President Pratibha Patil unveiled a bronze bust of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, describing him as a "goodwill ambassador" of modern India.

A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the University to establish the Rabindranath Tagore Chair on Indian Studies that will begin with the teaching of Hindi.

"This will add a bit of India to the rich palate that this University offers," Patil said in an address at the University's auditorium.

A 36-year-old suspected woman Maoist, wanted by the Chhattisgarh police, was on Tuesday arrested from a south Delhi locality, where she was allegedly hiding, said police sources.

Soni Sori, a primary school teacher and an aunt of Lingaram Kodopi, who was recently arrested for allegedly acting as a conduit between Maoists and Essar, was apprehended from Katwaria Sarai by a team of the Delhi police.

Sori hails from the Naxal-affected Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh.

The Union home ministry has asked the Gujarat government to ensure adequate security to jailed IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt and his family.

The Centre will conduct an independent assessment of the threat perception to Bhatt and his family, said sources.

Pakistan Muslim League chief Nawaz Sharif has said his prediction -- that President Asif Ali Zardari is a threat to the country's democracy -- has come true.

"President Zardari is proving to be a threat to democracy, as I predicted a few years back," The Express Tribune quoted Sharif as saying.

While addressing his party workers, Sharif severely criticised Zardari and held his government responsible for the increase in foreign loans, corruption, bad governance, poor foreign policy and unprecedented power cuts across the country.

Three American scientists have won the Nobel Prize in physics for 2011 for their research in the field of expansion of universe and the explosion of stars.

Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess have managed to prove with their work that the universe was expanding at an accelerating rate, said the Nobel Committee.

"For almost a century the universe has been known to be expanding as a consequence of the Big Bang about 14 billion years ago. However the discovery that this expansion is accelerating is astounding," the citation said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has accepted Pakistan's invitation to visit the country, according to Commerce Minister Amin Fahim.

Fahim extended the invitation during a meeting with Dr Singh in New Delhi on Monday at the end of his visit to India, said a statement issued by Pakistan's commerce ministry.

On his return from India, Fahim told reporters that Dr Singh had accepted the invitation to visit Pakistan. But he didn't specify when Dr Singh will visit Islamabad. 

Recommending action against yet another member of the Mayawati government, the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta has sought the removal of Secondary Education Minister Rangnath Misra, following a probe into charges of accumulating disproportionate assets against him.

Lokayukta Justice N K Mehrotra, in his report sent to Chief Minister Mayawati on Monday, said the inquiry has found Misra guilty of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income as well as illegal possession of gram sabha land.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday chose to take a Metro and a taxi to reach Rohini in north Delhi to address a Youth Congress rally.

The Congress leader, who is one of the most highly protected people in the country, boarded a Metro train at Race Course Road station near his official residence to reach Rohini West Metro Station.

There, he waved down a radio cab to get to Japanese Park, the venue of the rally.

"This was the easiest way to reach the venue," one of Rahul's associates said.Rahul had made headlines when he chose to take a local train during his visit to Mumbai in February last year.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has called off his visit to South Africa to receive an international award named after Mahatma Gandhi, saying its government finds it "inconvenient" to issue a visa to him and his entourage.

The Dalai Lama, 76, was slated to leave for the African nation on Thursday on a nine-day visit, but he has not received his visa yet, the spiritual leader's office said.

"His Holiness was to depart for South Africa on October 6 but visas have not been granted yet. We are, therefore, now convinced that for whatever reason or reasons, the South African government finds it inconvenient to issue a visa to His Holiness the Dalai Lama," the statement said.

In a joint statement issued by the interlocutors and Maoists in West Bengal, the rebels have promised to restrain the use of arms for one month if there is no joint operation in the area.

"The government will have to decide whether they will suspend joint operations for a month and create a congenial atmosphere for talks," said interlocutor Sujato Bhadra.

When asked about other issues highlighted in the statement, Bhadra said, "If there is any attack on the rebels by armed groups functioning in the area then the Maoists will report it to the interlocutors and subsequently it will be reported to the government".

Suspended Gujarat IPS official Sanjiv Bhatt has declared that he will rather go to jail than compromise with the Narendra Modi-led state government.  

During a hearing on his application for bail, Bhatt told a court in Ahmedabad, "There can be no compromise with the Modi govt. This is a battle of principles. I am ready to remain in jail for however long it takes." 

Bhatt had accused Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of complicity in the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

He was arrested recently in connection with a FIR filed by Constable K D Pant for allegedly threatening him and making him sign a false affidavit.

Rediff.com's N Ganesh adds: The sessions court in Mumbai will pronounce the sentence for actor Fardeen Khan, found guilty of buying and consuming drugs, on November 2.

Rediff.com's Toral Varia adds: The sessions court in Mumbai has dropped charges of possessing cocaine against actor Fardeen Khan.  

But the actor has been charged with buying one gram of cocaine. Khan was also charged under Section 21A for drug consumption.  

