Italy has summoned India's ambassador to insist that India's Supreme Court issue a decision soon concerning two Italian marines detained since February for the deaths of two Indian fishermen mistaken for pirates. 

Mayawati, the Bahujan Samaj Party chief, looks set to have her way on the Quota Bill. If the constitutional amendment bill gets passed in Rajya Sabha on Monday, she would be scoring a massive political victory over her arch Uttar Pradesh rival Mulayam Singh Yadav, leader of the Samajwadi Party. The fate of the bill would also impact the stability of the minority UPA government and would indicate whether the country is headed for general elections earlier than 2014.

Four more persons were arrested on Thursday in connection with the firing incident at a private hospital in Gurgaon, police said.

With India approving FDI in multi-brand retail, an influential US Senator today asked New Delhi to take the next steps by providing greater market access to American companies and increasing the FDI cap on insurance and banking sectors. 

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accepted an invitation from President Barack Obama to meet in Washington. Panetta said at a joint news conference with Karzai that the meeting is to be held during the week of January 7. 

The troubled nation of Mali swore in a new interim prime minister today, just days after soldiers behind this year's military coup arrested his predecessor and forced his resignation. 

Amitabh Bachchan today lauded sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan's contribution to Indian classical music and professed an interest in learning the musical instrument. 

It was at a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh and Ram Gopal Yadav on Thursday morning when a truce was called on the quota bill.   

In what could be termed as an unprecedented feat, a Supreme Court judge, whose term is about to be over, today delivered judgements in 95 cases.

AFP reports: At least 24 civilians, including a large number of children, were killed in two separate car bombings southwest of Damascus today, state media reported. Eight people, mostly women and children, were killed by a car bomb in the poor Sunni town of Jdaidet Artuz, state television reported.

State-owned telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited 's website was hacked on Thursday by a group that demanded withdrawal of section 66 A of the IT Act.   The Website 'www.bsnl.co.in' was quickly restored.

The Union Cabinet approved the Land Acquisition Bill which was brought for consideration at its meeting today.

The bill was finalised last week by the Rural Development Ministry incorporating the suggestion of United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi who had asked the government to take consent from 80 per cent land owners for purchase of land for the purpose of setting up industries and PPP projects.

The Cabinet today cleared setting up a Cabinet Committee on Investment for fast tracking decision on big projects. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will head the Cabinet Committee on Investment that will fast track clearances for mega projects.

Visiting Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik is likely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday but will not have an interaction with Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi.

Official sources said the Prime Ministers' Office had agreed to a morning meeting with Malik after a request was made for the same by the Pakistani authorities through diplomatic channels.

The sources said meetings with the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon are also being fixed at the request of Malik for Saturday before he returns on the same afternoon.

However, the Ministry of External Affairs turned down the desire of the Pakistani side for a meeting with United Progress Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the sources said.

Family of the Indian couple, who have been sentenced to 15 months in prison in Norway, today made an emotional plea to Norweigan government to release or deport the duo, citing the sufferings of their children.   

Bhargava, brother of Anupama, also asked the Norweigian administration to let the children unite with their parents.   

Addressing a press conference along with evangelist Dr K APaul, he said, 'Tthe kids are crying and suffering. They want to unite with their parents, I appeal to Norway to release or deport them on humanitarian grounds."   

The Oslo district court had recently sentenced Chandrasekhar Vallabhaneni and his wife Anupama, to 18 months and 15 months jail term respectively on charges of gross or repeated maltreatment of their child/children by threats,violence or other wrong.

An impressive voter turnout of more 68 per cent was recorded across Gujarat during the first phase of state assembly elections today.

The break up:

Baruch: 67.5 per cent, Narmada: 71.8 per cent, Surat: 64 per cent, Tapi: 76 per cent, Navsari: 72 per cent, Dang: 66 per cent, Valsad 67 per cent, Junagadh: 67 per cent, Rajkot: 68.8 per cent, Amreli: 65.6 per cent, Porbandhar: 63.5 per cent, Jaamnagar: 63 per cent, Surendra Naga 68 per cen, Bhavngar: 68 per cent, Ahmedabad rural: 66.8 per cent. 

The number of fire tenders has now been upped to 20. More details awaited. 

Just in: A major fire has broken out at Bhagirath Palace in Chandni Chowk. Early reports say that 15 fire tenders have been rushed to the spot. Bhagirath Palace is an electrical goods market.

