The fate of ousted Chinese leader Bo Xilai's wife, who was accused of poisoning a British businessman to death, appeared sealed as four top police officers today admitted covering up the murder a day after her trial ended.

BBC reports: The Wikipedia pages of US presidential candidate Mitt Romney and other members of the Republican party who may run alongside him have been locked down.

Vayalar Ravi, minister of overseas indian affairs has been allocated the additional charge of the ministry of science and technology; the ministry of earth sciences and the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises."

BBC reports: Bedouin tribal leaders in Egypt's Sinai peninsula have agreed to help restore security in the lawless border area with the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, who is presently on a three-day symbolic fast at the Ramlila Maidan here, on Friday said the main cause of terrorism and Naxalism is black money, and asked ruling UPA Government to take firm action in this regard.

The yoga guru said India can become a super power in the world and the army can become more powerful than those in China and the U.S. if black money is brought back and spent on people and national security.

"The government has the list of people who have stashed away black money in foreign shores. We don't want the names of those people, but at least disclose the amount at least. What is the harm in it? Why is the government reluctant?" asked Ramdev, while asking Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to take firm steps in this regard.

The two-hour event will be a viewing and include remarks from local dignitaries and family members. Read

Also read: Two Sikh men, two lifetimes of looking different

A mysterious 'third individual' may have been involved in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, Gu Kailai's defence team claimed during her highly secretive seven-hour trial on Thursday. Exclusive report on the Telegraph. Read

Also read: The unofficial report of proceedings in the Gu Kailai trial

The Russian Consulate today rubbished the often-repeated claims about existence of Russian mafia in Goa and its investments in the state's lucrative tourism industry.

"There is nothing called Russian mafia. There are no gun- wielding people on the streets of Moscow. It's a wrong impression that Russian mafia exists and they are operating in Goa," Alexey Novikov, Consul General of Russian Federation in Mumbai, said here.

Novikov was here to meet Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. The envoy said reports about existence of Russian mafia in the coastal state are "absolute lie".

"There may be some bad people but you cannot term them as members of a mafia. There are bad people in every community," he said. In past, apprehensions had been raised over increasing investment from Russia in the tourism industry.

Fears were raised in certain quarters that people connected to Russian mafia were off-loading their investments in Goa, which attracts over half a million foreign tourists every year.

Pakistan's Hindus are crossing over in ever larger numbers, refusing to go back even after their visas expire. They prefer the life of illegal migrants with intermittent employment, and say that it is better than the discrimination and violence they face in their home country. Read the story

After 14 months in captivity, an Indian national abducted by Al Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf militants in southern Philippines on Friday dramatically escaped from his captors while they were sleeping after fasting for Ramzan.

Kolaraveettil Biju (36) from Kerala, who worked as an operations manager for a garment company in Kuwait, was abducted by the militants in Sulu province in the Philippines in June 2011 while visiting his Filipino wife's family in Patikul.
He escaped from his captors and was found by residents of a Parang village, which he did not name, before dawn today, Senior Superintendent Antonio Freyra, Sulu police chief, said.

"The kidnappers were resting. They had been fasting (for Ramzan) and they got tired and fell asleep, so he slipped away," Freyra was quoted as saying by the media.

The official spokesperson said Indian officials are in touch with him and the local authorities so as to facilitate his early return to India.

Speaking to the media from Gurgaon, Yuvraj Singh says it is near to hear he is back in the team and it comes as a great sense of relief. He assures everyone that he's 100 per cent fit. Calling it a very special day he says it's like playing for India for the first time. He said he knew he was selected from TV reports.

Even as Indian Premier League, commissioner Rajeev Shukla hailed the comeback of Yuvraj Singh into the national side for the upcoming World Twenty20 championship in Sri Lanka, former India captain Sourav Ganguly has expressed surprise at the batsman's inclusion in the team.

Yuvraj has not played competitive cricket since India's World Cup triumph in April last year after he was diagnosed with a rare germ cell cancer.

