Tamil Nadu and Puducherry get new chief ministers officially. West Bengal will have to wait till Friday, Assam till Wednesday. Big stories today...

1. 2G: SC raps IT for 'sleeping over' probe
2. Mamata will take oath as WB CM on Friday
3. NIA files chargesheet against Aseemanand
4. Gogoi to take oath on May 18
5. Attacks on Left in Bengal worrying: Karat
6. Kalmadi in jail till May 21 (at least)
7. J Jayalalithaa takes oath as TN CM
8. Kenyan Olympic Marathon star dies in balcony fall
9. Gunmen kill Saudi diplomat in Pakistan

This story on the Sun tells you just how desperate Sarah Ferguson is to earn some moolah.

The ex royal has now earned cash by pouring out her feelings for Prince Andrew (ex husband) to a psychiatrist under hypnosis for a US reality show.

Royal outcast Sarah Ferguson is seen lying on a chaise longue with a satin pillow behind her head as she reveals: "I wish we'd never got divorced". It is part of footage shot for a series called Finding Sarah being made by the Oprah Winfrey Network - the chat queen's own cable channel.

Little wonder then, that she wasn't invited to the Kate-William wedding.

Read

Guardian.co.uk says aFrench writer who claimsDominique Strauss-Kahnsexually assaulted her nine years ago is to file an official complaint, her lawyer has announced.

Tristane Banon previously described the attack, which happened when she was in her early 20s, in a television programme in 2007, when she called Strauss-Kahn, whose name was bleeped out, a "rutting chimpanzee."

Read more

Also read our 14:06 post for who is Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Advocating the immediate revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, social activist Swami Agnivesh today demanded an inquiry by a Supreme Court judge into the killing of civilians during last year's summer unrest in Kashmir Valley. Over 112 people were killed during the unrest.

Read: Why AFSPA is necessary

The Supreme Court toadypulled up the IT dept for not taking timely action against the companies involved in the 2G spectrum scam and said had it not intervened, the officials would have "slept over it" and the oversees probe would not have proceeded.

The court said despite the department coming to know about tax evasion cases in 2008, it started taking action only after March this year after it was directed to file action taken report.

The court, however, was not satisfied with the submission and said there is no need to say all these things about these companies as they are "prima facie tax evaders".

"How are they big. What kind of mindset do you have. Prima facie they all are tax evaders. Do not call them big. Do not insult the word," the bench said.

The department also informed that all telecom companies, which after the allotment of the spectrum, have sold their controlling stakes to foreign firms through the Mauritius route, have been asked to pay tax on the capital gain from such transactions.

Alright, it's confirmed now. Mamata Banerjee will take oath of office as West Bengal's next chief minister on Friday.

Just in: The National Investigative Agency has just filed a supplementary chargesheet against Swami Aseemanand, suspected of involvement in the Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid, Ajmer Dargah and Malegaon blast cases.

Read: Swami Aseemanand as I know him

A tweet from Nasa says all six astronauts are aboard the Endeavour and the Close Out Crew is preparing to close the hatch. The Final Inspection Team reports no issues.

The International Business Times reports that minutes before space shuttle Endeavour is launched to deliver a unique astronomical and particle physics experiment to the International Space Station, the crew members are preparing for their long journey.

The crew members for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission are Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson and Mission Specialists Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori.

During the 16-day mission, Endeavour and its crew will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and spare parts including two S-band communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for Dextre.

Tarun Gogoi, who steered the Congress to a spectacular win in Assam, will be sworn-in as Chief Minister for the third consecutive term on Wednesday, PCC sources said today.

Assam Congress Legislature Party will meet tomorrow and formally elect Gogoi as its leader. Immediately after the meeting, Gogoi will stake claim to form the government.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and AICC general secretary and state in-charge Digvijay Singh are scheduled to attend tomorrow's CLP meet.

