The Central Information Commission has directed the External Affairs Ministry to comply with the norms of statutory suo-moto disclosures to be made under the Right to Information Act. 

The move comes on a complaint that some information given on the ministry's website under section 4 of the RTI Act, which relates to proactive disclosures by a public authority, are not complete and comprehensive.

On the Times, London: Usain Bolt is back and this time he is serious. The newly crowned athlete of the year said that he would enter Olympic lockdown in January as he focuses on what would be a remarkable four-gold salvo.

The triple Olympic champion's manager, Ricky Simms, said that he will shun all commercial duties as he targets four titles in London.

Bolt has flirted with the idea of broadening his palette before, talking wistfully of the long jump, but this time he means it. He is considering doing the 4 x 400 metres relay, as well as his traditional 100, 200 and 4 x 100 metres treble. "If I can help to get them [Jamaica] a gold medal, I will want to go on that team," Bolt said.

Phone-hacking at the now shut British Tabloid News of the World was so widespread that it was tantamount to a 'thriving cottage industry', a lawyer said during a judicial inquiry into the matter.  

At least 28 journalists at the News International media group employed private detective Glenn Mulcaire to carry out over 2,200 illegal voicemail tapping during seven years of eavesdropping on public figures, the Leveson Inquiry was told, with a journalist alone making 1,453 requests.  

Early this morning, a drone attack in Pakistan killed seven people. Read one-time US presidential hopeful and author Ralph Nader on stopwar.org.uk on a world where drones are constantly buzzing overhead -- waiting to zap those deemed threats -- risks being a world of lawlessness and chaos.

On the Wall Street Journal: Delhi is gearing up to host more than 100,000 weddings this month, which astrologers say is a most auspicious time to tie the knot.

And the most auspicious day is Nov. 27, when a consensus of more than a dozen wedding planners and industry experts estimated there would be no fewer than 60,000 marriages in the capital.

Read

Celebrity fashion photographer Mario Testino will present The Turner Prize in Gateshead next month. The Telegraph has the story.

Who's Testino? Testino makes anyone he photographs look the best they ever will. That's part of his magic. Read

Subramanian Swamy on Twitter: CBI Special Court has Given a stern order: hand over file to me by 17th or else...I will file Contempt case

See our 15:51 post.

Just in: The CBI doubles the award to Rs 10 lakh to anyone giving credible
information on missing nurse Bhanwari Devi.

Also see related reports:

• Missing nurse Bhanwari Devi's husband is being questioned by the CBI. (15:37 pm)
• Rajasthan Cabinet resigns ahead of reshuffle, CM heads to Delhi (14:22 pm)
• Bhanwari case: CBI search at house of Malkan's brother (14:20 pm)

All summer, gasoline was in short supply and rationing was in force. People lined up for hours, parking their cars in line at night and returning to wait again in the morning, to get a few liters of oil. In remote and isolated Manipur, blockades ensure that what little commercial life there is gets choked off.

Manipur makes it to the Page 1 of the New York Times. Read it for the sheer joy of eyeballing a well-written piece.

This CBI file, which runs into nearly 1,200 pages, has documents purporting to show that Chidambaram had cleared over 60 percent equity dilution in Unitech. Norway-based Telenor had bought shares worth Rs 6,200 crore even before Unitech rolled out its services, reports Firstpost.com.

The CBI has mentioned this in its chargesheet as well, but this file puts it on record that Chidambaram was the last person to clear the Unitech file for equity dilution.

The CBI tells the Delhi court that it will give a file relating to 2G spectrum allocation to Subramanian Swamy in two days.

Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy has been waiting to get a certified copy of the CBI's 2G file containing documents with endorsements and signatures of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram (now home minister).

Swamy believes this file will prove Chidambaram's complicity in the 2G scam, says Firstpost.com.

The Guardian reviews The Iron Lady: Phyllida Lloyd's film gives us Thatcher without Thatcherism, writes Xan Brooks but Meryl Streep is astonishing. Read

And the Telegraph review we posted earlier: The Iron Lady: Meryl Streep is 'cashing in' on Thatcher, say friends of former PM

Watch on cnn.com: What the world's richest man has to say on the Eurozone crisis.

Right now: Missing nurse Bhanwari Devi's husband is being questioned by the CBI.

Also see our 14:20 pm post: Bhanwari case: CBI search at house of Malkan's brother:

Update on Iran's nuclear programme: Russian scientist Vyacheslav Danilenko's aid to Iran offers peek at N-programme. Read the story on the Washington Post.

Also see: The IAEA report

Brahma Chellaney on Twitter: Julia Gillard's welcome move to lift Aussie uranium ban on India driven by post-Fukushima export slump and ensuing need to find new markets.  

Here's the context: Australia PM pushes to end India uranium sales ban

This had to happen and here it is...

The BJP today said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement at his party rally in Phulpur was indicative of a "divisive mentality". "Rahul's statement that people of UP should not go out of the state indicates his divisive mentality. Why Maharashtra government failed when people from UP were being attacked
there? Where was Rahul Gandhi then?" BJP national vice-president Kalraj Mishra said here. 

