1. Diwali in Tihar for 2G honchos
2. Standing before her statue, Maya opens Noida park
3. No green nod for Lavasa till terms met: Govt
4.  Kejriwal: Anna misquoted, Bhushan part of team
5. Power crisis will be resolved by Diwali: Govt
6. Bhushan attackers not thieves, thunders Thackeray
7. Kingfisher's F1 move fools the market
8. Why there was a 14-minute blip in telecast of India-Eng ODI
9. Bookie Mazhar, undercover NOTW reporter set up
10. Don't endorse Bhushan's view on Kashmir: Anna
11. Metro cities in India on high alert
12. Protestors hurt in police action in TN nuke plant
13. One in six mobile phones contain E coli

And have a great weekend.

1. S&P downgrades Spain by one notch
2. PM firmly against dilution of RTI Act, but review need

The corporate honchos who are behind the bars for their alleged involvement in the 2G scam will have to celebrate Diwali in jail as the Supreme Court today deferred the hearing on their bail pleas to Octocer 31.

A bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi deferred the hearing and posted the matter to October 31 when the court would reopen after the Diwali break.

Away from Miss Mayawati, Miss Kaif is apparently: the most searched celeb on mobile videos

Dressed in a cream salwar kameez instead of her favourite pink, Maya lights a candle and places flowers at the feet of the Ambedkar and Phule statues. Her statue holding a handbag is next to the two.

On Rediff.com, How Behenji became Ms Mayawati.

Ms Mayawati, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, has reached the Rs 650-crore Noida park, also called the Dalit Prerna Sthal or the Ambedkar Park. It has 24 sandstone elephants and statues Dalit icons BR Ambedkar and Jyotiba Phule. And, of course, her. The park is spread over 33 acres. The maintainance is expected to cost Rs 22 crore.

Just in: Minister of environment and forests Jayanthi Natarajan has refused to give a green nod to Lavasa. The environment ministry says that the first phase of the Hill City project has been halted till the terms are met.

So, what's the problem with Lavasa?

While Team Anna cries itself hoarse saying the RSS did not support their movement, the RSS hasn't been making it any easier for them.

Today, in another gesture of support to Team Anna, the RSS said it will stand behind any individual or organisation taking up the fight against corruption.
At the three-day national Executive Meeting of the RSS in Gorakhpur, the Sangh founthead's head of Pracharaks Manmohan Vaidya said "full support" would be given to all organisations and individuals who fight against corruption.

Right now: Social activist and team Anna aide Arvind Kejriwal clarifies on Anna Hazare's comment on Supreme Court lawyer Prashan Bhushan this morning from Ralegan Siddhi. Kejriwal says Bhushan is still a part of the team, a core member and Anna's comment was misunderstood.

Media reports quoted Anna as sayign that he did not endorse Bhushan's views on Kashmir and he would take a decision on whether the SC lawyer would remain a part of the team.

The government today said the grim power situation in the country will improve before Diwali, as it has directed generation companies with surplus coal to pass on some of their fuel to feedstock-starved units.

"Diwali would be celebrated with light... The power situation would improve in the next 4-5 days," Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said.

He said the power ministry is taking various steps to resolve the power crisis in the country and is in constant discussions with the ministries of coal and railways regarding the matter.

Moving on, this report in the Financial Times, London says, after years of helplessly watching debt pile up at Kingfisher Airlines, investors in Mumbai might be forgiven for jumping to a conclusion when its billionaire owner issued $100m worth of shares in his Formula 1 team to an Indian conglomerate on Wednesday.

Given the 12 per cent surge in the airline's stock on Thursday, they seemed to think the money would go towards bailing out the loss-making airline. But they may be disappointed. Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya has told a local business paper that the money is going to the F1 team alone. Read

Ramesh Srivats tweets: #PrashantBhushan must be mildly worried about being tied to a tree and getting caned.

Reference: News reports say that alcohol is strictly prohibited in Anna Hazare's village Ralegan Siddhi and those who drink are tied to a tree and caned. It's Anna's way, or the cane, apparently. In this case, of course, the reference is Bhushan's comments on Kashmir, which Anna does not endorse.

Pepper this with your imagination...  

Shah Rukh Khan on Twitter: Shower out of order, bathing in daughters shower. surrounded by pink walls flowers & pretty fish on the wall. Feeling like B.One..Barbie one.

