Expressing concern over the continued incarceration of his daughter Kanimozhi in the 2G spectrum case, DMK chief M Karunanidhi today said if courts"hesitated" to provide legal rights, it could cast a question mark on the country's democracy.

"If courts, one of the pillars of Indian democracy, hesitated to provide legal rights and protect the basics of the law, a question will rise in everybody's mind where Indian democracy is going and about its future," he wrote in hisparty's organ Murasoli.

"Let us hope for the best," he said while referring to the Delhi High Court adjourning Kanimozhi's bail plea to December 1.

The RSS today said Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement had its support and its activists were not barred from joining the campaign but the outfit noted it had no 'official' link with the Gandhian. 

Reacting to RSS Chief Mohan Bhagawat's remarks in this regard, Hazare denied that RSS was supporting his movement. 

"We were with him. We are with him," Bhagwat said on the question of the Sangh Parivar founthead's support to the anti-graft movement. Bhagwat however said RSS has not extended any help to anyone officially.

Our New Delhi correspondent says that the Supreme Court tomorrow will examine a batch of PILs urging it to restrain the Centre from carving out a separate Telangana state and ensure that normal public life was not affected on account of the agitation.

Krishnaiah, who is an advocate, has urged the court to restrain the Centre from taking steps for carving out a separate state and has sought an appropriate direction to the authorities to ensure that the general public was not inconvenienced on account of the year-long agitation.

The petition stated that the power to carve out a new state under Article 3 of the Constitution is vested with Parliament and cannot be done without amending Article 371-D which granted certain benefits of reservation in employment, education and other benefits to locals.

Rediff.com's MI Khan reporting from Patna, says, that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has reacted sharply to Team Anna's remarks on the state government draft bill on Lokayukta.

Commenting on Anna's remark that it was a "copy" of the Centre's Lokpal draft, Nitish Kumar said he did not require a certificate from anyone. Nitish also warned Team Anna to know its limits.

European planemaker Airbus said today it was abandoning production of its A340 long-haul four-engine aircraft, which failed to compete with Boeing's 777.
"We have accepted reality. We have not sold any A340s for nearly two years," Airbus finance director Hans Peter Ring said during a presentation on the third-quarter results of Airbus parent company.

The PM says Saarc must aim for regional agreements and adds that India will reduce the sensitive trade list for Saarc Least Developed Countries from 480 to 25 tariff lines with zero basic customs duty access.

For this to happen, a complete normalisation of trade relations amongst Saarc nations will create huge opportunities for mutually beneficial trade in South Asia.

Addressing the 17th Saarc summit in Addu, Maldives, the PM says there is scope for more cooperation between the Saarc countries and while a lot has been done, there's much more left undone.

Dr Singh points out that the need for cooperation arises especially since the global economy is under stress and there is a need to revive it. Regional cooperation is good for all countries in the region (S Asia) and it was therefore necessary to create avenues in the region.

Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid today said a strong Lokpal Bill would be brought in the coming session of Parliament and advised those demanding
it to remain patient. 

"Experts are working on the draft for a strong Lokpal Bill...after looking at all aspects, it would be brought in the coming session of Parliament," he said today. 

The minister said judiciary and media would be kept out of the ambit of the bill though all government officials would be brought under its purview. Without naming Anna Hazare, he said people should remain patient as the bill would be introduced in the coming session.

A report on the China Daily says that India's repositioning of its national security strategy has led to the country "starting to treat China as a de facto competitor". 

"China has always adhered to the principle of 'peaceful rise'. But this has been misinterpreted by some countries as a 'rising threat'," the paper said. The response came a week after the Indian Ministry of Defense announced its biggest expansion package to date, a $13 billion military modernization plan.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also termed as "great" the talks between Prime Minister Manmoham Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani today and said dialogue is the "only option" to resolve all outstanding issues between the two nations. "It is great that India and Pakistan are talking. This is what we have always been saying that dialogue is the only option," Omar said.