"I am a bit surprised. I just wish he physically stays well because you know he has come out of a...what can I say, a big disappointment. He has recovered, which is the best thing that can happen, but it has not been a long time and I wish and pray he sustains," an apprehensive Ganguly told reporters during the sidelines of a function.

The former skipper, however, welcomed the decision of selectors to pick off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for the T20 competition. "He is a class act. When you play for a long time you have hiccups. But I am happy that he has made a comeback," Ganguly said.

And news of another winner ...

@dibang MARY KOM, promoted to DSP, to be given Rs 50 lakh and two acres of land by Manipur govt. Assam govt announces an award of Rs 20 lakhs.

Good news finally. Amit Kumar beat Iran's Hassan Rahimi to enter the quarter final of 55 kg freestyle wrestling 

Here's the retweet by Harbhajan Singh

@Geeta_Basra @harbhajan_singh @YUVSTRONG12 Woohoo.. The boys r bak to where they belong!! Singh is King..

Yuvraj Singh gets emotional after he was selected for the T20 World Cup.

@YUVSTRONG12 Iv worked very hard and will go all out in this month to prepare for the t20 w cup! Jai hind !!

@YUVSTRONG12 27m And this would not have been possible without the wishes and prayers of the loved ones and dear fans !! I can't wait to step on the field  And I hope the almighty wil give me another chance in life to do so! So here I am ready to represent my country once again its a huge honour

After decades of fierce opposition to the use of all contraception, the Pontiff has ended the Church's absolute ban on the use of condoms. He said it was acceptable to use a prophylactic when the sole intention was to "reduce the risk of infection' from Aids. Read

Joint commissioner of Mumbai police (crime) Himanshu Roy has told media that Pallavi Purkayastha, a 25-year-old legal counsel who was found dead in her flat yesterday, was murdered by her building watchman in a premeditated 'act of perversion'.  Read

Just in: LeT 26/11 handler has moved an application expressing his desire to record his confession. Here's the latest on Jundal.

The 26/11 Mumbai attacks probe brought together Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving attacker, face-to-face with Abu Jundal last night. Kasab identified Jundal as one of the main conspirators of the mayhem. This was an interesting exercise and an important one, as investigators need to corroborate both sides of the story to make their case stronger. However, one obvious question was whether the two were made to sit in front of each other throughout the questioning.

Read more on rediff.com

Also read: The Media Trial of Abu Jundal

@gauravcsawant Retd DySP shot dead outside mosque in Batmaloo,Srinagar. He was in charge of area where Tufail Mattoo was killed by tear gas shell in 2010

Also see our 14:57 post. If Tufail Mattoo doesn't ring a bell, read this story on rediff.com: 'The whole neighbourhood knew of his death before us'

The elections for the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha election is expected some time next week. The vacancy arose because the term of K Rehman Khan has ended. The BJP will take the contest seriously, much like it did for the Presidential and vice-presidential polls and may ask the TDP or the  ADMK to contest.

The Congress may field PJ Kurien, an MP from Kerala. The CPM may boycott the elections as state politics will come into play. The NCP wants Tariq Anwar for the post.

But Congress will be unwilling to leave this key position to any other party as it is the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha who runs the House. In fact, the duty of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha ends with the question hour, which is generally up to 12 pm during a session

For now, the government will wait for Hamid Ansari to be sworn-in for his second term as vice-president. 

Editorial on the Pakistani, Tribune, on Imran Khan and the Taliban. Read

Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra erupted in a riot of colours and festivity to mark Janmasthami's popular Dahi-Handi celebrations in Mumbai on Friday. A govinda fell to his death from atop a human pyramid in Dighi village, Raigad. At least 40 other Govindas, including 22 in Mumbai, were injured in different parts of the state, officials said.

Pilgrims belonging to faiths other than Hinduism will have to submit a declaration form from August 13 before entering the Tirumala shrine near here stating that they have faith in the presiding deity Lord Venkateswara.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which manages the over 2,000-year-old hill shrine, has decided to make it mandatory for non-Hindu devotees, including VIPs, to sign the declaration forms, temple officials said today.

