On the New York Times: Professor Sudhir K. Jain is an expert in earthquake engineering, and member of several global groups devoted to reducing fatalities during earthquakes. His mantra, and that of many other earthquake experts, is simple: earthquakes alone don't kill people, poor engineering does.

Read

The Defence Ministry blacklists six companies including Singapore Technologies, Israeli Military Industry and Germany's Rheinmetall Air Defence for 10 years for their alleged role in ordnance factory scam: officials.

Details awaited.

US President Barack Obama has warned that any "loose talk of war" would only speed Iran towards attaining a nuclear weapon.  

He made it clear that he did not believe that a strike on Iran would serve the interests of either the United States or Israel.    

"Already, there is too much loose talk of war. Over the last few weeks such talk has only benefited the Iranian Government by driving up the price of oil, which they depend on to fund their nuclear program,' The New York Times quoted Obama, as saying.  

"For the sake of Israel's security, America's security and the peace and security of the world, now is not the time for bluster,' he added.

Eleven Mayawatis could breathe somewhat easy today as wraps began to come off but the twelfth one has to wait another day. The Uttar Pradesh administration today began taking the covers off 11 statues of the chief minister and 208 of elephants, her party symbol, following a directive from the Election Commission, which had ordered them wrapped to ensure a level playing field.

Read the report on the Telegraph, India..

On the back of that report on Foreign Policy on how some Afghans are opting to be suicide bombers after the burning of the Quran, read this.

The Afghan army chief of staff has warned that a repeat of a similar incident like the burning of the Quran at a NATO base in Afghanistan, which has already advanced the Taliban's cause, would be disastrous.  

The destruction of the holy Quran, which the United States described as unintentional, triggered widespread protests and fatal attacks on US troops by Afghan security forces and heavily strained ties between Kabul and Washington.     

"The enemy (Taliban) will enlarge it and make use of it in such a way to instigate everybody,' the Daily Times quoted General Sher Mohammad Karimi, as saying.   "They took advantage of this incident. They will take advantage,' he added.

Matihullah, 24, had always dreamed of becoming a lawyer. Then news spread that Western soldiers had burned many copies of the Muslim holy book at a NATO base in Afghanistan. He gave up his studies and embarked on a new mission in life -- to become a suicide bomber.

Read the reuters report.

Top-rung Indian corporates are lining at the gates of Tihar Prison to make their Holi colourful. From IT giants to top-notch five-star hotels, 24 companies have gone to Asia's largest jail to procure gulal and other such colours produced by convicts in a quality-controlled environment.

"Companies like Wipro Infotech, Maruti Suzuki Company Ltd, Birla Soft, LG Life Sciences, Tech-Mahindra, Ranbaxy, Royal Bank of Scotland, Naukri.com and five-star hotels like Taj Palace Hotel, ITC Maurya Sheraton, Hyatt Regency and Shangrila Hotel in Janpath have procured more than 500 pieces of cans containing herbal Holi colours," a senior official of Tihar Prisons said today.

Amitabh Bachchan @SrBachchan Earthquake in Delhi ! Just came to know through Twitter .. Hope all is well .. spoke to Shweta, my daughter there .. all is well ..

Had been through one in Delhi when in College there .. terrible sound under the ground, like a 1000 Boeing 747's taking off .. scary.

Runako Morton, the West Indies batsman, has died in a road accident in Trinidad & Tobago.An update in a social networking site said that the 33-year-old was "travelling south bound and may have lost control of the vehicle slamming into a pole."

Read the report.

This is what the canteen in the Indian Parliament serves up, reportedly, one of the cheapest places to eat at.

Read

A truly nice read.

A number of British peers have complained over the "awful" food served in the House of Lords, saying having meals at subsidised restaurants there is just an
expensive "disgrace". 

Some peers have said that they really feel embarrassed to invite their friends there for dinner, and even wrote to Lord Brabazon of Tara, the Lords' Chairman of Committees, demanding refunds on their food, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported. 

One peer wrote: "My wife and I were so embarrassed last night. We took a distinguished Italian guest to dine in the Barry Room. We all ordered the pork escallop (sic). It was uneatable (sic). Tough and dry and clearly cooked for hours before. It really was a disgrace."

He went on: "We did not of course complain at the time for the obvious reason of not damaging the image our guest would have had of the occasion. I do not know what your policy is but I think it would be appropriate for me to receive a
refund for three uneatable pork scallops."

