tumour, and now sources are saying that he may have only days to live.

South African prosecutors fear he will die before they can grill him in a Cape Town court next month.

Shrien is probably praying -- for the man's death.

South superstar Rajinikanth will return to India today after over a month-long stay at a Singapore hospital. The Tamil superstar was reportedly undergoing treatment for a kidney ailment.

Rajini suffered from exhaustion on April 29, the first day of the shoot of his period flick Rana, after which the actor was hospitalised twice.  

The actor's family members have confirmed that he will be flying back to Chennai on a Singapore Airlines flight.

Meanwhile, in the UK, British lawmakers investigating the phone hacking scandal have asked media baron Rupert Murdoch, his son James and former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks (possibly the most hated editor in the UK) to testify before them.

This, hours after former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused their newspaper group of illegally obtaining private information about him.

Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee asked the three to appear in a week, on July 19.

Thousands have joined Afghan President Hamid Karzai to mourn at the funeral of his half-brother near Kandahar, reports the bbc.co.uk.

Ahmad Wali Karzai, a controversial but key figure in Nato's battle against the Taliban, was gunned down at home by his bodyguard on Tuesday. Bus-loads of mourners followed the body from the provincial governor's compound to his family village of Karz, some 20km away. Security was tight, with helicopters overhead and many troops deployed.

On NDTV a horrific video of a man beaten to death on a busy street in broad daylight in Coimbatore. Curious passersby watch without stopping to help. Nobody bothered to call the police either.

The victim was a painter and fortunately the four men who killed him were arrested based on CCTV footage.

Health news:

A medical practitioner has argued that the recommendation to drink six to eight glasses of water a day to prevent dehydration "is not only nonsense, but is thoroughly debunk nonsense."

There is currently no clear evidence of the benefit from drinking increased amounts of water, yet the "we-don't-drink-enough-water' myth has endless advocates.  

Also from Foreign Policy magazine: Who will really miss Ahmed Wali Karzai.

In a way, AWK, as he was known, was the penultimate Afghan leader: Deeply popular to his followers, hated and feared by everyone else, involved in a number of questionable activities, but utterly essential to the American presence. 

Rumors abound that he was on the payroll of the CIA, that he ran his own private army, that he was a vital node in monitoring and attacking the insurgency in the country's south.

Like Afghanistan itself, AWK was fascinating, dangerous, and tightly controlled Western access to his domain.

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"I received this post because of the Youth Congress. I will give special attention to the youth of the country, and especially look into what more can be done for them," he said.

The 40 year old lawmaker''s close proximity to Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi is said to have earned him the ministerial berth. Singh is a political advisor to Rahul Gandhi as also a secretary in the All India Congress Committee.

Yesterday, Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai's brother Ahmed Wali Karzai was assassinated. The Taliban took credit for the killing. But, says Foreign Policy magazine, a personal feud seems more likely.

Here's why

Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai has arrived in Kandahar to attend his half brother's funeral.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned Afghan President Karzai to condole the assassination of Ahmed Wali Karzai.

"The United States condemns this murder in the strongest terms. For too long, the people of Afghanistan have suffered under the threat of violence,  intolerance, and extremism," Clinton said after the phone call.

New union railway minister Dinesh Trivedi who has had a rough start facing the anger of the victims and families of the Kalka Mail accident says he was urged to meet the injured by former railway minister and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

Faced with a straight choice between Nicolas Sarkozy and Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 54 per cent of French voters would vote for a man accused of attempted rape, a new poll indicates. The poll is the clearest evidence so far of a deep-rooted 'anyone but Sarko' sentiment among voters, says the Independent.

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The chief of ISI, Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha has left for Washington today for talks with the US intelligence and military leadership, Geo News reports. 

Pasha is on a day's visit to the US where he will discuss issues related to intelligence information sharing and war on terror. It is pertinent to note that the US has suspended $800 million of military aid to Pakistan which has brought the bilateral relations to a sour point.

However, the army leadership declared that suspension of US aid to Pakistan would not affect anti-terrorism fight, and has vowed to continue fighting war on terror with indigenous resources in own national interest.

Veerappa Moily today assumed charge as India's new Corporate Affairs Minister following ahigh profile Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.    

"I am very happy with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. If they have given me this charge they might had something in mind. They know that I am a reformist and wherever I go, I have the reform agenda," Moily, who was shifted from the Law Ministry to the Corporate Affairs Ministry, said.    

Speaking on the 2G scam, he said, "You will have to give me time to understand the issue, but I can say that nothing will be passed without proper examination."

However, Moily's transfer from the law ministry to corporate affairs was being unanimously seen as a setback. He said yesterday that vested interests had maligned his performance. "Vested interests saw to it that the failures of other ministries in Supreme Court were put on the law ministry".

Good morning. The new railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, who got on the job, minutes after his induction yesterday, faced the ire of the families of the victims of the Kalka Mail accident. Big task ahead of him in terms of improving railway safety. The other fallout from the Cabinet reshuffle yesterday is...

Jairam loses Environment, Moily Law in reshuffle (The Hindu)
Khursheed gets Law, Railways for Dinesh Trivedi; Last reshuffle before the polls, says Manmohan. Read

Cabinet reshuffle unsettles PM's pack: Kamat quits, Moily blames 'vested interests', Jena sulks (The Times of India)

Open griping over the changes carried out by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cast a shadow on the exercise on Tuesday, with Gurudas Kamat deciding to resign from the government while Veerappa Moily made no secret of his pique by hitting out at "vested interests". Read

Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi rift corridor chit-chat: Sharad Pawar (DNA)
Pawar described the speculation about the goings on in the government and in the Congress as chit-chat in the corridors of power. Read

2G scam: CBI noose tightens around Dayanidhi Maran (DNA)
After former textile minister Dayanidhi Marans departure from the Union cabinet, the CBI has accelerated its probe against him. In the past one week, the federal investigating agency have recorded statements of about 20 witnesses, who have given their testimony to establish former telecom ministers wrongdoing during his tenure.Read

Chennai police summon Kalanidhi Maran in cheating case (DNA)
Police said the chairman and managing director of Sun Network was summoned to appear on a complaint by a Salem-based film distributor who accused Sun Pictures of cheating Rs 83 lakh and threatening him when he sought return of the money. Read

Trivedi faces ire of Kalka mishap victims' kin (Hindustan Times)

New railway minister Dinesh Trivedi faced protest from family members of the passengers injured in the Kalka Mail accident and was also heckled as he visited a hospital in Fatehpur. Read