A day after holding discussions with the army on the possibility of partial revocation of AFSPA, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today appeared defiantsaying his government has the authority to revoke the controversial law.

"I have the authority. The elected state government of any state has the authority. In this case (revocation of AFSPA), the authority rests with the governor who would act on the basis of the state government's recommendations," Omar said.

Robin Brant, Political correspondent, BBC News says that James Murdoch is wearing a black tie, solemn. There is a distinct contrast to his last appearance. Mr Murdoch's sitting alone with four empty chairs either side of him.

The last time the Murdochs were questioned, this is what happened. Watch the YouTube video

Right now, News International chairman James Murdoch gives evidence for the second time to the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee from 11am (GMT). Murdoch first appeared alongside his father and News International chairman and chief executive Rupert in July  He will be asked if he stands by his testimony that he knew nothing about the possibility of widespread hacking at the News of the World.

Follow what's happening on the bbc. 

India is trying to create an anti-Pakistan Afghanistan which has been a "playing ground" for it and the Soviet Union, according to former Pakistan President
Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf made the charge in the course of an interview
on BBC's HARDTalk programme during which he stated that he would return to Pakistan on March 23, 2012 even though he faces arrest in connection with the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Details on rediff.com shortly.

Also see our 15:43 pm post.

President Barack Obama will announce an accord for a new and permanent US military presence in Australia when he visits next week, a step aimed at countering China's influence and reasserting US interest in the region, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The agreement will lead to an increase in U.S. naval operations off the coast of Australia and give American troops and ships "permanent and constant" access to Australian facilities.

The much-awaited trial in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, involving high-profile accused including former Telecom Minister A Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi, top corporate honchos and telecom firms, is likely to commence
from tomorrow before a Delhi Court.

Top corporate executives of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) are likely to be first among the over 150 witnesses named by the CBI to be examined by the special court, set up exclusively by the Supreme Court to deal with the 2G case.

Actor, entertainer Eddie Murphy, who quit the chance to host next year's Oscars, in a rare interview for the Rolling Stone magazine.

Also see our 11:12 am post.

A day after Sonia Gandhi made a veiled attack on BJP and Team Anna over corruption, BJP leader Rajnath Singh today said the Congress chief is silent
on 2G, CWG and other scams plaguing the UPA government and only making statements against social activist Anna Hazare. 

"Gandhi says nothing on 2G, CWG and other scams, while discharges her duties merely by uttering some words against Hazare," Singh said.

The US has termed India's developmental aid to Afghanistan as "extremely positive", and has said New Delhi consciously chose not to take up a major role in training security forces of the war-torn country as it was mindful of Pakistan's sensitivities in this regard. 

India has taken "a very responsible approach" towards Afghanistan, Michele Flournoy, US Under-Secretary of Defence for Policy, said.

Richard Nixon's grand jury testimony about the scandal that destroyed his presidency finally is coming to light. Four months after a judge ordered the June 1975 Watergate records unsealed, the US government's Nixon Presidential Library was making them available online and at the California facility today.

Nixon was interviewed near his California home for 11 hours over two days, when a pardon granted by his successor, Gerald Ford, protected him from prosecution for any past crimes. Historians won public access to the transcript over the objections of the Obama administration.

On the New York Times blogs read Sonia Faleiro's story on how little Nagma was sold into forced labour in India.

India's controversial former cricket coach Greg Chappell claims the biggest regret of his tumultuous three-year stint there was the fallout with seniorbatsman Sachin Tendulkar with whom he simply failed to "communicate" properly.

Chappell, who served as India coach from 2005 to 2007, admitted in his new autobiography 'Fierce Focus' that he tried to push hurried improvements in the team which led to his downfall, especially after his relations with senior players such as Tendulkar soured.

Also read on rediff.com: Chappell spills beans on bitter relationship with Ganguly

Expressing surprise over "verbatim account" appearing in the media on discussions at the Unified Command Headquarters meeting here, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today sought to know who had leaked it. 