Another wrote: "I am aware that one noble Lord was served 'gone off' smoked salmon in the Bishops' bar the other day. The S salmon in my sandwich today was awful. I hope something can be done." 

Most peers do not receive a salary but are paid a "no questions asked" tax-free allowance of 300 pounds a day to cover the cost of attending the Lords.

The call to take ravenous land demons by the horns in the Bil Akbarpur wetland in Greater Noida's Dadri area received a convincing push from its permanent residents - endangered deer species and bird

Read more

No, we're not making this up, and nor is PTI.

The Bihar government today sought the Centre's help to investigate the death of crows due to mysterious reasons in several districts of the state. Replying to a question by JD(U) MLA Krishnandan Yadav during zero hour in the Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the state government has sought the Centre's help to investigate the cause of the death of crows in several
districts of Bihar recently. The union government's help was required as the crows did not die only in Bihar but in other states too, he said.

The Congress today claimed it will play a crucial role in the formation of the next government in Uttar Pradesh and dismissed as personal views Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma's suggestions for a tie-up with BSP.

"We will cross the bridge when we come to it. The results have not yet come...," Congress leader and Union Minister Rajeev Shukla said on the sidelines of an All-party meeting convened by Speaker Meira Kumar ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament commencing on March 12. 

Rejecting as "hypothetical" suggestions that Rahul Gandhi needed to take the blame if the party performed poorly in Uttar Pradesh, Shukla said party's performance will be "very good" and the results will lead to revival of the party. 

"To talk about the results before they are out is hypothetical. Congress will have a crucial role in government formation (in UP)," he said. Asked about Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma's comments on supporting BSP, Shukla said, "Those are not party's views. He must have said in his personal  capacity." 

The Congress and the UPA are in trouble over the next election for Indian President, due in July this year. Although well short of a majority on its own, the Congress has functioned as though it ran the government by itself. 

Read the Sunday Guardian.

Stanley Kubrick's New York: Incredible Photos of Life in the 40s

See

US tornadoes: A toddler found in field dies after coming off life support.

15-month-old Angel Babcock was found after storms killed her parents and two siblings and destroyed their mobile home.

Read

BJP leader Manohar Parrikar says that a high voter turnout in Goa means that the Congress government will go.

The results of elections in five states will be announced Tuesday. In Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state, exit polls released over the weekend indicate that the party of the current chief minister, Mayawati, is headed for certain defeat. The incumbents in the other four states -- Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur -- are also expected to suffer defeats or lose seats. But can we rely on these exit polls?

Read the NYT report

The Bombay High Court today exempted the Director of Enforcement Directorate (ED) from personally appearing before it on March 12 and instead summoned the Special Director, along with a status report mentioning the
steps that have been taken in the scam-tainted Adarsh Housing Society probe.

A division bench of Justices P B Majmudar and R D Dhanuka had on February 28, severely castigated the agency for "serious lapse" on its part and failing to initiate inquiry against the Society members for money laundering while
summoning the ED Director on March 12.

The Dawn, Pakistan on Mamata B's blue hue for Kolkata.

Some firm of public relations consultants has persuaded the West Bengal state government that all official buildings and assets in Calcutta, right down to the lane dividers on highways, should be painted light blue. Taxis and other public services that require licences will also have the blue paint, and owners of private property will be asked to do the same, with tax cuts for those who comply.

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China's third lunar probe, Chang'e-3, is expected to be launched next year and it will conduct moon landing and lunar explorations, a top space official has said.
Different from the pr evious two orbiters, Chang'e-3 has "legs" to support the spacecraft in landing, Ye Peijian, chief commander of Chang'e-3 at China Academy of Space Technology, said. 

The orbiter will carry a lunar rover and other instruments for territory surveys, living conditions assessment, and space observations, Ye, a member of China's political advisory body was quoted by the state-run Xinhua news agency as saying.

A Delhi court today framed charges against former Samata Party president Jaya Jaitley and two others in an alleged corruption case of 2001 relating to a defence deal. 

Jaitley, her erstwhile party colleague Gopal Pacherwal and retired Major General S P Murgai appeared before Special CBI Judge Kawal Jeet Arora who posted the matter for further proceedings from April 30 after framing the charges. 