Khan was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in 2001.

Soon, top Afghan police officials may arrive in New Delhi to receive training from their Indian counterparts.  

India has offered to impart anti-terror training to the Afghan police force to help them deal with terror strikes.  

The offer comes in the wake of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's two-day visit to India to cement bilateral ties.  

India's offer is bound to make Islamabad -- traditionally the all-weather ally of Afghanistan -- nervous about New Delhi's real intentions.  

Pakistan has often accused India of trying to expand its circle of influence in Afghanistan to counter Islamabad's clout in the violence-hit nation.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, who arrived in India for a two-day visit on Tuesday morning, are likely to address a joint press conference at 7.25 pm today.

During Karzai's visit, the two countries are expected to ink a strategic pact to streamline various assistance programmes.

India and Russia are set to hold crucial negotiations for speeding up the deliveries of key weapons systems, including the transfer of Nerpa class nuclear submarine on lease and finalising the agenda for the bilateral summit scheduled for December-end.

Defence Minister A K Antony, who arrived in Moscow on a three-day visit on Monday night, will hold talks with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov on a wide range of issues pertaining to inter-services cooperation.

Antony is widely expected to set the defence agenda for the bilateral summit scheduled for December-end.

American scientist Bruce Beutler, French biologist Jules Hoffmann and Canadian scientist Ralph M. Steinman will share this year's Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work in the field of the body's immune system.  

Their work has opened up new possibilities and avenues in the treatment of cancer, said the award panel.

But the fifty professors from Europe's leading medical research university -- Karolinska Institute in Sweden -- who took the final call on the winners' names, were unaware of the fact that Steinman had passed away on Friday.

Ironically, the 68-year old scientist died of pancreatic cancer. 

Read the full story here

The dipping prices of electronic goods -- from mobile phones to latest gadgets -- are good news for most of us.

But it is bad news for those involved in one of the most lucrative businesses in China -- counterfeiting.   Affordable smart phones and i-phones have spelt doom for counterfeiters in the knock-off capital of the world.

Chinese manufacturers, who have caught on to the new trend, have started producing reasonably prices models instead of just aping Western designs. 

Read the full report here

The Congress has downplayed activist Anna Hazares threat to campaign against the party if the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed by Parliament.

Reacting to Hazare's plan to campaign against Congress for the forthcoming assembly elections, Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid said he was not going to comment on anybody's views about what should happen in the next election.

"It is their decision. Every citizen is free to vote for anybody. Congress will only do its work, perform its duties and the Congress will then go back to people when the duty is performed, he said.

Khurshid added that the government will bring the anti-corruption bill in Parliament's Winter Session.

The Jammu and Kashmir assembly has been adjourned sine die on Tuesday amidst strong protests by the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party, demanding a discussion on the death of a National Conference worker, allegedly in police custody last week.

PDP MLAs had moved a fresh adjournment motion notice demanding that the House should debate the death of Syed Mohammad Yousuf as there were allegations of the Chief Minister's Office being involved in it.

When Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone rejected the demand, angry PDP members stormed the Well of the House, raising slogans protesting against the Speaker's decision.

As the commotion continued, the Speaker went about the business which included passage of two bills before adjourning the House sine die.

Today was the last day of the Autumn Session. The assembly is likely to meet in Jammu next year for the Budget Session.

The Indian government has moved Portugal's Supreme Court to challenge the recent order by its high court revoking the extradition of underworld don Abu Salem.

The Portugal court had ordered the revocation of the extradition treaty after accusing Indian probe agencies of violating the conditions under which Salem was permitted to be taken to India to face trial in eight cases including the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

Salem, the prime accused in the Mumbai serial blasts along with his girlfriend Monica Bedi, were extradited to India on November 11, 2005, after a tortuous legal process in Portugal lasting three years

In a shocking incident, a group of lawyers attacked an anti-terrorism court in the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi, whose judge had convicted and sentenced to death the assassin of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer.

The lawyers ransacked the courtroom and broke its windowpanes to protest the judge's decision to give the death sentence to Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the police guard who gunned down Taseer in January for criticising the country's blasphemy law.

The staffers of two anti-terrorism courts in the complex locked all doors to protect themselves during Monday's attack. The lawyers forcibly entered the complex and shouted slogans against the verdict.

In a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, president of Telangana Rashtra Samiti K Chandrasekhar Rao has requested him to expedite the Telangana statehood issue as early as possible.

Rao said that a memorandum has been given to the PM and he has been requested to intervene in the matter.Though Dr Singh didn't give any clear-cut assurances, Rao said the PM had urged pro-Telangana activists to call off their strike.

"We said it is not in our hands. The people are very angry in Telangana," he said.

The TRS chief said the general strike will not end till the Centre announced the formation of Telangana state along with a definite time-frame and road-map.

United States President Barack Obama has admitted that he is the underdog in the 2012 presidential elections.

