The BCCI disciplinary committee conducts a two-hour hearing on the Shane Warne-RCA row, but reserves its judgment. Warne has been accused of abusing RCA secretary Sanjay Dixit. Meanwhile, here's what made the news through the day...

1. Yeddyurappa parades 121 MLAs before Pres
2. Mamata to be sworn in at 1:01 pm on Friday
3. BSP MLA gets lifer for 2007 girl's murder
4. Sarkozy's dad confirms Carla is pregnant
5. Arnie, wife split over love child
6. 26/11 bigwig Rana's trial begins in US
7. Nato gunships kill two Pak security men

Why is it that we can never laugh at ourselves? Or why, for that matter, do we take ourselves so seriously?

The Shiv Sena-promoted Bharatiya Chitrapat Sena has taken strong objection to a character in a comedy show on Sony channel making "fun" of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar.

The outfit has demanded immediate removal of the character (an actor and stand-up comedian) from the popular show, `Comedy Circus', which is aired twice a week.

"A character on the show has been making fun of Lata Mangeshkar, who is a Bharat Ratna awardee. The character is nowhere near the stature enjoyed by Lata Didi. How can they make fun of her. She is the voice of the country," BCS President Abhijit Panse said.

After reaching Rashtrapati Bhavan, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa paraded all legislators supporting his government before President Pratibha Patil.

Yeddyurappa arrived at Rashtrapati Bhavan here along with 114 MLAs and five letters of support to prove his majority. One MLA is reportedly in hospital.

BJP stalwarts Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, M. Venkaiah Nadu and scores of party supporters accompanied him. Yeddyurappa, who arrived here on Monday night, is also expected to demand the recall of Governor H R Bhardwaj.

In a possibly retaliation over the Nato gunship strike killing two Pakistani soldiers, two NATO oil tankers were charred.

Sources said the drivers and helper fled following the attack that occurred at 2 am, The Nation reports.

Local police alleged the driver and helper might have torched the tankers. On May 1 more than 18 NATO oil tankers were torched by miscreants on the same road, killing five policemen and injuring six constables.

Superstar Rajinikanth, hospitalised in Chennai for respiratory infection, temperature and fatigue, is receiving comprehensive treatment and his condition is stable, doctors attending on him said.

Rajinikanth wasadmitted to Sri Ramachandra Medical University on May 13. The 61-year-old actor is spending his time with his family members. He had suffered from exhaustion on April 29, the first day of the shoot of his new period film 'Rana' co-starring Deepika Padukone.

Just in: Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa meets President Pratibha Patil with 121 ministers in a show of strength. BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley accompany him.

Yeddy, as promised, will parade the 121 MLAs before the President to prove his majority and demand the removal of Governor H R Bhardwaj who has recommended the dismissal of his government to the Centre.

Yesterday, after reaching New Delhi, the CMsaid, "The Governor of Karnataka has been trying to destabilise our government right from the beginning.

We request the President and the Prime Minister to save Karnataka, to save democracy by recalling the Governor."

Yeddyurappa and BJP MLAs, MLCs and MPs from Karnataka reached Delhi in three separate aircraft last evening with a plea to the President to "save democracy by recalling the Governor".

The CPI(M) today censured senior leader and former land revenue minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah for publicly criticising Left leaders Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Nirupam Sen for the poll debacle.

The CPI(M) state secretariat after a meeting censured Mollah for questioning outgoing Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's ability to guide the party during the polls.

On the day of results, Mollah expressed disgust at the miserable performance of the party and held Bhattacharjee responsible for the debacle. "It is amusing that he (Bhattacharjee) dares to catch a cobra when he has not the ability to hold a common snake," Mollah had said.

Social activist Swami Agnivesh today met hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and discussed the situation prevailing in Kashmir. Agnivesh, who was in Srinagar to attend a peace conference, called on the separatist leader at his residence and the meeting lasted for nearly an hour. See our 10:37 post for the latest on Geelani.

West Bengal chief minister elect MamataBanerjee will be sworn in at 1.01 pm tomorrow. Our correspondent in Kolkata Indrani Roy Mitra says the time was chosen for astrological reasons.