Now, West Bengal CM-designate Mamata Banerjee(unrecognisable: smiling and calm) addresses the press after her meeting with Sonia Gandhi, held this morning.

Completely tight-lipped about the meeting, she only confirmed that the Congress had been invited to join the party the government in West Bengal. But no confirmation from the Congress as yet. She also said that the PM will decide on the railway portfolio, but sources say she will request the PM to let the Trinamool Congress retain the portfolio.

Rumour mills have it that either Mukul Roy or Dinesh Trivedi will be the next Railway minister. Mamata is likely to have a 30-member ministry with five members from the Congress.

Mamata is also scheduled to meet the PM later this evening.

West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan invites Mamata Banerjee to form her government.

Meanwhile, Prakash Karat at the press conference says reports of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee resigning from the party are not true. He also reiterated (what Pranab Mukherjee did on the day of counting on Friday) that it is not the end of the Left in Bengal.

CPM general secretary Prakash Karat addresses the media after the politburo 'introspection' meeting at New Delhi this afternoon.

Says people have voted for change, and it is now for the politburo to analyse why people were alienated from the Left. He also announced anotherpolitburo meeting in Hyderabad mid-June.

Says offices of CPM and the Left front have been attacked, and murders of cadres have taken place in Bankura and West Midnapore. Asks Trinamool to fulfil their committment that there will be no violence after the polls.

The upshot is that our dear Suresh Kalmadi gets to stay in the confines of Tihar jail till at least May 21. A Delhi court today has reserved his bail plea order till the date.

A Lashker-e-Taiba militant was killed in an encounter with security forces in Baramulla district of north Kashmir today.

The encounter took place at Zaloora village, 60 kms from Baramulla, late last night after a joint team of security forces and police launched a search operation based on information that ultras were hiding in the area.

Rediff.com's Indrani Roy Mitra says Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee may be sworn in on May 18 or May 20. Unconfirmed reportssay she may resign as union railway minister.Which also we will miss out on sheerdramawhen she presents the railway budget in Parliament.

Chamatkari Babatweets: What will happen if Amma (Jayalalitha) joins hands with Didi (Mamata Banerjee) . . . Desh ki Maa-Behan Ek ho jaega.

All India NR Congress chief N Rangasamy has been sworn in as Puducherry Chief Minister.

A few hours earlier, J Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Tamil Nadu CM.

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is expected to seek stronger support from China as he visits the country at a time when Islamabad is working to tide over the crisis following the killing of Osama bin Laden on its soil.

Gilani's visit is being billed as the most significant by a Pakistan leader in recent times as it comes at a time when a Pakistan is locked in a tense stand off with long time ally the US.

A Yemeni national has demanded that Pakistani authorities release his sister Amal, one of the wives of slain Al Qeada chief Osama bin Laden.

Zakaria al Sada, whose sister Amal was injured during a special US operation that killed Osama in Abbottabad in northwestern Pakistan, spoke for her release.

Amal (29) is currently being held in Pakistan after being shot in the leg during the US raid on the al-Qaeda leader's compound at Abbottabad on May 2.

"Amal should be brought back to be with her family. Bin Laden is dead, al-Qaeda is over, there is no reason to keep her," said 24-year-old Sada, who has been taking part in the recent "Arab Spring" street protests demanding political reform in Yemen.

Sada painted a picture of a pious woman, who had been the apple of his father's eye.

Libya's Muammar Gaddafi's regime has offered a truce in return for an immediate NATO ceasefire, as the International Criminal Court today considered arrest warrants for human rights abuses in Libya.

Gaddafi's prime minister proposed the truce yesterday to the visiting UN special envoy to Libya, Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib, as an anti-regime revolt entered a fourth month.

Read: Sonam Kapoor's debut at Cannes(Actually you'll do less reading and more drooling, rest assured)

With Pak-US relationship at a crossroads, President Barack Obama's trouble-shooter for Af-Pak region Senator John Kerry landed in Islamabad on Sunday with his toughest yet diplomatic assignment in Pakistan as Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee; this time for assessing if Pakistan could continue to be an ally.