"Who the hell is leaking the proceedings of the UHQ to the media?" Omar said on micro-blogging website Twitter while reacting to media reports on the proceedings of the UHQ meet yesterday.

The CM had chaired the UHQ meeting on the first day of reopening of Darbar move offices in Jammu. "Its amusing to see how sources are giving verbatim account to various channels. My dad used to complain aboutthis after cabinet meetings," he tweeted.

Michael Jackson's deathbed is being put up for auction while the multi-million dollar mansion where he died is being sold separately.  

The bed is among hundreds of items from the California mansion where the pop legend spent his final days that are going to be sold next month.  

The three-storeyed house where Jackson lived with his three children from Dec 2008 till his death on June 25, 2009, is reported to grab 28.995 million dollars.

Apple's revolutionary co-founder Steve Jobs and the Occupy Wall Street protestors up in arms against corporate greed have emerged as early favourites for Time magazine's annual 'Person of the Year' honour. 

The magazine's 2011 Person of the Year will be unveiled in its December issue and "in a year that has shown so many stories of triumph and tragedy from every corner of the world," Jobs and the Wall Street protesters have emerged as popular favourites.

Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet has been immortalised in wax after being given her own replica of waxwork model at top London attraction Madame Tussauds. The Titanic actress whose lookalike is being exhibited
alongside other British acting talents such as Dame Helen Mirren and actress Judi Dench.

Just FYI, but Ash, SRK, Salman, Kareena, and Amitabh Bachchan, all got there before she did.

And here it is, in case you were biting your nails to the quick, wondering what it was.

The title of Aamir Khan's next with Rani Mukherji and Kareena Kapoor will be called TalaashMany names like Raazdar or Dhuaan had been doing the rounds since the time, the Reema Kagti-directed project went on the floors, sources said.

But, the producers say they were not the working titles of the underproduction film, for which Aamir is collaborating as a co-producer with Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani.

Aamir will be seen after a long time with Rani Mukherjee and opposite Kareena Kapoor after Three Idiots.

Tushar A Gandhi on Twitter: Dawood wants to be buried in Mumbai. We should oblige him by burying him right away, alive.

The name should be familiar, but here it is, Tushar Gandhi is the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who we all know, was synonymous with non-violence.

Here's what they call too much information, but here you go...

George Clooney has revealed that he started his sex life early and claims that he had his first orgasm during the first grade, when he was just six years old.   During an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, the 50-year-old actor also said that he waited another ten years to have his first sexual encounter, and that he was "young, very young, too young' when he lost his virginity at 16.  

"I believe it was while climbing a rope when I was six or seven years old,' Fox News quoted him as saying. 

"I mean, nothing came out, but all the other elements were there. I remember getting to the top of the rope, hanging off the rope, and going, "Oh, my God, this feels great!' he said.  

Another update on Ajay Maken. The Sports Minister today said that  
allegations of tax violation in running of the Indian Premier League should be looked into and asked the BCCI to come under the RTI ambit for its own good. 

Maken said transparency in the working of National Sports Federations, including the BCCI, can be achieved by bringing them under the Right to Information Act, which the revised National Sports Development Bill seeks to incorporate.

Also read: ED questions SRK over IPL 'irregularities'

The Indian Olympic Association today lashed out at Sports Minister Ajay Maken for saying that he has no faith in the IOA when it comes to handling huge
amount of money with the body's acting-President Vijay Kumar Malhotra demanding a withdrawal of the statement.

Blaming the minister for playing a double game, the IOA warned him that these cheap tactics are going to boomerang on him sooner than later.

"Exuberance does not mean that one should cross limits of decency. One has to temper with his language," the IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra said.     

Maken had claimed that the Government has no faith in the IOA and the sports organisation cannot be trusted to handle big amounts.

The News of the World's hacking was on a scale that suggests the very act of surveillance corroded their sense of normality. Read

Also see: James Murdoch's career on the line as he faces MPs.