Unconfirmed reports say former Speaker and sacked CPI-M senior leader Somnath Chatterjee may be invited to the swearing-in ceremony. She is expected to meet Chatterjee this evening.

Meanwhile, Governor MK Narayanan has appointed Mamata as Chief Minister, says the Raj Bhavan.

Madhavan Narayanan on twitter:Never underestimate the capacity of India to squander away any natural diplomatic advantage created by others' mistakes.

A blog on the Financial Post that tells it like it is. Here's what we mean (and we love the adjectives).

Since Osama bin Laden was found living unmolested in a Pakistani military town, debate has raged over how to deal with this duplicitous, faction-ridden country.

Should the United States and others in the West continue to provide Pakistan with billions in foreign aid, in the hopes of currying at least some influence among elements of the Pakistani leadership?

Or should we get tough, and declare it to be the state sponsor of terrorism that it is, knowing this course of action could cripple our efforts to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan and drive Pakistan further into the Chinese sphere of influence?

Read more

Sreesanthtweets: When anyone tells me I can't do anything...I'm just not listening anymore.

Hmmm, no wonder...

A Faizabad court today delivered a life sentence for BSP MLA and former Uttar Pradesh minister Anand Sen Yadav for the murder of a 24-year-old law student, Shashi.

The court also convicted Yadav's driver Vijay Sen and close friend Sima Azad in connection with the murder of the Faizabad law student.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is still trending on Twitter.

A relative of the alleged rape victim told a relative in her first phone call after the attack: 'Somebody did something really bad to me'.

The woman phoned her older brother an hour after the alleged assault took place and gave him a horrifying account what the head of the IMF allegedly did to her, reports Dailymail.co.uk.

Crying uncontrollably, she said that she had been trapped inside the hotel bedroom while the Frenchman twice tried to force himself on her. She told him he was the first member of family to whom she had revealed the alleged attack.

Read more

Seems Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa has already begun her foray into excesses.

Today, the AIADMK's estranged ally, MDMK, urged the government not to dump the new secretariat-assembly complex that is still under construction, saying it was being built from taxpayers' money.

"If the government decides to function from the St George Fort, rejecting buildings (being) constructed on taxpayers' money, a question arises if the same fate would apply to other structures such as court complexes and Collectors' offices built by erstwhile governments," a resolution said.

"It is not acceptable to change the Assembly. It should continue in the same building," the resolution said.

Also read: Jaya picks historic seat of power: Fort St George

Pakistan's all-weather friend China came to the rescue of its ally today, saying that Beijing "unswervingly" supports Islamabad's counter terrorism efforts.

Brushing aside criticisms against Pakistan in the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden, China said it "unswervingly" backed Islamabad's counter terrorism efforts and asked US to strengthen anti-terror cooperation with Pak by providing more aid. "Indeed Pakistan is the victim of terrorism," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

In return for this unstinted praise, has China got access to the Blackhawk stealth chopper? Does the Earth revolve around the sun?

Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha:Blame game on.. Home Min sources indicate that its the crime branch of Mumbai..

See our first post of the day for a background

The Pakistan army has lodged a "strong protest" after two Nato helicopters injured two Pakistani soldiers in the Pakistani region of North Waziristan. An army spokesman said Nato "violated Pakistan airspace" and demanded a meeting with Nato officials.

The couple have remained non-comittal, but French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy'sfather-in-law saysshe is expecting a child., the President''s father has revealed in an interview with the German Bild newspaper.

Speculation that Bruni-Sarkozy is pregnant has been rife for weeks, fuelled by her own cryptic comments, but Sarkozy Sr''s statement is the clearest indication yet that she is expected, reports the Telegraph.

"I''m glad to be having a grandchild,' said Sarkozy Sr, 82.

A local court today pronounced former Uttar Pradesh minister and BSP MLA Anand Sen Yadav guilty in the murder case of a 24-year-old law student, Shashi.

The court also convicted Yadav's driver Vijay Sen and close friend Sima Azad in connection with the murder of the Faizabad law student, who belonged to the Dalit community.

