This brings us to the end of Live! news today. Before you sign out, here's a pick of the top stories today.

1. France rages over Strauss-Khan handcuff pics
2. WB CM-elect Mamata quits as railway minister
3. Sonia at Varanasi: Bhatta-Parsaul shameful
4. Raja in Time mag's 'Ignominous leaders' list
5. 58th National Film Awards announced
6. Yeddy sets evening deadline for June 2 nod
7. Rajinikanth doing fine, cheerful: Wife, doc
8. $400 million at stake in Arnie-Shriver divorce
9. Sex NOT consensual: Strauss-Kahn 'victim'
10. Minissha Lamba released after 16 hours
11. Kim Davy will not survive if extradited to India
12. IMF chief resigns with 'infinite sadness'

Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil today declined to react to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's statement blaming the Mumbai police for inclusion of the Mulund blast accused Wazhul Kamar Khan in the list of 50 most wanted fugitives handed over to Pakistan.

Khan was found to be living in neighbouring Thane, causing a great embarrassment to the Union Home Ministry. "No comments. These are matters of national security," Patil said today.

Chidambaram had yesterday said that an oversight by Mumbai Police led to the mistake.

Replying to a question on the killing of body-guard of Dawood Ibrahim's brother Iqbal Kaskar in the city two days ago, Patil said investigation was on, after which it would be clear if the real target was Iqbal himself.

On bbc.co.uk: The parading of Dominique Strauss-Kahn in handcuffs by US police has caused a furore in France, which prohibits such pictures. The former IMF chief was given the so-called "perp walk" treatment after being arrested for alleged sexual assault of a hotel maid in New York.

It has sparked debate in the US about the regularly used practise.

The bbc.co.uk reports thatat least 35 construction workers have been shot dead and 20 injured by Taliban insurgents in eastern Afghanistan.

Eight insurgents were also killed as guards returned fire during Wednesday night's ambush.

The Taliban recently declared the start of a "spring offensive" of attacks.

Sonia Gandhi is addressing the Congress party's plenary in Varanasi. Today is the second and final day.

She says, in a bit of a fire and brimstone speech that what happened in Bhatta-Parsaul was shameful and promises development work in the UP. She says the government will introduce the Land Acquisition Bill in the monsoon session of Parliament.

No mention of Rahul Gandhi's version of Auschwitz in UP -- burnt human bones in ash pile or rapes.

Former Telecom Minister A Raja, at the centre of the 2G spectrum allocation scam, has earned the dubious distinction of figuring in the list of Time Magazine's "an ignominious club of privileged leaders who stepped too far".

The 2G scam is ranked No 2 in the list of scandals and scams in the all-time Top 10 Abuses of Power, only next to ex-American President Richard Nixon's 'Plumbers', a secret unit tasked with digging up dirt on Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg.

Raja, who is cooling his heels in New Delhi's Tihar jail, has beaten some tough contenders to be ranked second and be ahead of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, North Korean autocratic leader Kim Jong-II and skirt-chasing Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi. Raja's lawyer when contacted said he did not want to comment on the report.

And now, National Awards for tweets:

• SonakshiSinha wins national award for the BEST FOREHEAD that can be substituted for an aircraft runway!
• Katrina Kaif wins national award for best sex scene with a mango
• National Award Badnaam Hui Dabangg Tere Liye
• Uday Chopra wins National Award for not doing any movie in 2010

Some others...

Best Art & Culture Film: Leaving Home (Indian Ocean Film)

Best Special Effects: Enthiran

Best AudiographyAward: Ishqiya

Best music direction: Vishal Bharadwaj (Ishqiya)

Best lyrics: Vairamuthu

Special jury award: Mee Sindhutai Sakpal

Best Hindi film: Do Dooni Char

Best Marathi Film: Mala aai vhhaychy

Best English Film: Memories in March

JP Dutta's done with stumbling through the names. All he need to have done is familiarised himself with the names before he read them out.

JP Dutta struggles through the names as he reads out the awards.

Best feature film: Adaminte Makan Abu (Malayalam)

Best playback singer (female): Rekha Bharadwaj for Ishqiya

Best playback singer (male): Suresh Wadkar

Nargis Dutt Award for best feature film on national integration: Moner Manush

Best Environment film: Beta Chima

Best Children's Film: Hejjegalu

Best actor: Dhanush (Rajinikanth's son-in-law), Salim Kumar (shared)

Best director: Vetrimaran for Aadukalam

Best Actress: Mitalee Jagtap, Saranya (shared)

Best Supporting Actor: Thambi Ramaih

The 58th National Film Awards are being announced in New Delhi. What we have right now...

Best non-feature film: Germ

Best Debut Non-feature film: Pistulia

Best promo film: Ek Lopa Dhan

Dabangg wins award for wholesome entertainment.