Non-Hindus have to give the undertaking that they have faith in Lord Venkateswara, they said. The declaration form would be available in all TTD offices. The Tirumala shrine with an annual revenue of Rs 2,000 crore is the richest in India.

Flush with pride at Team GB winning a record number of medals at the ongoing Olympics, Prime Minister David Cameron today claimed that schools were spending two hours on 'Indian dance' rather than on competitive sports, raising hackles among many. Indian dance -- better known in the UK as Bollywood dancing -- is growing in Britain, with several workshops and dance classes teaching the steps accompanied by popular Hindi film songs.

Besides its cultural value, Bollywood dance is also seen as an exercise, but contrary to Cameron's remark, there have been few instances of it being taught or performed regularly in schools.

Speaking on television this morning, Cameron said he had scrapped the two-hour target for schools to spend on sports because some youngsters ended up spending two hours performing Indian dance instead of playing sport.

He said: "The trouble we have had with targets up to now, which was two hours a week, is that a lot of schools were meeting that by doing things like Indian dance or whatever, that you and I probably wouldn't think of as sport, so there's a danger of thinking all you need is money and a target. "If that was the solution we would have solved the problem by now".

Cameron's remarks prompted a wave of online comments by readers who believed that Indian dance was a form of exercise, while some joked how "Team Bollywood GB" would do if Bollywood dance were included in Olympics.

Shares of SBI today plunged about 5 per cent even as the company reported over two-fold jump in net profit for the first quarter ended June 30, 2012. Following the results, shares of the bank fell sharply by 4.56 per cent to Rs 1,882 on the BSE. At the NSE, the scrip plunged 4.71 per cent to Rs 1,876. The stock was the biggest loser on the Sensex, which was trading flat in afternoon.

Senior officers charged with perverting justice in case over murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. Read the Guardian report. 

As the Internet has gained ascendancy, the public rallies and mass recruitment efforts associated with hate groups have largely become a thing of the past. Today, smaller cells can operate more freely, without detection. Read

Joint Police Commissioner Himanshu Roy addressing a press conference on the murder of Pallavi Purkayastha and the arrest of the alleged killer, watchman Sajjad Pathan.

Giving details about the how and why the murder happened, see our 9:26 am and 11:48 am posts, Roy said Pallavi was attacked when she was trying to send a SMS to her friend and live-in boyfriend Avik Sengupta (26), also a lawyer.

He gave Usain Bolt a mighty scare on the track in both the 100 and 200 metres at the London Olympics but Yohan Blake surprised all his fans by saying that "cricket is his first love". Read Harish Kotian's report from London.

The Congress is yet to comment on Uttar Pradesh Public Works Department Minister Shivpal Yadav's bizarre advice to state officials, saying it would speak on it only after studying the statement.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said that he has not yet seen the statement made by Shivpal Yadav. "I have not seen the statement. Till that time, we do not take cognizance of the statement. I don't think it would be appropriate to comment on it," he said.

Shivpal Yadav, however, today made a U-turn on his "steal a little" comment, and accused the media of misquoting him.  Shivpal said he was talking about the preceding Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Government.

"Media didn't release the full quote. I was talking about the former BSP government," Yadav told media here. "The press was not supposed to be present in the meeting," he added. 

Asian Games gold medallist Pinki Pramanik, who was accused of gender misrepresentation and rape by her live-in partner, has rejoined her duty at the Sealdah Railway Station after the Eastern Railway revoked her suspension.

The former middle-distance runner, who had got a relay gold at the Doha 2006 Asiad, yesterday rejoined as a ticket collector in the station. "I feel relieved after the trauma which I had gone through. I am thankful to the Railways for reinstating me...I had appealed to get back the job on August 8 and I got the order immediately. I joined work yesterday," Pinki said today.