Scientists have discovered ahabitable Earth-like planet. The planet, without any obvious signs of life, yet, is a rocky world orbiting a nearby star and has been confirmed as the first planet outside our solar system that meet key requirements for sustaining life. Basically, says the telegraph.co.uk, planet Gliese 581d shows it has the potential to be warm and wet enough to nurture Earth-like life.

Read more

Our correspondent in Kolkata, Indrani Roy Mitra,has the probable ministerial list for WestBengal. Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee and her council of ministers (30 of them) will be sworn in on Friday. Unconfirmed reports say Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit, who won from a Congress ticket, may join Mamata's ministry.

Amit Mitra: Finance

Partho Chatterjee: Trade and Commerce

Madan Mitra: Transport

Sujit Basu: Sports

Jyotipriya Mallick: Housing

Home minister P Chidambaram expresses concern over post-poll violence in West Bengal and asks West Bengal Governor MK Narayan about the measures in place to stop it. PC also said that peace talks with the ULFA will resume soon.

More importantly, what PC needs to do is to carefully whet terrorist lists sent out to the world at large. Thehuge, huge embarassementthat one of India's wanted men is in Thane near Mumbai and not in Pakistan, takes the wind out of our sails just when India, for the first time had the upper hand in terror talks. What a shame.

SBI's fourth-quarter net profit sank 99 per centbecause of a surge in provisions against bad loans and higher tax expenses,says the Wall Street Journal.

Net profit for the three months through March plunged to 208.8 million rupees ($4.6 million) from 18.67 billion rupees a year earlier, the country's largest lender by assets said. Profit missed the 28.91 billion rupees average of estimates in a poll of 13 analysts.

Tarun Gogoi has been unanimously elected Assam Congress Legislature Party leader.

OK, here's why Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver split.

Apparently, Shriverand theformer Californiagovernor decided to separate after she learned he had fathered a child more than a decade ago -- before his first run for office -- with a longtime member of their household staff.

The LA Times story says that Shriver moved out of the family's Brentwood mansion earlier this year, after Schwarzenegger acknowledged the paternity. The staff member worked for the family for 20 years, retiring in January.

Read more

Question is, is the US just naive or just stupidly trusting?Both, we'd think.

The US has drawn 'assurance' from Pakistan to return the tail of one of the helicopters that crashed while landing Navy SEALs in the mission to kill Osama bin Laden.

Taking steps to ensure that its frontline stealth technology does not pass onto hostile hands, Pakistan has agreed to return the tail of the modified variant of the Sikrosky H -60 Blackhawk helicopter, Senator John Kerry, now on a visit to Pakistan.

Osama was killed on the night of May 1. Enough time for the Chinese to whet the chopper wreckage.

As Pakistan's powerful military held out threats to India, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called for reappraisal of ties with its neighbour to move forward and progress, saying Islamabad must stop treating New Delhi as its "biggest enemy".

Sharif, who was earlier involved in talks with India when the Kargil crisis erupted, also sought a probe into the 1999 conflict with India. The former Prime Minister, who is the chief of main opposition PML-N party, is currently on a three-day visit to southern Sindh province where he made the remarks during an interaction with the media in Karachi yesterday.

PM Manmohan Singh is slowly emerging a hawk, and thank the lord for that. After his Afghanistan visit, the first foreign head of state to do so after Osama bin Laden's assassination, Singh called for a security meet yesterday to take stock of India's nuclear aresenal in the wake of ISI threats.

Now, the PM is headed to Ethiopia and Tanzania next week to hold talks to contain terrorism and piracy. The PM will be in Africa on a six-day visit to discuss the twin challenges during the Second Africa-India Forum Summit to be attended by 15 African countries.

The nightmare that IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn faces in the notorious New York prison at Rikers Island

Britain's QueenElizabeth II sets foot on Irish soil today for the start of a historic state visit which will herald a new era in relations between Britain and the Irish Republic, reports bbc.co.uk.

Politicians on both sides of the Irish Sea have described the four-day event as momentous. When the Queen, joined by the Duke of Edinburgh, arrives in Dublin she will become the first British monarch to travel to the Republic in 100 years and the first since the nation gained independence from Britain.