Best Art and culture film: Leaving Home

Best Cinematography: Murali G

Best Educational Film: Advaitam

Best Editing: Tini Mitra

Best direction: Arunima Sharma

Special Jury Award: Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein.

JP Dutta, chairman of the jury panel speaks...

The intensity of solar storms is expected to peak in 2013 and may devastate critical infrastructure like satellite communications, navigation systems and electrical transmission equipment, a top scientist has warned.

Kathryn Sullivan, assistant secretary of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said countries should prepare for "potentially devastating effects" from solar storms which are caused by massive explosions on the sun.

Solar storms, according to scientists, release particles that can temporarily disable or permanently destroy fragile computer circuits, the Daily Mail reported.

Love rat Arnold Schwarzenegger was last night revealed to have splashed out on a £200,000 pad for his buxom housekeeper Mildred Baena and their secret son, reports the Sun.co.uk.

The four-bed "retirement gift" was bought 10 months ago while the Terminator star was still duping his wife Maria Shriver over their employee's lad, now 13. At the time Mildred, 50, who spent 20 years working for ex-California governor Arnie, 63, was still employed by him.

The stand-off between Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj and Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on convening of the Legislature session from June 2 took another turn today with the BJP government threatening a state-wide stir if approval for holding it was not given by this evening.

"By this evening, news should reach me (from Raj Bhavan) that approval has been given for the (legislature) session", a visibly upset Chief Minister said.

Otherwise, he said, he would embark on a state-wide tour in an open-jeep addressing road-side rallies to build public opinion from tomorrow.

Yeddyurappa's ultimatum comes a day after both he and Bhardwaj displayed brief bonhomie in the midst of a raging political war over the Governor's recommendation for imposing President's rule in the state.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi paid his mafia godfathers 3,00,000 pounds a year in protection money, a mobster told a court yesterday.

Giovanni Brusca, known as il Porco -- the Pig, -- claimed Berlusconi handed over the cash to have "things kept in order" when he was a businessman.

He said: "It was all tied to his business activities in Sicily." Brusca, 54, added that some 30 years ago local godfather Stefano Bontade "invested a lot of money through Berlusconi".

Superstar Rajinikanth's wife addresses the media outside the Chennai hospital where he is in the ICU.

She says, "all his organs are fine" and "he has been taken to the ICU to ensure he gets proper rest." She says the family wants peace and privacy at this time. She says Rajini had an infection, which caused a disorder in an organ. He only has some breathing problems."

Senior doctor S Thanikachalam, head, doctor's team, says Rajini is a hale and healthy man. He had a respiratory problem, but there are no serious health issues. There was a certain amount of water accumulation in his lungs. He is very cheerful today and is doing fine and had normal food today."

Now, a Daily Mail (trust them to dig up the dirt) report says Dominique Strauss-Kahn who quit as IMF chief today, paid an infamous brothel madam $2,500 for escort girls.

Kristin Davis, 35, claimed the IMF chief used the services of Wicked Models twice in 2006.

The Frenchman, who was not in the IMF post at the time, was believed to have been referred to the brothel owner by Irma Nici, a Bosnian prostitute who had been living in Paris.

Pakistan's best friend, China, has asked the United States to respect Pakistan's sovereignty, understand its problems, address its concerns and acknowledge the sacrifices rendered by it in the war against terror.

The Pakistani paper Dawn reports that during a meeting with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani yesterday, Chinese Premier Wen Jibao said he had taken up the matter with US officials during a recent strategic and economic dialogue in Washington, adding that the Americans had acknowledged Pakistan's contributions to the war on terror and assured him that their country would take steps to improve relations with Pakistan.

The five-year old girl who went missing from the Marina Beach on May 11 during a family outing has been found. She has been admitted to a Chennai hospital for treatment. Details of how she went missing are still awaited.

Thamana, daughter of Syed Noor Ahmed of Royapettah went missing from the beach on May 11 evening, where she had gone with her twin brother, mother and grandmother, police said.

Her brother Rihan lost her as he came back for more money for their cotton candy, they said.

"This is the first time in my entire service, I have seen a child remain missing. Usually children lost here (Marina) are always traced. Even during Kaanum Pongal (part of annual harvest festival Pongal celebrated in January), over 150 children went missing and we traced them," said K Ramamurthi, Inspector of Anna Square Police Station, where Tamanna's parents have filed an FIR.

It is estimated that a whopping 400 million dollars at may be at stake in the divorce between Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger was a self-made movie star and Shriver was a Kennedy, who had worked in broadcasting for many years.

According to the scant details available, the estranged couple have an estimated net worth of more than 200 million dollars with some estimates putting it closer to 400 million dollars.