Sigh of relief for viewers, but you can always catch it without a blip on the live cricket commentary on rediff.com.

In other news, wokers in military-dominated Myanmar will be allowed to unionise and go on strike for the first time in decades, officials said today, under landmark new legislation welcomed by the United Nations. 

The law was signed into effect by President Thein Sein on Oct 11, government sources said, and replaces the repressive 1962 Trade Unions Act, in the latest sign of tentative reform by the authoritarian regime.

OK. The telecast is back. The first #ODI telecast resumes after 14-minute delay, even as the match was underway. CNN IBN says that Neo Cricket, the channel with the telecast rights, delayed in depositing the Rs 4 crore bank guarantee with the Information and Broadcasting ministry.

Update on LK Advani's yatra: The senior BJP leader's yatra to take on the UPA government on issues of corruption and blackmoney will cover Maharashtra in two phases starting from October 17, when it enters the Vidarbha region.

"On October 17 and 18, the yatra will reach Maharashtra and it will cover Nagpur, Wardha and Yavatmal districts following which it will proceed to Andhra Pradesh," state BJP leader Atul Shah said.

Advani will tour the remaining parts of the state like Sindhudurg in Konkan region, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Raigad, Mumbai and adjoining Thane district from November 2 onwards, he said, adding on November 5, the yatra would leave the state.

As we told you earlier, reports, tributes on Steve Jobs' death and unravelling the enigma he was, continues.

Read: Why did Steve Jobs choose not to effectively treat his cancer...

Follow the live coverage of the India-England match at Hyderabad.

So far, India have won the toss and decided to bat first against England in the first one-day international at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. India have gone into the game with three fast bowlers and one spinner, R Ashwin.

News of the lady with the Birkin bag. And more.

In what is seen as a serious attempt to repair the dent in relations caused by serious allegations emanating from Washington, America's special envoy Marc Grossman said in Islamabad that the wide-ranging talks with political and military leadership on Thursday that US-Pakistan relations were important for both the countries and served their best interests. The Dawn has the story.

Read

In the New Yorker, the genesis of the Raj #Rajaratnam story. Read

The conviction of billionaire Rajaratnam, in the biggest US insider trading case, is a "wake up call" for those who intend to pursue profit through "corrupt" means, New York's top federal prosecutor has said. Read the report in rediff.com.

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Singer and diva Whitney Houston was almost thrown off a flight in Atlanta after refusing to fasten her seatbelt. Another crew member came over and warned the singer that if she did not buckle up she would be kicked off. She eventually relented, but left it to a steward to fasten her up, after which the plane was cleared for takeoff.

The big #Mayawati story waiting to unfold that may have an impact on the upcoming UP polls. The CM spends Rs 650 crore on Ambedkar Park, but only Rs 18 cr to combat encephalitis. Over 500 children dead.

In February, British prosecutors had authorised charges of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and also conspiracy to cheat against the tainted Pakistani trio -- Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif- implicated in the spot-fixing scandal as well as alleged bookmaker Mazhar Majeed.

Going back to our post on Denise Ritchie and Steve Jobs standing on his shoulders, you may like to know that the phrase 'standing on the shoulders of giants' is attributed to Sir Isaac Newton.

Newton was always modest of his own achievements, and famously wrote in a letter in February 1676: If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

More on Anna's tirade against #PrashantBhushan.

The 74-year-Gandhian said Bhushan should seek permission for airing views on behalf of the team. "But for personal comments, what is the need for permission," he said.  Asked whether Bhushan, a key member of the team who was also a member of the joint committee to draft Lokpal bill, will be removed from the team, Hazare said it has to be decided later.

"The points he has made are not good. We will decide in future whether we will keep him or not," he said.

It's been over a week now that Steve Jobs passed away and the tributes to the co-founder of Apple have been rich and incessant. In contrast, the tributes to Dennis Ritchie don't match up. But they should. And then some.

"When Steve Jobs died last week, there was a huge outcry, and that was very moving and justified. But Dennis had a bigger effect, and the public doesn't even know who he is,' says Rob Pike, theprogramming legend and current Googler who spent 20 years working across the hall from Ritchie at the famed Bell Labs.

Read about the father of the C programming language.