Upset over the delay in the hanging of Afzal Guru, some families of martyrs in the 2001 Parliament attack, today boycotted the function at Parliament, demanding the convict's immediate execution.

They skipped the homage ceremony held at Parliament on the eleventh anniversary of the attack. "Kasab's hanging has given us some solace. Though he committed the crime much later but was hanged earlier, why is Afzal's case still pending," said Ganga Devi, wife of deceased Delhi Police Sub-Inspector Nanak Chand at a function organised by All India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) They expressed hope that Guru will be hanged soon after Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's promise of looking into the case.

"Life has been tough since my father died. Though my mother has helped me a lot to overcome the loss," said Gaurav Yadav, son of another victim Jagdish Prasad Yadav. The victims' families have already returned gallantry medals to the President in protest against the delay in hanging of Guru.

Talibanistan: Negotiating the borders between terror, politics, and religion. Read

Assassins plotted to vastrate and murder Justin Bieber. Read

Khosla Ventures, the venture firm founded by Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, said it had retained former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her consulting firm as strategic advisers. Read more

On the New York Times' India blogs: Is it Time to Tear Up Lutyens Delhi? Read

A Delhi court has rejected a Delhi police plea to subject the two Zee editors to lie detector test in the absence of their consent in the alleged Jindal extortion case. The court says that Zee Group chief Subhash Chandra can undergo lie detector test after advice of his doctor and in his lawyer's presence.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today questioned the timing of Narendra Modi's letter on Sir Creek issue saying the Gujarat Chief Minister has raised the matter at the time of elections, and indicated the government could take it up with the Election Commission.

"When we take some good decisions (increasing cap on LPG cylinder from six to nine) we are told you can't take these decisions. But someone writes a letter that is related to international relations during the elections, it's really for us to consider through appropriate organisation including Election Commission as what are the permissible limit of the issue that can be raised," he said.

Taking a dig at Modi, he said, the Prime Minister has written back to him. "I think he finds time to read that letter while he is busy campaigning," Khurshid said.

The Prime Minister's Office had yesterday rubbished Modi's claim that Sir Creek was being "handed over" to Pakistan. The PMO had said the baseless charges were "mischievous" and motives questionable as these came on the eve of Gujarat polls.

Modi, in his letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had said Sir Creek issue should "not be handed over to Pakistan" and talks on this issue should be stopped. A strip of water body, Sir Creek located in Gujarat is a point of dispute between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Deepa Mehta's film adaptation of Salman Rushdie's novel 'Midnight's Children' has been passed without any cuts by the Censor Boardof Film Certification (CBFC). The 62-year-old Indo-Canadian filmmaker's ambitious project, which is slated for a February release, has recently opened the ongoing 17th edition of International Film Festival of Kerala.

"India here we come-intact! Great news... Midnight's Children went through Indian Censor board today without one pic cut. Salman Rushdie and I thrilled," Mehta posted on Twitter.

Pancham-taar may have snapped, but the dhwani remains. The obit to Pt Ravi Shankar on the Hindu. Read

Read: Notes from behind a locked door.  An ode to Annapurna Devi, Pt Ravi Shankar's ex wife.

Madhu Kishwar tweets: Can't think of Ravi Shankar without remembering how he destroyed music career of his wife Annapurna dtr of his guru Ustad Allauddin Khan. Annapurna believed to be far more talented than Ravi Shankar. He's reported to have battered her into giving up music. She became recluse. People say once Ravi Shankar dragged Annapurna with such violence from a performance that he broke her arm. She never performed after that.  

CNN IBN: 18 lakh government employees go on a flash strike in UP over the SC/ST Quota Bill with immediate effect. Emergency services have been exempted.  

Leading realty firm Lodha Group has said it has completed the acquisition of the US Consulate's Washington House in south Mumbai for Rs 341.82 crore. It is estimated that the property, nearly 2702 sqmt, was sold at over Rs 1.2 lakh per sqft.

Lodha had sealed the deal for the purchase of the property, standing in the plush area of Altamount Road in south Mumbai, in June this year by making a payment of Rs 40 crore.

"The balance payment was made on Dec 11, thus completing the acquisition procedure," the company said in a statement here. The company plans to develop a 30-storey super-luxury residential tower housing exclusive 3, 4 and 5 bedroom apartments, one on each floor with sizes ranging between  3,000 to 4,000 sqft, in place of the three-storey Washington House.