Gandhi, while kicking off Congress' election campaign in UP yesterday had said, "People of Uttar Pradesh are appreciated for their hard work wherever they go in search of job...How long will you beg in Maharashtra (for work)? How long will you work as labourer in Punjab?"

As Vijay Mallya's press briefing in Mumbai continues, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today opposed any attempt by the government to bail out Kingfisher Airlines saying that if the Manmohan Singh-led UPA has excess money, it should be utilised for re-starting closed textile mills in Mumbai and waiving off loans to farmers. 

"Kingfisher finds itself in trouble due to its owner Vijay Mallya. The airline has no money to pay its employees and purchase fuel for the planes. But, there is no impact on Mallya's lifestyle or his other businesses," Thackeray said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

At 160 million people, India's middle class is larger than the total population of the United Kingdom, France, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Australia put together. As the middle class prospered in the past decade or so, it has single-handedly penned the script of India's evolving consumption story. Thanks to these 160 million mouths, India is in the midst of a gastronomic revolution.

Read the Economic Times report.

In other news, Defence Minister A K Antony today said India was working to match it to protect the country's territory and build an effective deterrence.

Expressing concern over Chinese military infrastructure buildup, Antony said, "China is expanding its military capabilities and their infrastructure in the border area is also increasing substantially and we are concerned about that." The Minister made these remarks when asked about India's response to Chinese military modernization in the Eastern and Northern sectors.

The CBI today searched the house of Congress MLA Malkhan Singh's brother Parasram Bishnoi in Rajasthan's Bilada town in connection with the Bhanwari Devi missing case.

Parasram was questioned for five hours yesterday by the probe agency at the circuit house here. A CBI team today reached Bilada, 80 km from here, and conducted the search at his residence, officials said.

Meanwhile, sacked Rajasthan Minister Mahipal Maderna who had skipped questioning on "health grounds" yesterday, continued to be in Mathura Das Mathur government hospital in Jodhpur.

Mallya reitereates that the company did not ask the government for a bailout with tax payers money. He says he has asked banks for additional working capital, but it was unfair for the media to write Kingfisher's epitaph.

And in what comes as a relief to Kingfisher employees, Mallya says there will be no layoffs.

Kingfisher has applied to Directorate General of Foreign Trade for direct import of jet fuel.

Mallya says aircraft reconfiguration will give us incremental revenue generation opportunities. He says there is a need for foreign direct investment in the aviation industry and the government should permit it. "FDI is allowed in Greenfield Airports, why not in aviation," he asks.

Mallya admits that he should have handled the situation better, instead of allowing the media to arrive at its own decision regarding Kingfisher and the so-called bailout.

"We have repaid Indian Oil and BPCL in full, don't owe them a single paisa. But the problem of fuel is greatly compounded in India and the import of fuel should be the last resort, " says Mallya. 

"We have not asked the government for a bailout," adds Mallya. .

Mallya says state governments are enjoying windfall profits at the cost of the aviation industry and points out that phasing out Kingfisher Red does not mean we are shutting down. (The airline cancelled 200 flights last week).

Meanwhile, in Mumbai Kingfisher boss Vijay Malla breaks his silence since the financial crisis hit his airlines.

He says cancellation of our flights is based on wrong reasons. "It was a commercially prudent decision to cut flights since we cannot afford to fly on routes that are not commercially viable. We are accountable to banks, to our shareholders."

More tributes on Peter Roebuck.

The Independent pays tribute: There is a hollowness in knowing the press box will never again hear Roebuck's insight.

And another: 'Cricket has its dark secrets, its skeletons'

Also on the Sun: Former England cricketer Peter Roebuck leapt 70ft to his death as police quizzed him over claims he molested a young man he had groomed on Facebook, it was revealed yesterday.

Bachelor Roebuck, 55, arranged to meet the handsome 26-year-old from a poor Zimbabwean family after making an online offer to help him through university. Read

Tabloid news coming up...

From the Sun: Junkie rocker Pete Doherty has fled to Paris because he says the ghost of Amy Winehouse is haunting his London flat. He told pals the 27-year-old's spirit visited him three or four times at the pad close to where she died in Camden in July. Read

Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai today appeared before the Joint Parliamentary Committee, a day after his former colleague sought to dismiss the presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore due to 2G spectrum
allocation as a "mathematical guess". 

Rai, who appeared before the JPC along with Deputy CAG Rekha Gupta, had written to Committee Chairman P C Chacko requesting the presence of R P Singh, former Director General, Audit (Post and Telecommunications) during his deposition. 

Singh had told the JPC yesterday that his calculation in a draft audit report was based on inflation rate of seven years as the entry fee decided in 2001 was not revised in 2008. He had told the JPC that the "actual loss" due to spectrum allocation was Rs 2,645 crore as against the Rs 1.76 lakh crore in the final report.

Mayawati says the state needs to be split into four for better administration and better development. 