On the Wall Street Journal: Why Bollywood is 'no country for women'. Read 

Israel may launch a strike on Iran as soon as next month in order to prevent the Islamist regime from developing nuclear weapons.  

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, has reveled that Iran is developing a nuclear test facility, nuclear detonators and computer modelling for a nuclear warhead that would fit on an existing missile.  

According to sources, the understanding at the top of the UK government is that Israel will attempt to strike against the nuclear sites 'sooner rather than later,' with logistical support from the US.

The cheer seems to be back in the ruling Congress government in Andhra Pradesh, besieged with separate statehood stir, as the rebel MLAs who had joined the YSR Congress party are 'keen' to return, while the TRS'
move to 'poach' them hitting a road block.

Growing buzz in the political circles is that the majority of 26 Congress MLAs, who had shifted their loyalty to YSR Congress party led by Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of late chief minister Y S R Rajasekhara Reddy, are now retracting.

Also see: Vicky Nanjappa's report: Is the party over for YSR Cong?

In a complete turnaround, scientists have warned that cutting back on salt could do you more harm than good, by boosting chemicals that are bad for the heart.  

They said reducing salt intake could can trigger rise in cholesterol and increase risk of blood clots, raising the risk of heart disease and stroke. The NHS states that a diet rich in sodium can cause raised blood pressure and the government have issued a long-term campaign to highlight the health risks.

Google has announced that it will stop supporting the Gmail application for Blackberry smartphones made by rival Research in Motion.

The company will stop offering Gmail app for Blackberry users from November 22, although BlackBerry users who already have the Gmail application installed on their phones can continue to use the service.

Google said in a statement that it would instead focus on building a great Gmail experience in the mobile browser.

Our Delhi correspondent writes that the PM has finally cleared the promotion of the 1978 IAS batch who will now become secretaries to the Government of India.

Speculations were ripe that the list was pruned twice and the third time -- and the total number of promotees were reduced from 41 to 37.

As world leaders battled to stave off another recession, Silvio Berlusconi spent much of the summit season eyeing the contours of his female counterparts.

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was the latest to suffer the ignominy of being ogled by the Italian Premier at the G20 in Cannes, while camerascaught Berlusconi leering at Denmark's Helle Thorning-Schmidt in Brussels.

Read it on cnn.com

More on Malik's comments...

Asked about Pakistan removing Jamat-ud-Dawa from the terror list, Malik said, "Information is not evidence and there is need for concrete legal evidence for keeping them in the terror list".

On the release of JuD founder Hafiz Saeed, he said, "He was bailed out by the highest court of Pakistan and the government can't do anything about it". He reiterated Pakistan's stand that it was not aware of Osama bin Laden's presence in the country. He said bin Laden was trained by intelligence agencies like CIA and ISI and he knew how to hide.

Details of Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik's statement on Ajmal Kasab have just come in.

Demanding death for terrorist Ajmal Kasab, Malik today said the proposed visit of a Judicial Commission to India will help quicken the trial of 26/11 accused in his country. Here's what he had to say...

1. "Kasab is a terrorist. He is a non-state actor. He should go to gallows," Malik told Indian journalists here as Prime Ministers of the two countries were meeting to review bilateral ties.

2 Pakistan Government was awaiting a visit of the Judicial Commission to India and get some evidence that will help in prosecuting the accused in his country if we have "credible evidence."

3 The Commission will go to India, its findings are important for the judicial process in Pakistan. 

4 The trial would be complete when the report comes in. The process will begin "but it is too early to say how long it would go on."

Italy's bond yields passed 7% Wednesday morning, breaching a psychological point at which markets consider countries at risk of being unable to fund themselves. Read the report on Cnn.com

Also see our 11:31 am post.

On Cnn.com: French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his US counterpart Barack Obama have come under fire after they were overheard talking rudely about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the G-20 summit.