Update on the hoax call case: At the inquest, the Westminster Coroner's Court heard that injuries were also found on the nurse's wrists - and that she had also left three notes. Two were found in her room and another was among her possessions. The inquest was told police were exploring emails and texts sent by the 46-year-old, who was discovered in her nurses' quarters by a colleague and a security guard on Friday.

The nurse tricked by a radio prank call was found hanging from a wardrobe by a scarf, an inquest has heard. Jacintha Saldanha died days after falling victim to the hoax that targeted the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated. Read another report on the story

The nurse fooled by a hoax call to the London hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge was later found hanged, an inquest has heard. Jacintha Saldanha was found dead on Friday, three days after the call from Australian radio presenters pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles. Read more

The SC/ST Quota Bill has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha. Earlier in the House, the deputy chairman had evicted SP member Arvind Kumar Singh, who  first refused to leave the House, but later relents and withdraws.

Elements of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan based in Afghanistan and the Mohmand tribal region have despatched suicide bombers for a string of planned attacks on security forces, diplomatic missions and public gatherings across Pakistan, according to a media report today.

Taliban elements in Afghanistan's Kunar province have dispatched nine operatives, including two suicide bombers, to Pakistan via the Torkham land border to carry out attacks, The Express Tribune quoted an intelligence report as saying.

As long as Sachin's average performance is better than anyone else's, he cannot be dropped. Voluntary retirement is something else. Read

Indians first, Muslims later: We don't need faux concern of do-gooders. That's the column by Irfan Iqbal Gheta. Read 

Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson evicts SP MP Arvind Kumar from the House after uproar over the SC/ST Quota row. House has been adjourned for 10 minutes. 

The nurse who apparently took her own life following the royal hoax call scandal was found hanged in her staff housing, it has been claimed.Mother-of-two Jacintha Saldanha, 46, left a note for her family, it was revealed yesterday. She had not told her husband or children that she was involved in the incident, meaning the letter may provide their only clue to what prompted the respected nurse to take such a drastic and tragic step. Read more

Lok Sabha today remembered nine martyrs who laid down their lives defending Parliament which was attacked by armed terrorists 11 years ago. "On this occasion, this House offers its respects to the brave security personnel and convey our condolences to their families," Speaker Meira Kumar said on the 11th anniversary of the attack on Parliament.

Historian, writer, Ramachandra Guha is wrong, and the term Hindu fundamentalist is an oxymoron. Read

My Guru Pandit Ravi Shankar, my father and I. -- a disciple pays tribute. Read

Concerned over spurt in attacks on Sikhs, Hindus and other minorities in America, the US Justice Department has asked FBI to track hate crimes against them. Terming bullying and harassment of Sikh children as a "serious problem", a top official of the Justice Department has recommended that crimes against Sikhs and Hindus should be added to the religion-based hate crimes tracked by the FBI to help law enforcement officials tackle the problem. The extra-ordinary gesture by the administration has come in the wake of Sikhs petitioning the Congress asking that hate crimes against their religion be started to be traced by the federal agency.

The security challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, which American 're-balancing' towards Asia and Barack Obama's tour of some Asian countries so early into his second presidency seek to address, are many and complex. Read

For the older priests of the Balaji temple in Chilkur, the news of Pandit Ravi Shankar's sudden demise brought back vivid memories of the day he landed in Hyderabad and paid them a quiet visit, taking them all by surprise.Not many people know but the sitar maestro married Sukanya Devi, mother of Anoushka Shankar in 1989 at the very temple, when it was frequented by only a handful of devotees. Read

Gujarat Polls 2012 -- Don't waste your Vote on Caste, National Interest is also at stake. Read

Rural Gujarat is in distress and today more and more people seem willing to speak out against Narendra Modi. Yet even his detractors say he will win. Read

Under pressure from the government, Shiv Sena today indicated its willingness to shift Bal Thackeray's memorial to the margins of Shivaji Park in the city. "Shiv Sainiks will with their own hands shift the 'samadhi sthal' a little," Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray said in a statement in party mouthpiece 'Saamna', of which he is the new editor.

"The stance of Shiv Sena on the 'samadhi sthal' has always been that of restraint. A permanent 'samadhi sthal' will come up at the 'Shiv Teerth' by shifting the present samadhi sthal a little," Uddhav said. Uddhav's readiness to shift back the structure to the margins of the Shivaji Park in Mumbai is a climb down from earlier announcements by senior party leaders that Shiv Sainiks would not budge from the present structure.

