Quick takes:

• Jammu and Kashmir's Opposition PDP today re-elected incumbent party chief Mehbooba Mufti as its president for the fourth time after she won the elections unopposed.
  
• The Delhi High Court today sought CBI's response to a plea by Reliance Telecom Ltd (RTL) for quashing of charges against it in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, involving former Telecom Minister A Raja, DMK MP
  Kanimozhi and others. The next hearing is slated for January 12, 2012.
  

BBC journalists are being trained on the correct way of reporting the British Queen's death in order to avoid an on-air blunder. The news organization was heavily criticised when a former newsreader Peter Sissons, pronounced the Queen Mother's death in 2002, dressed in a grey suit accompanied with a burgundy tie. But this time, the BBC is taking all precautions to avoid any embarrassing gaffe, the Daily Mail reports.

Also from the Dawn: Does Imran Khan have what it takes to bring out all those who gathered at his rally and persuade them to actually vote? Read

Also see our 15:18 pm post: Imran tells Delhi to withdraw troops from J-K 

LK Advani's quip for the day.

Asserting that the corruption has been taken to new levels in the country during the rule of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, the BJP veteran today termed the cash-for-votes scam the dirtiest scandal in the history of independent India. Advani was addressing a gathering in Mangalore on the sidelines of his ongoing Jan Chetna Yatra.

The Delhi High Court today sought CBI's response to a plea by Reliance Telecom Ltd (RTL) for quashing of charges against it in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, involving former Telecom Minister A Raja, DMK MP
Kanimozhi and others.

Sebastian Vettel, a proud winner of the first ever Indian GP, discovered in less than a week's stay here that Indian people are happy and content despite having not much in contrast to Europeans, who have every luxury to enjoy.

"I think it is a very impressive country, very different to what we probably know from Europe, but very inspiring. If you keep you eyes and ears open I think you are able to learn a lot, the way the people handle things here.

"They enjoy life and in the end that's what it is all about. If your life comes to an end it is more the thoughts, the emotions, the friends, the friendships you take with you rather than whatever you have in your bank account," the German remarked philosophically after his win.

Irish author Bram Stoker's private journal, in which he sketched out his first thoughts about his legendary creation Dracula, has been unearthed after more than 100 years. The thin, unmarked book was discovered on a shelf in his
great-grandson's home on the Isle of Wight. It had been passed down by his ancestors for more than a century before arriving in Noel Dobbs' home, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

Also read: Prince Charles related to Dracula?

With the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss in 2G spectrum allocation being disputed, CAG Vinod Rai and other officials of the government auditor will be
asked to appear before the JPC looking into the issue.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee, which met today, decided to ask Rai, his deputy Rekha Gupta and other officials of the Comptroller and Auditor General to appear before it to explain how the auditor reached at the Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss figure in 2G radiowaves allocation.panel.

None of it bothers me: Bill Gates brushes off criticism by Steve Jobs and heaps praise on his late competitor. Read more on the Daily Mail 

Gates was said to have been fascinated by Jobs but called him 'fundamentally odd' and 'weirdly flawed as a human being'.

Former Pakistani cricketer turned politician, Imran Khan, laid the plank for an aggressive a 2013 prime-ministerial campaign, by raking up India's presence in Kashmir while addressing a massive gathering in Lahore.

Kashmir remains an important political issue for any party that seeks to establish itself in Pakistan's turmoil ridden democracy. Questioning the relevance of the Indian army's presence in Kashmir pointing our that the army has never been successful in ensuring people power. On Firstpost.com

Over the course of 45 years in the film business, Francis Ford Coppola has refined a singular code of ethics that govern his filmmaking. There are three rules: 1) Write and direct original screenplays,  2) make them with the most modern technology available,  and 3) self-finance them.