"Imagine a tiny sparrow of a woman in a crumpled white sari, in a narrow, crowded lane inKolkata, yelling colloquially into a microphone, asking the heaving, sweating sea of people around her to go home and bathe and relax.

All around her is a jubilant crescendo: conch shells blowing, drums beating, a celebratory vapor of green powder everywhere.

A moment later, she shouts over the din to call out to a young girl in the crowd, urging her to bring all the children out of the scorching sun and into the modest house behind her.

She is raucous, tactile, familiar. Everyone calls herDidi, elder sister."

Shoma Chaudhury's profiles Mamata Banerjee in the Daily Beast

A 37-year old Afghan detainee has died at Guantanamo Bay in an apparent suicide, the US military said today.

The man, identified by one name, Inayatullah, was an admitted planner for Al Qaeda terrorist operations and arrived in Guantanamo in September 2007.

Inayatullah was the eighth person to die at Guantanamo since the US government started transferring prisoners there following the 2001 ouster of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Details of the Naxal encounter in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra.

A commando of an elite anti-Naxal force was killed and two policemen were injured while fighting the ultras, two of whom also died, during an exchange of fire in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district this morning.

The injured have been brought to the Gadchiroli Civil hospital for treatment, Sheth said.

The two Naxals killed appeared to be senior cadres and police have recovered pouches of AK-47 ammunition from them.

Asmall commercial plane crashed in an isolated part of Patagonia in southern Argentina, killing all 22 people on board.

"We did not find anyone alive. There were no survivors. The plane is in multiple charred fragments. Everything is burnt and smashed to pieces," said local hospital director Ismael Ali, who participated in the rescue mission.

Ali said a witness had reported seeing a fireball crash into a field near his home, indicating a possible mid-air explosion.

It has emerged that in 2007 French President Nicholas Sarkozy had warned Dominique Strauss-Kahn to watch his behavior when he became the chief of the IMF.

"Over there [US] they don't joke about this sort of thing," Sarkozy had told Strauss-Kahn.

"Your life will be passed under a magnifying glass. Avoid taking the lift alone with interns. France cannot permit a scandal, Strauss-Kahn was told. After the news broke, Sarkozy reportedly rolled his eyes and said, "We did warn him."

Strauss-Kahn, a socialist politician, was seen as a possible contender in the 2012 elections, who could oust Sarkozy from power.

A US court will today hear the bail plea of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned today as the head of the International Monetary Fund. Strauss-Kahn has been charged with a criminal sex act while the victim has testified that "there was nothing consensual" about the assault.

Yesterday, the alleged victim, a 32-year-old chambermaid, testified. "There was nothing that took place in that hotel room which in any way could be construed as consensual," the woman's personal attorney, Jeffrey Shapiro, said.

"This woman was absolutely the victim of a physical and sexual assault," he said. A bail hearing is set for today.

Strauss-Kahns lawyers indicated that he would be willing to be confined to a location in Manhattan and wear an electronic ankle bracelet to monitor his movements, and was prepared to post USD 1 million cash bail. He is currently being held in Riker Island prison on suicide watch.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, has been charged with a criminal sex act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment.

And the final bit of smut on the Schwarzeneggers...

An expert has said that Arnold Schwarzenegger's revelation that he fathered a love child with housekeeper/assistant, who worked in their home for nearly two decades, might be 'like a personal 9/11' attack for his four children.

"This event is like a personal 9/11," the ABC News quoted Dr Alan E. Kazdin, director of Yale University's Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic, as saying.

"What happens after that can really contribute to the how their emotional and behavioral adjustment turns out," Kazdin added.

Maria Shriver first learned the details after her husband left political office. The couple announced their separation May 6.

If sources are to be believed, then Arnold Schwarzenegger's estranged wife Maria Shriver has hired a divorce lawyer.

Shriver split from actor husband after 25 years of marriage amid a love-child scandal.

Prominent Los Angeles family law attorney Laura Wasser is now representing California's former first lady.

Dirt on Arnold, his wife and the mistress...

It has emerged that Arnold Schwarzenegger''s mistress Mildred Patricia Baena separated from her husband just days after giving birth to the actor's love child.

When Baena did file for divorce from Rogelio de Jesus Baena in 2008 in Los Angeles, she did not list him as the baby''s father, reports People mag.

"There are no minor children," the papers said. Baena filed for divorce in February 2008 while she was still working for Schwarzenegger as a housekeeper/assistant and while he was the Governor of California.

Bollywood actress Minissha Lamba, detained by Customs officials at the international airport in Mumba for allegedly not declaring gold and diamond jewellery worth over Rs 50 lakh, was let off after 16 hours of questioning.