"Absolutely," Obama said in interviews to ABC News and Yahoo.com when asked whether he is an underdog for the re-election.

"I don't mind. I am used to being an underdog. I think that at the end of the day, though, what people are going to say is, who has got a vision for the future that can actually help ordinary families recapture that American dream," Obama said.

Criticising Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia for the Rs 32 per capita per day urban poverty line definition, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manmohan Joshi has claimed that the government was "trying to save its honour'.  

"The Planning Commission is totally confused without any understanding of the problem. Neither are they aware of the poverty in the country nor do they know anything about price rise. As far as my understanding goes, according to the millennium goals of development till 2015, all the developing countries have to lessen their poverty line by 50 per cent. Since the government has to decrease the poverty line by 50 per cent, they are working on such exercises," Joshi told media personnel.  

The commission's affidavit in the apex court, claiming that per capita expenditure of Rs 32 in urban areas and Rs 25 in rural areas was enough to sustain a person, has sparked a furious row across India.

Twelve people were killed and six others injured in an apparent sectarian attack on a bus carrying Shia Muslims in southwestern Pakistan. 

Gunmen attacked a bus carrying Shia Muslims near Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. 

The attackers forced the passengers to stand in a line and then fired at them, said the police.

A 26-year-old man, Rezwan Ferdaus, who is accused of planning to attack the Pentagon and Washington through flying explosive-packed remote-controlled model planes, has pleaded not guilty before a United States court.

The US district court in Massachusetts has charged him of trying to destroy a building using explosives, and planning to attack Washington and the Pentagon.

Ferdaus was arrested by federal agents following a tip-off after a lengthy sting operation against him.

With eight more deaths reported in the past two days, the cumulative death toll due to encephalitis in eastern Uttar Pradesh has risen to 376 this year.

According to available data, as many as 44 patients have succumbed to various kinds of encephalitis in the region in the past 10 days.

Officials of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption on Tuesday carried out searches at the residences of former DMK minister M R K Panneerselvam and his relatives in Cuddalore, Chidambaram and Chennai.

The searches at the residences of Pannerselvam and his relatives come a few days after DVAC officials conducted searches at former labour minister T M Anbarasan's house inKundrathur in Chennai, said the police.

Panneerselvam handled the backward community and health portfolios during the previous DMK regime. He is considered to be the party's strongman in Cuddalore district.

During his two-day visit to India starting on Tuesday, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai will hold comprehensive talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, after which the two countries are expected to ink a strategic pact to streamline various assistance programmes.

During the visit, which comes just days after the assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was heading the peace process in the war-torn country, the two sides are expected to discuss the fragile security situation in Afghanistan and the role of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence in fomenting instability in that country by supporting the Haqqani network.

According to diplomatic sources, the Afghan government's assessment is that it is futile to rely on Pakistan as it is hand-in-glove with the Haqqani group, an outfit that is closely allied with the Taliban, and there is need to have deeper ties in key areas with India.

Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore adds from Ralegan Siddhi: Justifying his decision to virtually campaign against the Congress, Hazare said the party was responsible for the Jan Lokpal Bill not being passed.

Terming the 2G spectrum scam as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's agnipariksha, the activist said, "He must face it if his name is being dragged into this mess".

Refuting allegations about working for the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Hazare said, "Those who say that I support the BJP and the RSS should seek help in a mental asylum".

Hazare strongly criticised Narendra Modi over the arrest of IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who had spoken up against Gujarat chief minister.

"What Narendra Modi did was not the right thing," said Hazare.

Rediff.coms Prasanna D Zore adds from Ralegan Siddhi: Activist Anna Hazare informed media personnel that Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari had sent him a letter of support about the Lok Sabha by-polls in Hissar.

Pointing out that he has not received a letter of support from the Congress so far, Hazare demanded such a letter from party president Sonia Gandhi.

Setting yet another deadline for the Centre, Hazare warned that if the Congress doesn't pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in the winter session of the Parliament, he will go ahead with his plans in UP.

The Gandhian activist will hold a fast in Lucknow three days before the state elections and appeal to the people to rout Congress in the polls.

He also reiterated his demand for the appointment of Lokayuktas in all states

Good Morning,

Activist Anna Hazare and the Jan Lokpal Bill are back in the news

In a move that is bound to add to the woes of the Congress, Hazare on Tuesday announced his decision to begin a national tour after the festival of Dusshera.

"I will appeal to voters in poll-bound Hisar in Haryana not to vote for Congress as it deliberately did not pass the Jan Lokpal Bill," Hazare told media personnel in his village Ralegan Siddhi.

Hazare will also tour poll-bound states to garner support for the Jan Lokpal Bill and apprise them about the Congress's hesitation in passing the bill.

Emphasising that he had nothing against the ruling party, the activist warned that he will visit Uttar Pradesh, scheduled to go to polls in 2012, to urge the people against voting for the Congress.