The court framed charges against them for the offence of hatching criminal conspiracy under section 120 B of the Indian penal Code and various other sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act dealing with 'taking gratification for exercise of personal influence with public servant'. 

The three accused pleaded not guilty and claimed to face trial in the case. The case was registered on the basis of a sting, Operation West End,' conducted by  newsportal tehelka.com in 200, purportedly exposing alleged corruption in defence deals. The CBI had submitted a charge sheet against Jaya Jaitley
and others in 2006.

A day before before vote count in Uttar Pradesh, senior BJP leader and former chief minister Rajnath Singh on Monday admitted that his party may not be in a position to form the next government in the state. Singh said while the BJP was set to improve its tally in the 403-member assembly, it would fall short of coming to power.

Read the report.

Reacting sharply to Arvind Kejriwal's demand that Rahul Gandhi should reveal his poll expenditure, Digvijay Singh said: "If they (Team Anna) can spend 36 lakhs in their days long campaign then he can well imagine how much we must have spent in our month-long rallies."

Singh further said expense reports would be submitted to the Election Commission and not to Kejriwal as he was against the Congress Party.

"We will submit complete expenditure details - which candidate has spent how much. We will submit it to the Election Commission within 30 days. We will submit expenditure details not only of helicopters used by Rahul Gandhi, but also helicopters used by other leaders," he added.

In other news, a Delhi court today dismissed a case against Internet giant Yahoo for allegedly hosting objectionable content on its site and penalised the petitioner for dragging it in the litigation along with other social networking sites.

Administrative Civil Judge Praveen Singh imposed a cost of Rs 5000 on plaintiff Mufti Aijas Arshad Quasmi for impleading the company as a party without disclosing any cause of action against it. 

The court had on December 20 last year, in a ex-parte order, issued summons to 22 social networking websites, including Yahoo, asking them to remove "anti-religious" or "anti-social" contents from their sites. 

Yahoo had also pleaded with the court to remove its name from the plaint, saying no cause of action was made out against it. Yahoo was earlier imposed a cost of Rs 2,000 for delay in appearing before the court.

Varying reports on the magnitude of the quake. First reports say it was 4.2, then 4.6, then 4.9 and now 5.2.

This is the second Mirage crash in two weeks. On February 24, an Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 combat jet crashed in central India, but the two pilots ejected to safety.

The aircraft, which had taken off from the Gwalior air base in Madhya Pradesh on a routine training-flying mission, crashed at Bhind, 32 km away, at about 12.10 pm.

The pilots, Air Marshal Anil Chopra and Wing Commander Ram Kumar ejected safely and there was no damage to civil property and no individual was injured/killed as a result of the crash.

An IAF Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft crashes in Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. Pilot has ejected, says a defence spokesperson in Jaipur.

Details awaited.

A correction: The quake measured 4.9 on the Richter scale, says the Met department. The epicentre is close to Delhi at Bahadurgarh in Haryana. Tremors were felt in Rajasthan and Punjab as well.

Major tremors were felt all across Delhi at approximately 1:10 pm today for a few seconds. No news of any casualties, or building collapses so far. Tremors were felt in Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Noida as well.

Just in: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has returned from abroad after a routine check up, says AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi.

Sonia went to the United States on February 28 for a "checkup" six months after undergoing surgery for an undisclosed condition. Dwivedi said the check-upis just a routine follow-up after her treatment in the US last August.

This is what the Guardian says of Holi in its introduction to a picture gallery.

It's a ritual of colour enacted for centuries. Men from Nandgaon, Hindu god Krishna's hometown, march on Barsana in Mathura, the birth place of Krishna's beloved Radha, to put colour on women who wait prepared for them with sticks '" mini battles break out amid explosions of colour. It's Holi in India.

Read

Health update

Taking vitamin E supplements may make bones old and frail before their time, Japanese researchers say. A study found that animals fed on a diet supplemented with the vitamin had bones 20 per cent weaker than those that ate normally. More worrying is that the effect was seen after just eight weeks, the Daily Mail reported. The scientists behind the research said that given the popularity of vitamin E supplements, a larger study on people is now warranted.

In 2007, the upper castes helped to create the mood for a Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh; in 2012, they want to undo it.

Read Smita Gupta's opinion piece on the Hindu.

Vladimir Putin wept last night after a huge victory in Russia's presidential election -- as opponents branded the poll 'tainted'.

Read the report on the Sun.