Pakistan's Dawn reports that his visit comes at a time when the two countries are possibly facing the worst crisis in their relationship ever since they allied in the war on terror in 2001, which has compelled both sides to reassess the future of ties and parameters of cooperation.

So when Senator Kerry meets President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and other civil and military leaders, he would be asking some frank questions about how they perceive to carry on with the relationship.

Frankly, nothing is likely to change. The US senate has already swept aside demands that all aid to Pakistan should be stopped. It will continue to be naive where Pakistan is concerned until another terror attack happens and bites them in a rather tender spot

The US is developing an aircraft carrier-based drones that could provide a crucial edge as it tries to counter China's military rise.

American officials have been tightlipped about where the unmanned armed planes might be used, but a top Navy officer said that some would likely be deployed in Asia.

Nothing quite likea sex scandal to ensure a glut of reportage.

The Guardian story on IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's journeyfrom $3,000-a-night suite to a police cell.

For a leftwing French presidential hopeful trying to prove he didn't like bling, room 2806 of the Sofitel hotel near Manhattan's Times Square was luxurious. For $3,000 (£1,850) a night, it boasted a foyer, conference room, living room, bedroom and bathroom.

But the size of the suite compounded the brutality of the alleged assault on the hotel maid who described being dragged from room to room in a violent sex attack by one of the most important men in the world economy.

Read more

Remember the Anni Dewani murderstory in South Africa?

The ashes of Anni Dewani, the Indian-origin bride who was killed during a honeymoon trip to South Africa in November, have been scattered in a lake near her home in Sweden according to Hindu rituals.

Anni's husband, Bristol-based Shrien Dewani, has been accused of organising her murder, and is currently facing extradition proceedings in Britain.

Anni's family asked Shrien's family to stay away from the emotional ceremony by the lake near Mariested in Sweden on Saturday, reports from Sweden said.

'Speaking after scattering her ashes, her father, Vinod Hindocha, said she would not be "at peace" until the question of who was behind her murder was resolved.

Shrien's extradition case is due to continue in London in July.

Lurid details of what allegedly happened in Strauss-Kahn's hotel bedroom.

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn allegedly sexually assaulted the 32-year-old maid, who happened to be in his USD 3,000 a night suite at the Hotel Sofitel in Times Square on Saturday afternoon, thinking it was empty.

The IMF chief allegedly emerged naked from the bathroom, chased her around the suite to the bedroom and "engaged in a criminal sexual act".

He also allegedly tried to lock her in the bathroom. Before the incident, it was being widely speculated that Strauss-Kahn, a Socialist politician, had a chance at beating incumbent President Nicholas Sarkozy, who is plagued with all time low ratings.

Observers and rivals have said that the alleged charges will ruin Strauss-Kahn's chances at a political career.

The wife Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the IMF, accused of of sexually assaulting a maid in his luxury hotel room, says her husband is innocent.The IMF chief has also denied the charges against him

Meanwhile, themaid picked the Strauss-Kahn out of a police line up.

Strauss-Kahn, a likely candidate for 2012 presidential race in France, has been charged with attempted rape, sexual assault and unlawful imprisonment.

"Strauss-Kahn will plead not guilty," William W Taylor III, his lawyer, said in a statement.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala on Twitter:

This Karnataka Governor is like Yeddyurappa's diaper. The longer Yeddy wears him,the stinkier he gets

Now that Karunanidhi is free of CM duties he can finally take Azhagiri and Stalin on that Disneyland trip like he promised them.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said Osama bin Laden's death could end up being be a "game changer" in the war in Afghanistan, partly because the killed al Qaeda leader won''t be around to obstruct a possible deal with the Taliban.