Another important update on the New York Times: Hundreds of New York City police officers began clearing Zuccotti Park of the Occupy Wall Street protesters early Tuesday, telling the people there that the nearly two-month-old camp would be "cleared and restored' before the morning and that any demonstrator who did not leave would be arrested. Read more

Also see: Indian activist drums support for Occupy Wall Street. On Rediff.com

R Rajagopalan on Twitter: Press Council buys laptop for Chairman Justice Katju. He may work more on it less time to speak.

Also see: The clarifications by Justice Markandey Katju, Chairman, Press Council of India, on his critical observations of the Indian media.

The slain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi broke his promise to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair by keeping chemical weapons hidden from the rest of the world, British Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

Cameron added that the new Libyan government had told him that it had identified an arsenal that had been 'kept hidden from the world'.  

Diplomatic sources said several sites thought to contain mustard gas agent and other chemicals had been discovered across the country and were now under armed guard.

A beautiful and poignant read on the Sydney Morning Herald.

One of the most integral people in my life, Peter Roebuck, has died. He was 55. A universally respected commentator and journalist, Peter Roebuck was in Cape Town covering the current cricket series between Australia and South Africa at the time of his unfortunate death. More

The US today said that there is no change in its visa policy with regard to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, but asserted that the state has a very
welcoming environment for American business to flourish.

"No, there are no new developments on that," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said when asked if there is any review of giving visa to Modi.

The US has previously denied visa to Modi, apparently holding him responsible for the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002. Blake, however, said Gujarat itself remains a very important place for American investment.

Surface-to-air missiles could be used to protect London Olympics, says British Defence Secretary, determined to put in place contingencies in case terrorists attempt to carry out an atrocity by flying an aircraft into a venue packed with fans. Read the Daily Mail story

Also see: US officials worried about security at London 2012 Olympics.

China and India occupy the top two spots in contributing foreign students to the United States, with the international education sector bringing in USD 21.3 billion into the domestic economy, a new report said. 

Together, the top three sending countries China, India and South Korea comprise nearly half (46 per cent) of the total international enrollments in US higher education, said the report released yesterday by the Institute of
International Education.

Also read our 11:32 pm post: Why Americans are choosing to study abroad in huge numbers 

If Americans were paying attention to matters of foreign policy over the weekend, it likely had to do with what was discussed at yet another farcical Republican debate, replete with wild distortions of reality and bald admissions of ignorance. What should have been more on the collective radar took place west of South Carolina very far west, in fact, in Hawaii

Read Ishaan Tharoor's blog on Time.com. The writer is Shashi Tharoor's son.

Shares of Kingfisher Airlines tanked by as much as 4 per cent in morning trade on the bourses today, but made a smart recovery after the air carrier
announced that its net loss more than doubled to Rs 468.66 crore in the second quarter.
Kingfisher Airlines' net loss widened to Rs 468.66 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2011, from Rs 230.81 crore in the same period last year.
Reacting to the numbers, the stock opened on a sluggish note on the BSE and then dropped by 2.81 per cent to an early low of Rs 20.75.

The Kingfisher board is expected to meet for the second time today.

That's the story on Firstpost.com. Read

Yesterday, the Congress flagged of its campaign trail in UP from Pt Jawaharlal Nehru's constituency in Phulpur, with Rahul Gandhi holding a rally there.

See our Live! commentary yesterday, beginning from the 13:46 pm post.

CAG Vinod Rai is expected to explain to the parliamentary panel how the auditor arrived at a presumptive loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore and to counter the figure (loss at Rs 2,645 crore) floated by his former auditor RP Singh

Petrol price may be cut by Rs 2/ltr from Wednesday (Hindustan Times)
Petrol prices may be cut by Rs 2 a litre from Wednesday as global oil rates have softened and the rupee has stabilised against the US dollar. Read

Vinod Rai to appear before JPC, likely to defend loss figure (Hindustan Times)
CAG Vinod Rai is expected to explain to the parliamentary panel how the auditor arrived at a presumptive loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore and to counter the figure (loss at Rs 2,645 crore) floated by his former auditor RP Singh. Read

Kingfisher Q2 loss widens to Rs468.66 crore (DNA)
Kingfisher Airlines today reported that its net loss doubled to Rs468.66 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2011, as higher fuel prices depressed operating margins. Read

India is in great distress... intellectual level of majority very low: Markandey Katju (Indian Express)
Katju said only way to regain Indias past glory was through rapid industrialisation, modernisation. Read

Aishwarya's delivery: SevenHills Hospital in Mumbai turns fortress (The Times of India) 
As the time of the juniormost Bachchan's arrival is fast approaching, SevenHills Hospital in Mumbai has virtually turned into a fortress with heightened security. Read

Omar places AFSPA before Delhi Durbar (The Hindu)
With differences persisting at the highest levels of government on the revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from certain parts of J&K, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met the Prime Minister and other top leaders here Monday to press his case for the laws withdrawal from three districts in his state. Read

Agni IV successfully test fired (The Hindu)

The two stage surface-to-surface missile is 20 meters-tall and weighs 17 tonnes. The missile zeroed in on to a pre-designated target with great accuracy. Read