On the eleventh anniversary of Parliament attack, BJP today said the government should announce the date for hanging convict Afzal Guru today itself to pay "real tribute" to the martyrs of the strike.

"Real tribute would be only if the Home Minister assures the House today that we have paid tributes to the martyrs but their families and country will get relief only when he (Guru) would be hanged. "If they fix a date (for hanging Guru) and announce it today, this would be the real tribute to these martyrs," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said inside Parliament House complex.

The Lok Sabha today witnessed repeated uproar on the demand for immediate hanging of Afzal Guru, with Speaker Meira Kumar expressing anguish over disruptions saying 13 people did not lay down their lives for this during the attack on Parliament 11 years back.

Soon after the House paid homage to martyrs of the 2001 attack, BJP members led by Shahnawaz Hussain started raising slogans demanding immediate hanging of Guru. BJP and Shiv Sena members trooped to the Well shouting slogans 'Afzal Guru ko phaansi do' (hang Afzal Guru). "Why is the government not hanging Afzal Guru. Why is the government helpless in carrying out the death sentence," Hussain asked.

Amid the melee, BSP members also rushed to the Well raising the issue of coal block allocation. As the uproar continued, an anguished Speaker remarked, "11 years ago, on this day, 13 people had sacrificed their lives. They did not sacrifice their lives for this. I will not adjourn the House."

The Speaker went ahead with the Question Hour despite the uproar and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh answered supplementaries on the rural jobs scheme.

SP members were also seen in the Well demanding action against the agitating BSP members. Amid the uproar, the Speaker first adjourned the House till 11:30 am and then till noon. The House met briefly at noon and was adjourned till 2 pm after laying of papers.

Hours after it successfully launched a long-rage rocket into space, North Korea has released raw footage of technicians tracking the rocket's orbit from the North Korean mission control center outside the capital Pyongyang. Watch

Japan scrambled fighter jets after a Chinese plane entered airspace over disputed East China Sea islands, officials say. Government spokesman Osamu Fujimura said that Japan mobilised F-15 jet fighters when the Chinese Oceanic Administration plane was observed. Read the BBC story.

The Supreme Court today ruled that the CBI probe against UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav will continue in the disproportionate assets case.

The Hindu has an interesting piece on how politicians dutifully disclose their increasing assets at each election but no questions are ever asked about how they acquired this wealth nor are any explanations provided. Read

Update on the Gujarat polls. A moderate 18 per cent voting was recorded in the first three hours of polling across 87 seats in the first phase of Gujarat polls which will decide the fate of state political big-wigs like Keshubhai Patel, BJP's R C Faldu and Congress' Arjun Modhwadia.

Long queues where seen outside some polling booths as people preferred to come early to vote. The constituencies where polling started include 48 in seven districts of Saurashtra, 35 seats in seven districts of south Gujarat and four seats in Ahmedabad district. Leaders like former Chief Minister and GPP president Keshubhai Patel, BJP state unit president R C Faldu, state finance minister Vajubhai Vala and state Congress president Modhvadia cast their vote in the early morning hours.

The Telegraph, Kolkata, today devoted pages and pages in tribute to Pandit Ravi Shankar, who passed away yesterday.  Have a look.

He tuned, world roared and he showed them a new world. Read

Annapurna Devi speaks: Great loss. Read

Power of communication and ability to read pulse.  Read

A test of love Calcutta could not pass. Read

Yellow ship in city for Robu Kaku & George. Read

The man and his women. Read

India watcher Jason Overdorf on the Global Post. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi looks to cement claim as BJP's next candidate for prime minister. Read

This is the most recent seat prediction by G V L Narsimha Rao. The
survey was conducted after the filing of nominations. A representative
cross-sectional sample of 12,078 voters between 28 November and December 8 was taken for the survey. Rao had rightly predicted 117 seats for the BJP in 2007 in Mint besides 206 seats for the BSP before 2007 assembly poll.

Source: Lensonnews.com

There has been a six per cent voter turnout in the first phase of the Gujarat polls. Meanwhile, for the first time since the riots of 2002, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi finds himself on uncertain territory in Saurashtra, where the intense caste politics of the Patels is now intertwined with the water problems of all the farmers of the region, reports Sheela Bhatt. Read

The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till noon amid BJP, Shiv Sena uproar over the demand to hang Afzal Guru. The BSP raised the coal scam.