She said her co-workers at the Railways were supportive and showing tremendous respect and that many people were taking pictures with her.

L Balaji, Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Cheteshwar Pujara also named for the team. Remember, this is the first time Yuvraj is playing after he was diagnosed with cancer in February. Yuvraj last played against West Indies in November.

This is the picture he had tweeted while undergoing chemotherapy in US in February.

India T20 squad announced. Yuvraj Singh has been selected in the Indian team for the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. VVS Laxman retains his place in the Test team against New Zealand, while Ishant Sharma makes a comeback

Suspected militants today shot dead a retired police officer outside a mosque in Batamaloo locality in Srinagar, police said.

Abdul Hamid Bhat, a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, was shot while he was coming out of a local mosque after offering Friday prayers, a police spokesman said. He said the incident took place at around 1.45 pm and the gunmen fled the scene taking advantage of the panic which followed the shooting.

Bhat, who retired from service last year, was rushed to hospital where he was declared brought dead, the spokesman said. He said a hunt has been launched to arrest the culprits involved in the murder.

Salman Rushdie has written a memoir based on the time he spent hiding while under a fatwa that sentenced him to death in 1989. His novel -- The Satanic Verses -- was accused by the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini as insulting the prophet Mohammed.

The author then spent more than nine years in hiding. The alias he adopted, Joseph Anton, was based on the first names of two writers he loved: Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekhov.

More

The US opened the door to nuclear trade with India -- and got nothing, says the report on Foreign Policy. Read

Rediff.com's Mukhtar Ahmad reports that a militant shot and killed a retired deputy superintendent of police in Srinagar this afternoon.

As UP CM Akhilesh Yadav's uncle urges his corpulent bureaucrats to work hard and in exchange steal from government coffers, hundreds of starving Indians tried to retrieve "inconsumable" rice dumped by Railway authorities in a riverbed in Orissa.

The poor were seen taking home bagful of dirt-filled rice, declared unfit even for animal consumption even as the authorities put the onus on the railways. "It was the responsibility of the Railways and Food Corporation of India (FCI) '" the original owners of the rice, to ensure that the damaged foodstuff is destroyed properly so that it doesn't find its way to the kitchens of the people or are consumed even by animals," a district civil supply official said, adding the local administration had no role in it.

Although, people had even sold the retrieved rice at Rs 10 per kg in slum areas, District Collector Girish S N when contacted last night said that he was not aware of any such developments. "I have not received any such information yet. (If found true) We will definitely stop it," Girish said.

A wagon-load of rice belonging to FCI had arrived here in December 2011 from Kesinga in Kalahandi district. Upon examination, the quality control team of the FCI had certified that all the 1200 hundred bags of rice, weighing over 600 quintals were unfit for human consumption.

The world's greatest sprinter and an amazing showman, Usain Bolt, nabs photographer's DSLR. And this is what happened. 

Literary giant George Orwell was born in East Champaran district in Bihar. The Nitish Kumar government has decided to name the CRPF commandant's residence in Motihari as "George Orwell House", CRPF sources said today.

According to Parma Shivan, new commandant of 153rd battalion CRPF, champaran district had seen several great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi and Orwell whose best-seller "Animal Farm" is famous for delving into the reality of living in a communist state.

It was good, it was brief and it's ended. Read the report on Team Anna

Gopal Kanda's lawyer says his client will surrender before the court on Monday. He also told the court today that Kanda is not absconding, but is collecting documents relating to the case. 

Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter of all time, will look to top off another epic Olympic campaign on Saturday when he goes in the 4x100m relay, chasing his third gold medal of the London Games.

The Jamaican, who already has the 100m and 200m golds under his belt, is eyeing a second consecutive Olympic golden treble after winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m in Beijing. Hang in there for the time. 

Former Haryana minister Gopal Kanda will surrender on Monday before a court, says his brother. A look-out notice has been issued by the Delhi police against the former Haryana minister accused of abetting the suicide of his former employee. He is absconding.