"If we keep the military pressure on and continue to hold what we seized over the last year and expand the security envelope, a change in the relationship between al Qaeda and the Taliban could, in fact, this fall or winter, create the circumstances where a reconciliation process could go forward," CBS News quoted Gates, as saying.

Ahead of the Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's meeting with her, Congress President Sonia Gandhi held consultations with senior colleagues on the issue of her party's participation in the next West Bengal government.

Gandhi held talks with her political secretary Ahmed Patel and senior leader Shakeel Ahmed, who is in charge of party affairs for West Bengal. The meeting came a day after Shakeel Ahmed and Pranab Mukherjee ascertained the views of newly-elected Congress MLAs in the state.

FLASH: Pakistani Taliban say they cannot confirm whether its fighters killed the Saudi diplomat, but say it fully supports the attack.

Readour 11:02 am postfor the background

Jayalalithaa's third stint as chief minister of Tamil Nadu begins officially. Much cheering and whistling in the imposing Madras University Hall as she ends her oath. As Barnala (confined to a wheelchair) looks on, Jaya signs the requisite documents.

Post poll news today.

West Bengal CM in waiting Mamata Banerjee and UPA chief Sonia Gandhi will meet today to discuss the berth-sharing deal in Bengal. Mamata apparently wants to retain the railway ministry. Mamata will also invite the PM to her oath-taking ceremony.

N Rangaswamy to take oath as CM Puducherry today.

J Jayalalithaa to be sworn in as CM of Tamil Nadu -- her third time in office.

Post poll news today.

West Bengal CM in waiting Mamata Banerjee and UPA chief Sonia Gandhi will meet today to discuss the berth-sharing deal in Bengal. Mamata apparently wants to retain the railway ministry. Mamata will also invite the PM to her oath-taking ceremony.

N Rangaswamy to take oath as CM Puducherry today.

J Jayalalithaa to be sworn in as CM of Tamil Nadu -- her third time in office.

Smut from the Daily Beast:

Pornography is the Muslim world's dirty little secret, rife in even the most conservative realms including among the extremists.

Calledfuhshain Arabic, pornography is consideredharam, or illegal, according to most interpretations of Islam, because it publically exposes a person'sawrah, the Arabic word for the zonesforbidden from public eye.

The debate over pornography, masturbation, and the line between the erotic and the pornographic is a serious one in the Muslim community. Muslims today are negotiating these issues much like the West started doing decades ago.

Read more

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is likely to undergo a medical examination to decide whether he sexually assaulted a hotel maid over the weekend.

Strauss-Kahn (62), a possible French presidential candidate, was charged with a criminal sex act and attempted rape over the alleged sexual assault of a hotel maid, after being arrested and removed from a plane on the tarmac of John F. Kennedy Airport.

The authorities sought a court order granting them a search warrant to examine any possible traces of his accuser's DNA beneath his fingernails or on his skin.

A bbc.co.uk report says that Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Samuel "Sammy" Wanjiru has died after falling from a balcony at his home in the Rift Valley town of Nyahururu.

Officials said Wanjiru had suffered internal injuries and they were trying to establish whether he had leapt deliberately or fallen by accident. Wanjiru was the first Kenyan to win Olympic gold in the marathon.

After long break from Twitter, Sushma Swaraj is back:

Hon'ble Judge says 'to keeep birds in cages is violation of their right to live in free air/sky'. True. This earth belongs to birds and animals as much as it belongs to us. I am a strong supporter of animal rights. As a family we are strict vegetarians. We are vegetarian by conviction as also by tradition.

Good for her, but people don't really eat birds in cages...

This is a must read. Cosmologist Stephen Hawking in the Guardian: 'There is no heaven; it's a fairy story'.

Readthe exclusive interview with the Guardian, where Hawking shares his thoughts on death, M-theory, human purpose and our chance existence.