Read more

Ace music director and Oscar winner A R Rahman will compose tunes for filmmaker Yash Chopra's next directorial venture which will star Shah Rukh Khan with two leading ladies.

Speaking about his latest project, Chopra said, "Everyone knows that when I make a movie, Shahrukh will be involved with it. He is like family to Yash Raj Films and I have always regarded him as one of my own. There will be two leading ladies in my film. Once Adi gives me the final draft of the script, I will finalise the two girls who will be cast along with Shahrukh."

For the first time, Chopra and Rahman have come together for the music of a project.

So then, is Carla Bruni pregnant or is she not?

For months, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy had avoided to confirm the news, but a cryptic television interview by the French First Lady has fuelled speculation that she is pregnant.

The 43-year-old former supermodel, who is reportedly expecting twins with President Nicholas Sarkozy, refused to confirm or deny she was expecting after TF1 presenter Jean-Pierre Pernaut 'congratulated' her.

Bruni, who has fiercely guarded her privacy, avoided confirming anything and without saying what for, she smiled and replied: ''I congratulate you too,'' before the interview ended.

Propublica has this report on IMF chief Dominque Strauss-Kahn, which says he has given an alibi that contradicts the accuser's timeline:

Strauss-Kahn has reportedly said he checked out of the hotel before the alleged assault took place, then left to meet his daughter for lunch and took a taxi to the airport.

Such an alibi, of course, should be easy enough to verify: The hotel's records should be able to tell when the maid accessed Strauss-Kahn's suite and whether it was before or after he'd checked out.

TheNew York Post reportsthat at Strauss-Kahn's bail hearing today, his defense attorney "hinted" he would argue that an encounter did occur, but was consensual.

US intelligence officials are concerned that Pakistan will secretly provide China with access to the tail rotor of the downed MH-60 Blackhawk helicopter used during the May 2 commando raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

A report on East-Asia-Intel.com says that China's military is known to have close ties to the Pakistani military. Part of a damaged helicopter was seen lying near the compound of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2.

Beijing covertly supplied Pakistan with key technology during the 1980s that helped Pakistan develop nuclear weapons.

A quixotic fallout of the Osama bin Laden assassination.

The Walt Disney Company is seeking to trademark the name of the now-famous counterterrorism team responsible for killing bin Laden.

The California-based company filed a trademark for "Seal Team 6" on May 3, the day after news of bin Laden's death broke.Disney's application covers clothing, footwear, headgear, toys and other entertainment services, reports ktla.com.

While Pakistan digests that 'incursion', news comes in that the wife of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has agreed to hand over assets to the state after being held in a corruption probe.

The bbc.co.uk reports that Suzanne Mubarak will turn over a villa in a Cairo suburb and some $3m held in bank accounts in Egypt. The Mubaraks face allegations of illegally acquiring wealth whilst in power for 30 years.

International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is in a New York jail (see our 10:11 am post) feared that one of his political opponents would pay a woman more than one million dollar to say that he raped her.

Liberation, the left-wing daily newspaper, published details on off-the-record comments made by Strauss-Kahn as recently as April 28, the Daily Mail reports.

While discussing his plans to challenge President Nicolas Sarkozy as Socialist candidate for the presidency in 2012, he said that he imagined 'a woman who had been raped in a car park and who was offered between 500,000 Euro and 1,000,000 Euro to make up such a story.

The US and Pakistan are engaged in a billing dispute of sizable proportions, sparring behind closed doors over billions of dollars Washington pays Islamabad to fight al Qaeda and other militants along the Afghanistan border, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Washington, increasingly dubious of what it sees as Islamabad's mixed record against militants, has been quietly rejecting more than 40% of the claims submitted by Pakistan as compensation for military gear, food, water, troop housing and other expenses, according to internal Pentagon documents.

Those records, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, detail $3.2 billion in expense claims submitted to the US for operations from January 2009 through June 2010.

The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons today expressed concern over the immigration officials' alleged "lack of control" over Indian and other non-European Union workers entering Britain through the Inter-Company Transfer route.