With just a day left for counting of votes, the Samajwadi Party today said it was hopeful of getting a majority in Uttar Pradesh and party supremo Mulayam
Singh Yadav will become the next Chief Minister. 

"We have a done a lot of hard work to ensure the success of the party and are hopeful of getting majority," SP state president Akhilesh Yadav told reporters here. 

Asked about the Chief Ministerial candidate of the party, Akhilesh said that 'netaji' (Malayam Singh Yadav) was everyone's choice. "The elected legislators will decide, who will be the next CM. I think netaji is everyone's choice and will become the CM," he said. About post-poll alliances, Yadav said that the situation would become clear after the counting and his party.

Gunmen killed 21 policemen in an attack on checkpoints in the western Iraqi city of Haditha earlier today, security and medical officials said. 

Lieutenant Colonel Owaid Khalaf said dozens of attackers carried out the attacks at checkpoints across the city, beginning at around 4:30 am. Five policemen were wounded in the concerted attacks, according to Khatab Omar, an official at Haditha hospital.

A news alert on PTI says that the government has banned cotton exports with immediate effect.

This is what the report on the Hindu says.

One might have thought the use of India as a set for Kathryn Bigelow's Osama bin Laden film would have caused protests from Pakistan.

Read the report on the WSJ.

Kingsfisher, which has survived with the help of loans from public sector banks and a favourable aviation ministry, now wants more!

Read Sucheta Dalal's piece on Money Life

The poor surrogate mothers in Gujarat, who rent their wombs to augment the family income, have been confronted with the horrors of a pitiable payment and broken homes. 

The Centre for Social Research, an NGO, revealed after talking to nearly 100 surrogate mothers and 50 commissioning parents in Anand, Surat and Jamnagar in Gujarat, that surrogacy has not gone down well with their husbands and children.

Read the report on the Daily Mail.

Unidentified militants exploded a powerful bomb at the house of a Congress candidate in Imphal West district of Manipur, the police said today. Sources said the militants threw the bomb at around 10.30 pm yesterday at R K Anand's house at Naoriya Pakhang Lakpa area.

Anand who is contesting from Naoriya Pakhang Lakpa assembly constituency and his family members were present in the house at the time of the incident. The attackers fled under the cover of darkness, sources said.

Despite a landslide win in elections, Russia's new (and former) president has been weakened by growing protests and emptying coffers at the Kremlin.

Read the story on the Daily Beast.

News from the ongoing crisis in Syria.

A hospital worker has provided video evidence showing medical staff torturing patients under their care in Homs, Syria.

The footage of the Homs military hospital shows wards full of wounded men, blindfolded and shackled to their beds.

The apparent instruments of torture, including a rubber whip and an electrical cable, lie openly on a table in one of the wards.

The whistleblower, Abu Hamzeh, claimed many patients were whipped and beaten in their beds.

I have seen detainees being tortured by electrocution, whipping, beating with batons, and by breaking their legs, They twist the feet until the leg breaks. They perform operations without anaesthetics. I saw them slamming detainees heads against walls. They shackle the patients to beds. They deny them water, The Daily Mail quoted Hamzeh, as saying.

A Japanese researcher has used thousands of strands of spider silk to spin a set of violin strings. The strings are said to have a "soft and profound timbre" relative to traditional gut or steel strings.

Read the bbc report.

Also see: Spider silk's flexibility makes webs super-strong 

Back to world news:

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered a review of the legality of the conviction of former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. A presidential statement said the review should be completed by the prosecutor general by 1 April. A Kremlin critic and once Russia's richest man, Khodorkovsky was found guilty of embezzlement in 2010.

Read the report on the bbc.

By the way, a mild tremor was felt at Uluppuni, seven kms away from the Mullaperiyar dam site in Idukki district last night. The tremor, which measured 2.1 on the Richter Scale, occurred at 12.15 am, police said. 

This is the 33rd tremor recorded in the areas surrounding the Mullaperiyar Dam in the last 10 months.

Read on rediff.com:  Mullaperiyar dam: An unimaginable disaster waiting to happen

As he reaches 60, the Pashtun aristocrat who married into the height of British society says he is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the legacy of colonialism. The cricketer turned politician talks in Islamabad to the Guardian.

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Bizarre story with tragic consequences:

Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino was not wearing his glasses when the cruise ship toppled off the Tuscan coast, leading to the death of over 30 people, it has been revealed.