Former West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee skips the Politburo meeting in New Delhi. The CPM politburomet this morning to discuss the catastrophic poll loss in Bengal and Kerala. CPI-M's Biman Bose says Buddha Babu's offer to quit the party is false.

The bbc.co.uk has more on the Saudi diplomat's attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Al Qaeda is known to be violently opposed to the Saudi government.

The attack comes two days after grenades were thrown at the consulate building, causing no injuries.

"Four people riding on two motorcycles opened fire at the car from two sides," a police official was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The driver's nationality and his role at the consulate have not yet been confirmed.

A Saudi official told the AFP news agency the attack took place about 1km from the consular building.

Saudi ambassador Abdul Aziz al-Ghadeer condemned the attack. "No-one who carries out this kind of attack can be a Muslim," he told Reuters.

Al Qaeda has vowed to avenge the death of Osama Bin Laden, who was killed in a US raid in Pakistan earlier this month.

Saudi diplomat Hasan M M al-Kahtani has been shot and killed by at least four gunmen in Karachi. On Twitter: Witnesses say no police on the spot for 35 minutes. Security from a Bahraini consulate came to recover body. The four gunmen were on two motorbikes.

This tweet from Rezaul Hasan Laskarsays thatRangers personnel posed for TV cameras holding the cartridge, exhibiting a shocking lack of concern for forensic evidence.

The Home Ministry is examining the report of Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj recommending the dismissal of the Yeddyurappa ministry and imposition of President's Rule in the wake of Supreme Court quashing the disqualification of 11 party rebel MLAs.

The Ministry is looking into the details on what ground the Governor recommended imposition of President's rule and keep the Assembly under suspended animation, official sources said today. A note will be prepared and put before the cabinet for a final decision, the sources said, indicating that the Union Cabinet would meet soon to discuss the issue.

PM Manmohan Singh has called for a high-level meeting on the Karnataka crisis at his residence.External Affairs minister SM Krishna, Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home minister P Chidambaram and Defence minister AK Antony will attendthe meeting.

Read: Karnataka government has made a mockery of the Constitution

Good morning. We begin dreary Monday with a bang (literally).

A Saudi Arabian consulate car has been attacked in Karachi in Pakistan, one person has been killed, says Pakistan police.

And the biggest news to hit the papers today....

IMF chief charged with rape bid on hotel maid (The Times of India)

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund was bundled out of a Paris-bound plane at JFK Airport on Saturday minutes before it was to depart, following complaints of sexual assault by a maid at a Midtown Manhattan hotel. He was also supposed to be in the running for the French presidency. Read more

DMK mulls pullout after Sonia call (The Times of India)
Upset with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's courtesy call to AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa, the DMK is considering pulling out its ministers from the Union cabinet and provide only outside support to its long-time ally at the Centre. Read

Bhardwaj again makes a case for President's Rule (Indian Express)

Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj sent a "special report" to President Pratibha Patil on Sunday evening, hinting at central rule in the BJP-ruled state in the light of the Supreme Court's order last week quashing the disqualification of 16 MLAs ahead of the confidence vote on October 10 last year. Read

All eyes on Karat as Buddha offers to quit Politburo, will skip meeting today (Indian Express)
On the eve of the CPI(M) Politburo meeting, party general secretary Prakash Karat came under pressure today after Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee offered to resign from the Politburo and Central Committee, taking moral responsibility for the party's defeat in Bengal. Read

Will keep Cabinet small: Didi (Indian Express)

With just a few days left before she takes charge as the new West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, who was elected leader of the Trinamool Congress Legislature Party today, is giving the final touches to picking her three-tier core team of trusted lieutenants in the state government, central government and party organisation. Read

Rana's trial begins in Chicago today, may reveal ISI link to 26/11 (Hindustan Times)

Pakistan-born Chicago businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 50, is charged with providing material support to terrorists by acting as a messenger and providing a cover for a key figure in the bloody 60-hour Mumbai siege in which 166 people die. Read