Australia's media watchdog today launched a rare probe into the broadcast of a prank call by a Sydney-based radio station to a UK hospital treating pregnant Princes Kate that led to the death of an Indian-origin nurse.

Australian Communications and Media Authority used its special powers to launch a rare "own motion" probe contrary to other cases where it has to wait for complaints. A spokesman of the authority said the body would investigate whether the licence holder Today FM Sydney Pty Ltd, breached its licence conditions or the industry's code of practice, The Age newspaper reported.

It will examine whether the network breached standards of decency, invaded privacy or broke rules of consent. The media watchdog said it "will be seeking to expedite this investigation and does not propose making any further statement while its investigation is underway".

Rural Gujarat is in distress and today more and more people seem willing to speak out against Narendra Modi. Yet even his detractors say he will win. Read

As Gujarat goes to the polls today in its first phase today, the Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) supremo Keshubhai Patel today said the people would vote for a change in the state, and added that Chief Minister Narendra Modi would be thrown out of power after the assembly polls.

"There is a wave of change in entire Gujarat now, be it the tribal areas, coastal region, Ahmedabad, towns or villages," said Patel.

"People have rejected him. The children poke fun at him. Narendra Modi will go this time," he added. The former Gujarat Chief Minister cast his vote here as polling in 87 constituencies for the first phase of assembly polls began at 8 am amidst tight security in the state. Patel, considered to be Modi's arch political rival, is banking on the support of his 'Leuva Patel' community, which dominates 17 constituencies in Saurashtra and Kutch.

The 'Patels' are a key 20 percent of Gujarat's electorate. Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party is contesting 83 of the 87 seats that poll today. The fate of 846 candidates will be decided in this phase, out of which 46 are women.

The SC has also directed the CBI to file a status report in the DA case before it and not to the government. The ruling is expected to create problems for Mulayam's relationship with the Centre. The SC also ruled that the CBI is independent from the government and can continue with the probe as per the law.

The Supreme Court said there will be no probe against Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav as she did not hold an office of profit at the time the inquiry was started. On March 1, 2007, the top court had ordered a CBI inquiry against Mulayam Singh Yadav, sons Akhilesh Yadav and Prateek Yadav and daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate in December 2005. More

The Supreme Court drops the probe against UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple in the disproportionate assets case. However, the CBI probe against Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh will continue in the same case, says the Supreme Court. Mulayam had alleged that the Centre used the CBI to harass him.  The SP chief is also meeting the PM today to discuss the SC/ST quota bill.  

Just in: BJP gives notice for adjournment of Question Hour in Lok Sabha to discuss delay in hanging Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. 

A US military judge ordered today that testimony from defendants accused of taking part in the September 11 attacks describing their torture and secret imprisonment must be kept secret. 

Syrian government forces have fired Scud missiles at insurgents in recent days, escalating the 2-year-old conflict against rebels seeking to overthrow the regime, US officials said today.  

 The Dilkash Lahore Committee has apparently dropped the idea of renaming Shadman Chowk after freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in the face of opposition from rightwing religious groups and decided to instead rename it after poet Habib Jalib.

Shootings and bombings killed six Iraqi security forces members and an academic today, while an inmate detonated explosives in a Baghdad prison in an attempted suicide attack, officials said. Gunmen killed four police near Fallujah, west of Baghdad, a police captain and a medical source said, while gunmen in Mahmudiyah, south of the capital, shot intelligence service Captain Muntasser Abdul Rizzaq, according to an interior ministry official. 

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was recovering in a Cuban hospital today after six hours of surgery to treat a cancerous lesion in an operation his vice president said ended "successfully." Chavez would soon begin a "post-operative phase" that would last several days, Nicolas Maduro said in an address to the nation in Caracas late yesterday. 

The leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan are determined to press ahead with peace efforts after a meeting in Turkey, the country's president said today, despite an attack that wounded the Afghan intelligence chief. President Abdullah Gul described the bombing, which Afghanistan believes was planned in Pakistan, as an attempt to derail dialogue between the two countries. 

The UN Security Council, including China and the United States, today condemned North Korea for carrying out a banned rocket launch and warned it could take further action. 

Late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile is a suspect in 199 crimes, including 31 allegations of rape, police said today, adding that the scale of his alleged crimes was "unprecedented" in Britain. Ten weeks after Scotland Yard began investigating claims that Savile was a paedophile, the London force confirmed that 589 people had come forward with information, of which 450 related to Savile, mainly alleging sex abuse.