According to leaked prosecution evidence, the ships first officer, Ciro Ambrosio, described how Captain Francesco Schettino had dined with a Moldovan cruise representative and dancer Domnica Cemortan.

Schettino wears glasses when he is tired. When he took command on the bridge, he didnt have them because he had left them, in his cabin. He asked me to set the radar, as he couldnt see it properly, The Daily Mail quoted Ambrosio, as saying.

Stay with us tomorrow for all the news on the five-state poll results.

Meanwhile, here's what's happening around the world today.

A Tibetan mother-of-four has died after setting herself on fire in south-west China, activists and exiles say.

The UK-based Free Tibet group said the woman set herself on fire near the Kirti Monastery in Aba prefecture in Sichuan province.

It is the latest in a spate of self-immolations by ethnic Tibetans in apparent protest against Chinese rule. Read the story on the bbc.

Big day for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa tomorrow, when the counting of votes for the assembly elections begins. Counting will begin at 8 am and the first results are expected within two hours. All the results will be in by the evening.

The results will decide the fate of candidates in 690 assembly seats --- 403 in UP, 117 seats in Punjab, 70 in Uttarakhand, 60 in Manipur and 40 in Goa.

The voter turnout during this year''s assembly elections has recorded an all time high in recent years, with only Manipur playing a spoiler with low turnout following incidents of violence.

Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi said that a key feature of the polls held in five states was the huge participation of women voters. "Highest turnout of women voters - very high turnout, women have outdone men in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and in Manipur. In Uttar Pradesh the turnout has been remarkable with an increase in this year''s attendance by 42.77 percent. The increase in Uttarakhand is 6.88 percent and in Manipur also women are more, 694,000 as against 631,000 men voters," said Qureshi.

And speaking of Twitter, here's one from Yuvraj Singh:

yuvraj singh  @YUVSTRONG12  Hello everyone. I have just changed my twitter handle to YUVSTRONG12 to yuvsingh09. please note.

Yuvraj who is battling cancer has had a lot of support from Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor. Armstrong's foundation for cancer patients is called Livestrong.

Team Anna key aide Arvind Kejriwal and the man who has been keep the anti-graft body in the news for all the wrong reasons tweeted demanding the details of the expenses by Rahul Gandhi on helicopters and campaigning in the Uttar Pradesh elections.  

Anna Hazare, who is in Delhi today to attend the core committee meeting of his team, was quick to defend Kejriwal. "Arvind Kejriwal did not say anything wrong. Expenses must be made public. If it is not your personal money then details should be made public," said Anna.

Good morning.

First up: The Delhi High Court rejects a plea filed by the company Swiss Timing, an accused in the CWG graft case, seeking a stay on possible coercive action against it.

A bench of Justice Mukta Gupta delivered the verdict today. The court had reserved its decision on February 7 after the counsel for the firm and the CBI concluded its arguments.

Sacked CWG Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi and other co-accused are charged with illegally granting the contract to Swiss Timing, causing a loss of over Rs 90 crore to the state exchequer.

The MNC told Justice Gupta that it has not been served with the summons as per the law dealing with offshore companies.

Fearing govt change, Uttar Pradesh babus pack bags (The Times of India)

If bureaucratic movement can be any reflection of changing times, there's frenetic activity gripping UP's government offices. Read

Maya govt recommends dissolution of state assembly (Hindustan Times)
In a late night development, chief minister Mayawati reportedly took the decision to go for dissolution of the 15th Vidhan Sabha once the assembly election results are announced on March 6. Read

Beni again: Cong should tie up with Maya, not Mulayam (Indian Express)
State Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said this was just Vermas personal view. Read

'Not just BJP, even Congress and JD-S MLAs watched porn' (Indian Express)

In a dramatic twist to the porngate scandal, a member of the Karnataka Assembly panel probing the incident today claimed more than 15 MLAs, including Opposition members, had watched the sleazy clippings that led to the resignation of three ministers. Read

Advocates to boycott courts in Karnataka today (Hindustan Times)
Legal services across Karnataka are likely to be affected today as the Advocates Association of Bangalore gave a call yesterday for boycott of courts across the state to protest alleged "police excesses" against some of its members at the Civil Court complex in Bangalore. Read

Koodankulam: Project cost up due to indefinite delay (Indian Express)
Latest estimates show an escalation of Rs 2,653 crore in the cost of completion. Read