A senior police official said all airports have also been alerted to ensure that Kanda does not fly out of the country. He has not appeared before the police despite a notice issued to him to join investigations in the case of suicide of Geetika Sharma, who had accused the him of harassing her. The police have intensified searches to arrest him. Six police teams were looking for him in connection with the case.

Mr Bhagat's response on Twitter

@chetan_bhagat I am no messiah. No youth icon. No authority. No great thinker. I wrote books. People read it. Lots of people. That's it. Haters may relax.

@chetan_bhagat Mr wise journo asked why i sold so much. i said maybe lucky or destiny. he calls answer 'mix of popular hinduism and corporate speak.' wow!

Must-read for all Chetan Bhagat fans or otherwise. Shougat Dasgupta punctures the 'politics' of Bhagat who he believes has converted his success as an unliterary writer into a soapbox from which to address the nation. Enjoy the story on Tehelka.

India's monsoon is lagging, confronting the country with its third possible drought in the past decade, and the rainfall deficit is further weakening an Indian economy already wobbling from a slowdown. Read

Nearly three years ago, Alex Masi took a photograph of a little girl in Bhopal, that earned him the Photographers Giving Back Award -- "a sum of $5,000 that went directly to the child, Poonam Jatev, and her family," Kerri Macdonald wrote in the Lens blog of The New York Times.

"It changed her life,' Ms. Macdonald wrote. Read

Looking surprisingly fit for his 47 years in black biking gear and a bowler hat, Aamir Khan took to the streets of Chicago on a sexy BMW K 1200 R superbike to kickstart the first shooting schedule of his upcoming biggie, Dhoom 3.

Read more on the Daily Mail.  

The return of a pro-market reformer to India's finance ministry has cheered investors and contributed to a market rally, but Palaniappan Chidambaram will need both political deftness and some luck to tackle the problems dragging the economy down.
Read the Reuters report.

These, quote-unquote, are the words of UP PWD Minister Shivpal Yadav, while chairing a meeting of the district programme committee yesterday in Etah.

He said, "Maine to usi din PWD walo se khule aam keh diya tha agar mehnat karoge to thodi bahut chori kar sakte ho, dakaiti nahi daloge (I have already told PWD people openly that if you work hard, you can steal a little, but don't behave like dacoits". "Agar mehnat karoge, jee lagaoge, agar inhe meetha paani de doge to chori kar sakte ho (If you work hard, if you give them water then you can steal)," he had stated. 

Just in: The BBC reports that a man in Afghan military uniform has opened fire on US troops in Afghanistan, killing three. Developing story.

 Far from home, competing against the best in the world, with the eyes of billions of people on them, Olympic athletes are under the kind of pressure that few of us can imagine.But they're only human and they have needs just like everyone else.Some of the world's biggest sports stars from the past and the present told CNN what they just can't do without when they're at the Olympics. Read

An unmanned moon lander under development crashed and blew up during an engine test Thursday afternoon at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the space agency reported. Read

In other stories: It's a familiar pose by now: Fresh-faced Olympian grins while pretending to take a bite from the hard-won gold medal hanging around his neck.But why do athletes feign chomping on their prized medallions, anyway?
Read

And another petition that made a difference -- after 65 years the inhuman practice of untouchability was abolished from Dangariya Village in Rajasthan. Read

If corruption upsets you, sign this petition and make a difference.

Shivpal Yadav, who is the PWD minister in Akhilesh Yadav's cabinet, attempts a bizarre clarification. He says the media was not supposed to have been there at his meeting with the police and bureaucrats and if the media heard him say such a thing, they should have stopped him. And of course, he alleges a conspiracy against him. He said the media trespassed in the meeting.

Shivpal Yadav had said if you work hard, you can steal, but not loot.

After Mahesh Bhatt's headline grabbing statement that Bipasha faces extinction, Vikram Bhatt (who regards Mahesh as his mentor) does likewise. Bhatt, whose forthcoming film Raaz 3' apparently has references of his relationship with actress Ameesha Patel, says, he understands the pain of an actress who rises to fame and the sudden downfall.