Sarkozy was overheard telling Obama: "I can't stand him. He's a liar," according to French website Arret Sur Images.

Obama is reported to have replied: "You're tired of him; what about me? I have to deal with him every day."

This is not the first time a prominent figure has been caught off-guard, on-mic. CNN looks back at 10 of the most infamous gaffes. Read

A run through of the world news...

Asian stock markets opened sharply lower on Thursday after Italy's record-high cost of borrowing renewed fears over the eurozone crisis. Read

Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi will step down "within a few days", the country's president has said. Giorgio Napolitano said he wished to "dispel any doubt or misunderstanding" on when the prime minister would fulfil his promise to resign. Read

PM Manmohan Singh addresses the press at the Saarc summit. The PM says the dialogue with his Pak PM Gilani has been positive. "We will resume dialogues with all the sincerity. I believe PM Gilani is a man of peace. Let us leave the bitterness of the past behind us."

The two leaders discussed visa liberalisation, the 26/11 trial, the Samjhauta blast trial, measures to build on the MFN status. Details awaited.

While on Pakistan, read this report on the Global Security Newswire: By hiding its nuclear weapons from Washington, Pakistan has made them much more vulnerable to jihadists. In response, the Pentagon has devised secret plans to secure the Pakistani arsenal -- by force if necessary. More

Also read: Pakistans nuclear weapons vulnerable to theft

Bombshell before the PMs' brief: Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik says the proposed visit of Pakistan's judicial commission to India and its report can help in prosecuting 26/11 accused, Ajmal Kasan. He adds that Kasab is a terrorist, and a non-state actor and he should be sent to the gallows.

Remember why Malik was in the news during the Cricket World Cup?

In a bit, both the PM's are scheduled to brief the press and while we await that, here's other news.  

CNN will continue to build new programming around its on-air talent with the Nov. 13 launch of a new weekly series featuring Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

The 30-minute series, The Next List, will feature CNN's chief medical correspondent as he profiles exceptional individuals who are leading innovation and setting trends at various industries around the world. Vignettes of the series will air on CNN during the week leading up to the Sunday episode, said CNN officials.    

Dr Sanjay Gupta who?

Another tweet from Suhasini Haidar: At PM mtg in Maldives Rehman Malik chats with the press --- says Kasab is a convicted terrorist -- shd face the gallows if that's the pnshmt.

Malik is Pakistan's interior minister.

Yesterday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said Pakistan would not backtrack on its decision regarding granting the most favoured nation status to India. The Dawn reports: "Let me categorically say that I don't see a lot of room for confusion,' , rejecting speculation on the Nov 2 decision to grant the status to India.

"We will not backtrack on a cabinet decision,' she said ahead of a Saarc summit.

Singh and Gilani are meeting for the second time this year after their discussions on the margins of the Indo-Pak encounter in the Cricket world cup match in Mohali and third time in 18 months after their talks on the sidelines of the
previous SAARC summit in Bhutan last year. 

Ahead of the Singh-Gilani parleys, Krishna met Khar at least thrice yesterday.

The two PMs meeting on the sidelines of the 17th SAARC summit, comes a week after Pakistan took a path-breaking decision to confer MFN status to India 16 years after it got a similar treatment from New Delhi and the return of the Indian Air Force's helicopter which had strayed into Pak-occupied Kashmir
across the LoC last month.

 The Dr Singh and Gilani met in a beach cottage in Shangrilla resort along the Indian Ocean and discussed a range of issues, including the need for Islamabad to take action against the 26/11 perpetrators and build on the recent Pakistani decision to grant the MFN status to India. 

Good morning. In Maldives, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani begins on the sidelines of the 17th Saarc summit.

Rediff.com's Prasanna Zore who is travelling with the PM reports that Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that anything that happens between India and Pakistan is bound to be spectacular. She clarified that the Pakistani  cabinet has approved the normalisation of the trade relationship between India and Pakistan by granting the Most Favoured Nation status to India.

The Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan will address the media shortly.