The filmmaker on risk, money, craft & collaboration on 99percent.com. Read

Just in: The ICC is also set to have a new CEO very shortly with incumbent Haroon Lorgat set to lose his job. At its last Board meeting the ICC formed a nomination committee for the first time in three years comprising Sharad Pawar as chairman, and has Alan Isaac, Dr Julian Hunte and Keith Oliver as members.

The last time this committee was formed was in 2008 when Malcolm Speed's replacement was to be chosen. Technically Lorgat's contract ends in June, but his replacement could come on board much before that. It is learnt that none of the other boards want him at the helm of affairs.

Hit by repeated incidents of labour unrest, Maruti Suzuki India expects car production at its Manesar plant to reach normal levels only by the end of
December this year.
Speaking to analysts today, a Maruti Suzuki India spokesperson said the company was ramping up output at the Manesar unit following a tripartite agreement between the management, workers and Haryana government to end a 14-day strike on October 21.

Also read, The Telegraph, Calcutta story on the Maruti strike

Update on Nargis, one of the world's 7th billion babies.

The world's population touched another milestone today as India and the Philippines welcomed "symbolic" seventh-billionth babies. A baby girl, born to 23-year-old Vinita and Ajay at a local community health centre at 7.20 am here on the outskirts of Lucknow, was welcomed as the seventh-billionth baby,
Bhagyeshwari, executive director of NGO Plan India, which is conducting the exercise, said. The girl has been named Nargis, she said.

The Philippines also welcomed a seven-billionth baby at a government hospital in Manila.  Danica May Camacho was born just after midnight. See our 12:16 pm post.

Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was today anointed the tenth Nawab of Pataudi at a ceremony at his ancestral palace here. 

The 41-year-old actor was made the Nawab at a 'pagdi' ceremony this morning at the Ibrahim Palace where heads of villages tied a white turban around his head as mother Sharmila Tagore, sisters Saba and Soha looked on. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was also present. Saif has been given the title after his father, former Indian captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, passed away on September 22.

Also on the NYT: An antigovernment rally in Lahore, led by the former cricket star Imran Khan, attracted a huge crowd estimated at more than 100,000 people on Sunday evening.

The rally represented what supporters and some political analysts said was Mr. Khan's emergence as a serious challenger to the governing Pakistan Peoples Party and its longtime rival, the Pakistan Muslim League-N.

Read

"He told me he began to appreciate the power of intuition, in contrast to what he called "Western rational thought," when he wandered around India after dropping out of college. "The people in the Indian countryside don't use their intellect like we do," he said. "They use their intuition instead ... Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect, in my opinion. That's had a big impact on my work."

The New York Times essay with Steve Jobs' biographer, Walter Isaacson.    

The 2G controversy rocked Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting in Delhi today with opposition parties demanding that former DG (Audit) R P Singh be summoned and asked why he differs with CAG on the quantum of loss while Congress members opposed the move.

With differences persisting, the meeting was adjourned. The meeting scheduled for tomorrow has also been postponed reportedly on as Chhath festival falls tomorrow. 

Sources said the BJP and other opposition parties insisted that Singh should be summoned as he has differed with the figures of loss incurred by the government in the 2-G scam.

Singh, who has now retired, has stated that the loss is merely of Rs 6,000 crore while the CAG had maintained that itwas to the tune of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Ruth and Andrew Madoff reveal whether they knew about Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, the reasons behind Ruth and Bernie's suicide attempt, why Ruth will never divorce Bernie, and more. Excerpts from the 60 Minutes interview on the Daily Beast

Ruth is Bernie Madoff's wife, Andrew, their son. Madoff was implicated in a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

Read this report on the GlobalPost.com for mind-boggling population statistics.

The Daily Mail story on the Philippines baby: The United Nations recognises Danica, born in the Phillipines, as one of the world's symbolic 'seven billionth' babies, presenting her with a special cake. Read

Details of the seven billionth baby in a bit...

Meanwhile, read this story on the Independent.co.uk, on how human rights groups and NGOs have accused HSBC bank of colluding in a campaign of intimidation which they say is being waged against them by Egypt's ruling military council.