"I have these memories of a girl (Ameesha) who was fighting hard to bring back the time gone by and I too was having my struggle with the bad phase. So it is not just about her, it is also about me. But, luckily I was able to re-invent myself because I am a director, who doesn't have a shelf life," Vikram said without accepting or denying that Bipasha's role in 'Raaz 3' was inspired by Ameesha's life.

In 'Raaz 3', Bipasha plays an actress who is at the top of her career and sees a sudden downfall with another budding actress, Esha Gupta, taking her place. To regain her position in the industry, Bipasha resorts to black magic.

So, will Ameesha maintain a dignified silence, or sue her former boyfriend?

As Nicola Adams became the first woman boxer to win an Olympic gold medal, her dog, Dexter, excitedly watched the action 200 miles away in Leeds, UK.  

The 10-month-old Doberman saw the gold medal winning fight at the Leeds pet boarding center, where he is staying while Adams is competing in the London Olympics 2012.  

Dexter was extremely excitable for the first three rounds, but in the fourth round he stopped and watched his mistress on his kennel TV, pawing at the glass separating him from the screen.  

"We think it is quite unusual. But he can certainly hear Nicola and we think he is referencing that Nicola is on TV,' The Telegraph quoted James Cundy, a staff, as saying.

In yet another shocking statement emerging from supremo Mulayam Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) stables, a senior leader has virtually given official sanction to administrators to steal.

According to reports, SP's Shivpal Singh Yadav tells bureaucrats and police that it is OK to steal if they work hard. He is the uncle of Akhilesh Yadav.

Speaking to UP PWD officials, the Uttar Pradesh Public Works Department Minister said, "As long as you work hard and get things done, you can steal a little.' He went on to add that this 'stealing' should not get transformed into general 'loot' of the people.

US and Indian officials say weeks of interrogating Zabiuddin Ansari yielded new evidence that Pakistani intelligence officers helped plan and direct the 2008 terror onslaught that cost six Americans and 160 others their lives. Read

If you've missed this story, it's certainly worth a read. Nearly three years after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving attacker, was on Thursday night brought face to face with Abu Jundal whom he identified as one of the main conspirators of the mayhem, Mumbai police said.

Read

Pallavi Purkayastha had rushed out and tried to seek help. But with no one responding to her calls, she apparently went back to her flat and bled to death.

The police have arrested watchman Sajjad Pathan in connection with the murder of Pallavi. "He was upset with Pallavi after she had rebuked him a couple of days ago. He felt humiliated and wanted to take revenge. Finding her alone in the flat, Pathan molested her and also made an attempt to rape her," a crime branch officer said on condition of anonymity. Pathan was an employee of Ahmed Hamid Enterprises, a security services firm.

Read more on the TOI.

"When you see a turban and beard, what is the first thing you think of?' is a question Sikh Coalition's Amardeep Singh often asks his American audience. The typical answer is: A terrorist. "We've had 11 years where the turban is equated with terrorism,' he tellsThe Guardian, "Is our community an intentional victim? ' No, we're collateral damage.'

More on Firstpost.com

Sharad Pawar has termed as "highly irresponsible" a Shiv Sena leader's remark that the NCP leader has the political acumen to unify NDA and lead it to power in the 2014 general elections. The NCP supremo said his party has been with Congress through thick and thin.

"The statement made by (Sena leader Manohar) Joshi as regards NCP and me is highly irresponsible. If Joshi has to make any predictions, he should do them about himself and his party Shiv Sena and should not make remarks spreading misunderstanding about other parties," Pawar said.

The statement of Joshi, a former Lok Sabha Speaker, had come against the backdrop of BJP leader L K Advani's prediction of a non-BJP and non-Congress Prime Minister after the next parliamentary elections.