"Lamba was allowed to go at 1 am after 16 hours of questioning and recording of statement. She is likely to be called today as well," a Customs official said.

The 26-year-old actor, who landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport from Cannes, France via Dubai by an Emirates flight at 8.30 am yesterday, was crossing the green channel when she was intercepted by the Customs officials.

During checking of her luggage, she was found to be carrying jewellery worth over Rs 50 lakh in her bag.

Lamba, whose debut film 'Yahaan' garnered critical acclaim, has acted in movies like 'Bachna Ae Haseeno', 'Corporate' and 'Well Done Abba'. She was in France to attend the premiere of Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris'.

A British spy turned arms dealer has told a Copenhagen court that Danish national Kim Davy aka Neils Holck, the prime accused in the 1995 Purulia arms drop case, will not survive if he is extradited and forced to stand trial in India.

Giving evidence in the extradition hearing of Davy, Peter Bleach, who was arrested over the incident, told the court how he was beaten and humiliated while serving a life sentence in India. Bleach was released in February 2004, via a presidential pardon, allegedly due to persistent British pressure.

In case you were planning to congratulate her...

Shilpa Shetty tweets: Sick and tired of all the congratulatory msgs and calls,so for the last time "I AM NOT PREGNANT".all this is so annoying..grrrrrrrrr

This is what former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn wrote in his resignation letter.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Board

It is with infinite sadness that I feel compelled today to present to the Executive Board my resignation from my post of Managing Director of the IMF.

I think at this time first of my wife'"whom I love more than anything'"of my children, of my family, of my friends. I think also of my colleagues at the Fund; together we have accomplished such great things over the last three years and more.

To all, I want to say that I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me.

I want to protect this institution which I have served with honor and devotion, and especially I want to devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn

US officials have said there was no evidence indicating leaders in Islamabad knew Osama Bin Laden had been hiding in Pakistan.

But defence secretary Robert Gates said he believed "somebody" in Pakistan knew the whereabouts of the Al Qaeda chief, reports bbc.co.uk.

Top military officer Adm Mike Mullen said it might take a while to find out if Bin Laden had Pakistani protectors. Amid increasing pressure from US lawmakers, both men advised against cutting off aid to Pakistan.

Details of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's resignation.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn today resigned as the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, but continued to insist he was innocent.

Strauss-Kahn is locked up in a New York prison since Saturday when he was bundled out of a Paris-bound flight and taken into custody on charges of sexually assaulting a chambermaid at a Manhattan hotel.

"Dominique Strauss-Kahn has today informed the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund of his intention to resign as Managing Director with immediate effect," the IMF said in a statement after it received a formal letter in this regard from Strauss-Kahn.

In his letter Strauss-Kahn maintained his innocence and said he would fight off the charges.

"It is with infinite sadness that I feel compelled today to present to the Executive Board my resignation from my post of Managing Director of the IMF," he wrote.

The IMF said John Lipsky, the First Deputy Director, remains the acting MD of the agency.

Citigroup awarded Chief Executive Vikram Pandit a multimillion-dollar package to keep him at the helm for at least four more years, a vote of confidence in an executive who almost was ousted in the financial crisis.

The Wall Street Journal reports taht Pandit will receive a multiyear, $10 million stock grant, plus new options valued at an estimated $6.7 million and profit sharing, to encourage him to stay through 2015.

Pandit became CEO in December 2007, only to preside over the New York bank's near-collapse a year later under the weight of losses he inherited.

As the US government rescued the bank with more than $45 billion of taxpayers' money in 2008 and 2009, Pandit came under attack from one of its regulators, who questioned his ability to run the banking giant. Some shareholders also criticized him for an 87% drop in the stock price.

Superstar Rajinikanth's condition worsened on Wednesday with doctors putting him through dialysis at a Chennai hospital, two days after he underwent a procedure to drain fluid accumulated in his lungs.

The Tamil superstar was also shifted to the hospital's intensive care unit from the private ward where he was being treated since Saturday.

Doctors said they could not avoid or put off dialysis as the 61-year-old star's kidneys were not functioning normally. This was leading to increased fluid retention in his blood and a decrease in sodium and protein levels in the body.

Good morning. IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigns as the managing director.His lawyerwill file forbail today.DSK has been accused of sexually molesting a maid at his hotel room in New York,a short distance fromRikers prison which is 'home' for now.

Superstar Rajnikant is in ICU, where he is undergoing dialysis,two days after he underwent a procedure to drain fluid accumulated in his lungs.

Al-Qaida's media arm releases posthumous video.

The video has an audio message from Osama bin Laden in which he speaks on the wave of Arab protests sweeping the Mideast and North Africa in recent months, a US monitoring group said Wednesday. Read