The world's population has reached seven billion, with two babies born at the same time, one in UP and the other in Manila. 51 babies are born every minute in India, of which 11 are in UP. One of the two babies, was born at 7 am today and is called Nargis.

Also see Vir Sanghvi's piece for Outlook magazine: Radia tapes weren't authentic, they were manipulated.

A year after the Radia tapes were leaked, Sanghvi, one of those implicated in the conversations, says he has definite proof that the tapes were doctored. Read

We told you earlier that Niira Radia, the corporate lobbyist who reached the pinnacle of the public relations business by juggling the coveted mandates of the Tata group and Reliance Industries before falling headlong into a tapes scandal, has shut down her consultancy business in India.

In a related story on the Wall Street Journal, read: Niira Radia's footnote to history.

A brief interruption to give you this tweet from R Rajagopalan: BJP abstains Parlament function to offer floral tributes to Sardar Patel birthday. PM present why not BJP? Congress busy with this sms.

Sardar Vallabhai Patel was born this day in 1875.  

Here's a rush of stories from the Foreign Policy magazine.

The US caught a lot of flak this year for having partnered with Tunisia's Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh, and Libya's Muammar al-Qaddafi before uprisings rocked the Middle East. But in his speech on the Arab Spring in May, President Barack Obama suggested that the days of America narrowly pursuing its interests in the region without the broader priority of promoting reform and democracy were over. Read

Here's Nishi Tiwari's story from Gorakhpur.

Babita, 20, became the proud mother of a baby girl at the district hospital in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, at 12.20 am on Monday. Her yet-to-be-named daughter may have already created history -- she could be the world's seven billionth baby. Read more

Shortly, on rediff.com, 20-year-old Babita from Gorakhpur, UP, delives a baby girl at 12.20 am today. No confirmation yet, on whether the baby girl, in fact, upped the world population to 7 billion.  

Meanwhile, the cnn.com story, on how big is 7 billion actually.

Memorable for reports of doors opening mid-air and parts of the engine falling off, Australias embattled national carrier Qantas Airways will start flying again from today after an unprecedented grounding. 

The airlines chief executive Alan Joyce announced that the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has allowed Qantas fleet to be back in the air. Joyce said the ruling would end all industrial action by the three unions representing long-haul pilots, licensed engineers, baggage handlers and ground staff, and provide certainty to customers

Almost a month after the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs', stories on the visionary continue.

The last minutes in the life of Jobs were still filled by the epiphanies and moments of inspiration that fed his inventor's mind, according to an intimate portrait provided by Jobs' sister in a eulogy published Sunday in The New York Times. Read the story on cnn.com

Also see: The truth about Steve Jobs' number plate

Radia downs PR shutters (The Telegraph)
Niira Radia, the corporate lobbyist who reached the pinnacle of the public relations business by juggling the coveted mandates of the Tata group and Reliance Industries before falling headlong into a tapes scandal, has shut down her consultancy business in India. Read

Vettel scorches his way to victory (The Hindu)
The now-famous right index finger went up skyward once again, as Sebastian Vettel scored a perfect victory in the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix of India at the Buddh International Circuit. Read

Omar decision is a blunder: J&K Congress (Hindustan Times)
The Congress, a partner in the coalition government headed by the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, has slammed chief minister Omar Abdullahs move to withdraw AFSPA from some districts. Read

2G: CBI likely to oppose bail pleas of 5 corporate honchos in SC (Hindustan Times)

The CBI is likely to oppose the bail of five corporate honchos in the Supreme Court which is to hear their petitions in connection with the 2G scam today. Read

Anna Hazare to return donation from unknown sources (DNA)
Team Anna has admitted that it received the support of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in its movement for a strong Lokpal bill, albeit in a tactical fashion. Read

Very strong but Team Anna plans changes (Indian Express)
New panel, constitution to deal with wrongdoing by members.Read