Many Indian IT companies use this route to transfer staff to offices in Britain. Since this route is not subject to the annual cap on the number of non-EU migrants, tens of thousands of IT workers have migrated to Britain through this route.

The Chairman of the Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, will address a public gathering in south Kashmir's Islamabad(Anantnag) district on May 20. "The public gathering is part of the awareness campaign launched by the Hurriyat to secure the release of political prisoners, and thousands of people are expected to participate in the rally, if the authorities do not create any disturbance,' he said.

He rejected the police claim that it had arrested five members of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit in Pattan area of north Kashmir.

The United States has asked Pakistan to respond to its questions with regard to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

"We have asked the Pakistani Government to address those allegations in the past," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said when asked about the alleged involvement of Pakistan's ISI in the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

The spokesman, however, refrained from giving any further details citing it as a legal matter and the court proceedings were ongoing. "But speaking globally about the Mumbai attacks, we have asked that all parties answer questions that have been raised by the Mumbai attacks," Toner said.

Now, Rana's lawyers say they are 100 per cent sure he will get bail. Rest of the civilised world, hopes his lawyers are 100 per cent wrong.

The trial of Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Rana, who is accused with David Coleman Headley for the 26/11 terror attacks, began in Chicago with the initiation of jury selection process at a federal court house.

Rana, a 50-year-old Chicago businessman, is accused of helping his childhood friend Headley to scout targets for the militant group LeT for the 2008 Mumbai carnage that left 166 people, including six Americans, dead.

The trial, supposedly the most important terrorism trial ever to be held in the US, began yesterday with the jury selection process. A total of 100 jurors filled out the questionnaire and will be questioned by US District Court Judge Harry Leinenweber.

After the jury is finalised this week, the opening arguments of the case will be presented by both sides. Rana with his gray beard and hair and wearing spectacles was accompanied with his attorneys.

First up: IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been remanded in custody at New York's notorious Rikers Island jail on charges of sexual assault.

The judge said Strauss-Kahn, 62, was a flight risk. He was arrested on Saturday after boarding a plane and accused of trying to rape a hotel maid.

Read more;

Good morning.Top stories that made it to the papers...

Fugitive on 'most wanted' list given to Pak lives in Thane (The Times of India)

One name in the high-profile '50 most wanted' list of fugitives submitted to Pakistan, Wazhul Kamar Khan, is actually living in Wagle Estate in Thane with his ailing mother, a wife and five children. Read

Manmohan Singh takes stock of country's nuclear arsenal (The Times of India)

India on Monday took stock of its nuclear arsenal and delivery systems like long-range ballistic missiles, fighter-bombers and warships towards its quest to have an operational nuclear triad -- the capability to fire nukes from land, sea and air -- in the near future. Read

Jayalalithaa sworn in, gives clearance to new proposals (The Hindu)
Hours after she assumed office, Ms. Jayalalithaa gave her formal approval to seven proposals that included provision of 20 kg rice free of cost for those entitled to rice under the Public Distribution System. Read

Address questions related to 26/11 attacks: US to Pak (The Indian Express)
Pak govt has been asked to address allegations as trial of Tahawwur Rana begins in Chicago. Read

Red-faced over Bhardwaj, Centre sits on his report (The Indian Express)
Even as the Congress upped the ante over the issue of continuation of the B S Yeddyurappa-led BJP government in Karnataka, the Centre is believed to be of the view that Governor H R Bhardwaj's. Read

Adarsh scam: Hard disk to prepare note-sheet missing, says CBI (DNA)
The disclosure comes days after a significant file connected with the case went missing from the ministry of environment and forest in New Delhi. Read

Judge denies bail to IMF chief in sex assault case (DNA)
Dominique Strauss-Kahn was denied bail on Monday on attempted rape and other criminal charges, and prosecutors said they are investigating whether he may have engaged in similar conduct once before. Read

Poll drubbing loosens family ties, Marans may switch to Congress (DNA)
DMK chief M Karunanidhi is a worried man. After the electoral drubbing at the hands of the AIADMK, the veteran leader might find it difficult to keep his flock together. Read