If you're planning to invest in property in Pune, read this. US real estate tycoon Donald Trump is keen to export his brand of luxury properties to Pune. More

A truly moving leader to Nike by a teenager who has cerebral palsy. Read

'@Chellaney This probably will rank as the mother of all orchestrated trials: The wife of Bo Xilai confesses to murder & the trial wraps up within hours.

If you haven't been following the fascinating story of Bo Xilai and his wife Gu Kailai, read this:  The charismatic leader's exit isn't as unprecedented as some seem to think.

Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, who began his three-day ''symbolic fast'' at the Ramlila Maidan here on Friday said that his movement will continue for at least 50 years.

Addressing his supporters at the Ramila Maidan here on the second day of his agitation against black money and corruption, Baba Ramdev said the people of the country would decide the next step that would be taken after the three-day fast.

While asking the people to decide on the next step after the three-day fast, he made the proclamation that he had decided on the future strategy. "The strategy of our movement is to stay for at least for the next 50 years. I am not going to deviate from my mission for the next 100 years," said Baba Ramdev who seemed to be confident of living for another hundered years.

Our Delhi sources tell us that Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar will be giving MPs a thoughtful new year gift. Food served in Parliament from 2013 will be made on LPG (gas cylinders, to you and me). She has now asked for PNG (piped natural gas) because LPG cylinders are security risks.

A special designing team comprising the Petroleum Ministry, the CPWD and security agencies will supervise the laying of the pipeline.

A special design is now being attempted to bring the pipeline from the main road to Parliament House and a plan is on the anvil to have a control panel which will be kept in two strategic locations. This will ensure that the gas supply can be turned off in the event of a disaster or an emergency.

A senior official commented that it is the 'Mumbai Mantralaya effect' that has made Meira Kumar initiate this action. During the fire in Mantralaya in June, gas cylinders were found in the pantries. Fortunately, the blaze did not reach the cylinders.

Nearly a week after the shootout at the Wisconsin gurudwara, news is that it has opened its doors to the public again. Six worshippers were killed on its premises, shocking the small but closely-knit Sikh community in Oak Creek. The local police handed over the Oak Creek gurdwara to its management which immediately started the cleaning of the entire premises yesterday. "It is now open for the public," Jagajit Singh Sandhu, member of the temple committee said.

"We expect the cleaning to be over soon, but it is open for the public now," Singh said. Built in 1997 to meet the needs of the local Sikh community, the gurdwara was the scene of tragic bloodshed on Sunday when a former American soldier, believed to have white supremacist leanings, opended indiscriminate fire insides the premises.

The gunman identified as Wade Michael Page, 41, killed six Sikh worshippers before perhaps turning the gun on himself. The FBI said Page died of self-inflicted injuries, though the motive behind his actions was not clear yet.

And while on the Olympics, an Australian woman has admitted taking the ashes of her late father -- an Olympic silver medallist -- trackside to the London Games and scattering them over the triple jump run-up.

Robyn Glynn told Sydney radio that her father George Avery, who died in 2006, had wanted to attend the London Olympics because it was where he won second place in the triple jump, then known as the hop, step and jump, in 1948.

So the family booked tickets for the triple jump final, and took his remains along. "We decided in 2000 that we were going to bring my father back here but unfortunately he passed away a few years ago," she told ABC radio.

And in case you missed it, Usain Bolt made history when the Jamaican successfully defended his Olympic 200m crown to claim an unprecedented second successive sprint double. Bolt, who retained his 100m title in style on Saturday, crossed the line in 19.32sec -- the equal fourth fastest time of all time -- in front of a delirious sell-out 80,000 crowd at the Olympic Stadium.

The 25-year-old's victory meant he bettered the record of US track legend Carl Lewis, who won three golds and a silver in the sprints at the 1984 and 1988 Games.

Bolt said: "This is the one I wanted and I got it. I'm now a legend, I'm also the greatest athlete to live. "I've got nothing left to prove. I've showed the world I'm the best and, right now, I just want to enjoy myself." It was also the first time two individual track titles were successfully defended at successive Games since Finland's Lasse Viren won the 5,000m and 10,000m in the Munich and Montreal Games in 1972 and 1976.