Anna Hazare addresses a media meet in his hometown of Ralegaon Siddhi in Maharashtra. Distancing himself from Prashant Bhushan's comments on the need for a referendum on Kashmir, Anna says it is an integral part of India and Bhushan's comments are his own, his personal view and not the view of the team and nor does he endorse the remark.

A leading neuroscientist has cautioned that overuse of technology, like computer games and Facebook, is extremely dangerous for kids and may lead to temporary 'dementia'.

Baroness Greenfield asserted that sitting on a computer for long hours has the ability to bewilder a kid's brain and can also pose risks like computer addiction.

She instead recommended that youngsters turn off their computers, go outdoors and enjoy the fresh air. She claimed that in a single year, children can spend up to 2,000 hours staring at a screen, as a consequence of which they can suffer from risks like computer addiction.

If you live in a metro city and there is a perceptible increase in police bandobast, it's because all metro cities are on high alert after the bomb haul in a car in Ambala yesterday. The car was headed to Delhi.

Here's what happened

Four protestors were hurt after the police allegedly beat them up in Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu.

If Kudankulam doesn't ring a bell, here you go..

Bizarre news:

A Chinese man who was accused of 'hooliganism' for hugging a woman against her will 28 years ago was finally arrested under the now obsolete charge, but
police found the accuser and the accused living a happy married life. 

The charge no longer exists under the Chinese law but in the 1980s was a serious offence and a conviction for hooliganism could result in a death sentence.

On Twitter: Aamna Taseer: 7th week since my son Shahbaz Taseer was kidnapped. Waiting. Praying.  

Read: Shahbaz Taseer kidnapped, and a scream that never ends from the Tribune.  

Remember the last time the RTI Act was in the news? Here's a reminder...

On September 22, Pranab Mukherjee said the Finance Ministry note to the Prime Minister's Secretariat was out in the open only due to the Right to Information Act, which is one of the many steps the government has taken to flush out corruption and make governance transparent and accountable. He said in the recent years, lot of authority has been given to the people of India through the RTI.

PM Dr Manmohan Singh addressing the issue of the RTI Act today said that while a critical review needs to be undertaken, the RTI Act should not adversely affect the delivery process in governance. 

Explaining the statement, the PM said that bringing opinions in public scrutiny can discourage officials from giving honest and complete views.

He reiterated that government was committed to the act, but it should not impede governance.

The PM said that the Act has added significance in the context of the increasing number of projects being taken up in public-private partnership mode and that the demand for information under RTI has been growing significantly year after year in last six years .

Good morning. First up: The judicial custody of the three men who assaulted Supreme Court lawyer and Anna Hazare team member Prashant Bhushan ends today. Bhushan was attacked in his chambers inside the Supreme Court on Wednesday evening by the three, who are affiliated to the Sri Ram Sene and the Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena.

Watch: Why Prashant Bhushan was beaten up.

CBI opposes 2G bail, SC says how long? (Indian Express)
Apex court, for first time, turned round to ask CBI how long it planned to continue with the probe. Read

Why was no action taken on PMs letter to Raja, asks Supreme Court (The Hindu)
The scam could have been prevented had timely action been taken on the Prime Minister's suggestion, instead of allowing Mr. Raja to follow the first come, first served policy, the court said. Read

SC slashes Uphaar fire tragedy compensation (Hindustan Times)

Fourteen years after losing their loved ones, families of victims of the Uphaar theatre fire got a shock on Thursday when the Supreme Court drastically reduced the compensation awarded to them by the Delhi high court in 2003. Read

Cops got carbomb tip-off 12 days ago (Hindustan Times)

A Tata Indica car parked at the Ambala railway station since Tuesday morning looked harmless till the Delhi Police claimed on Wednesday that it was carrying explosives for a Diwali strike in Delhi - an alleged LeT and Babbar Khalsa joint venture. Read

China says no Brahmaputra diversion, India relieved (The Times of India)
The vice minister at China's ministry of water resources said the Chinese govt has no plans to conduct any diversification project on Brahmaputra river. Read

It gets hotter in Karnataka Lokayukta glare, Upa Lokayukta quits (Indian Express)

The Lokayukta in Karnataka that is handling many high-profile corruption probes including against former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa received a fresh body blow on Wednesday when its deputy or Upa Lokayukta, former high court judge Justice R Gururajan, announced his premature resignation. Read