Sprint king Usain Bolt said he had lost all respect for Carl Lewis after the US sprint legend restated his concerns over the toughness of Jamaica's drug-testing policy.

Speaking after winning the 200m at the London Olympics to seal a second consecutive sprint double, Bolt said he held sprint icon Jesse Owens in high regard but said Lewis was merely attention-seeking.

"For me Jesse Owens I have a lot of respect for. He's a great athlete. He has done great things for his country. He has really pushed athletes to their best," said the 25-year-old.

"I'm going to say something controversial right now. Carl Lewis, I've no respect for him. The things he says about the track athletes is really downgrading for another athlete to be saying something like that about other athletes.

"I think he's just looking for attention really because nobody really talks about him so he's just looking at attention," said Bolt, who emphasised that Jamaica's incredible sprint success was all down to hard work.

Our Delhi sources tell us that a woman chief minister (who shall remain unnamed) had asked a former chief minister of her party to rush to Delhi to lay the foundation stone of their party office. It was a simple ceremony with the Nadaswaram playing in the background and two pandits chanting Vedic hyms. But the responsibility of constructing the three storeyed building has been entrusted to a former Union Minister who is now a Lok Sabha MP. The other compulsion is the construction should be over before  2014, a stipulated clause by DDA in the  land allotment.

The security guard arrested for the murder of 25-year-old lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha, who was found dead with her throat slit in her rented flat in Mumbai's Wadala area, has confessed to the crime.   

The guard has reportedly told the police that he had an altercation with Purkayastha a couple of days ago and was upset with her rude behaviour and killed her.  

Police sources say that the guard was missing from work all day and was picked up from the Mumbai Central station. He was the last person seen visiting Purkayastha's apartment, reports NDTV.

The Syrian army has renewed its heavy shelling of rebel-held areas of Aleppo, the country's commercial capital, anti-government activists have said, forcing the armed opposition to withdraw from at least one neighbourhood.

Intense bombardment rocked the neighbourhoods of Saleheddin, Hanano, Saif al-Dawla, Shaar and Shakur  on Thursday, anti-government groups have said.

The army attacks are part of the government's continuing air and ground assaults on Aleppo, which is being defended by armed members of the movement to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president.

Read the full story on Al Jazeera

Kasab identifies Jundal as main 26/11 conspirator

'Cong conspired to make Assam haven for foreigners'

Wisconsin gurudwara reopens for public

Rs 92.86 lakh cash, 1.5 kg gold seized from Fiza's house

'Cheating' case filed against Anna Hazare, team

Yashwant jibe at Nitish's secular credentials

Pune blasts probe may be handed over to NIA

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PTI reports: Two doctors of a private nursing home in Meerut allegedly raped a woman at the facility during treatment, police said.
 
On the basis of the complaint of the 32-year-old victim, a case of rape has been registered against two doctors of the nursing home, SP City Om Prakash told reporters.
 
The woman, who belongs to Muzaffarnagar, was admitted in the nursing home on August 5 and was to be discharged on Thursday.
 
According to the complaint, two doctors of the nursing home raped the woman in the wee hours today.
 
The woman in her complaint claimed that her husband had gone to Muzaffarnagar for some work and her brother-in-law was in the main hall of the nursing home watching TV when the incident happened.
 
A case has been registered against the two doctors and further legal action would be initiated after the police receive a copy of the report of the victim's medical examination, Om Prakash said.

In just five days more than 5000 people signed Stalin's petition and forced DM Bishnu Mallick from District Karauli of Rajasthan to take action and abolished a 65 year old tradition of practicing 'untouchability' from Dangariya village.

After witnessing the support, Sunita (Video Volunteer correspondent) met DM Bishnu Mallick and talked about Dalit women being humiliated due to their caste by so called "upper caste" neighbourhoods.

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