This was big news in 2008 and since the wheels of justice move slowly, the update comes four years on.

Amit Kumar, the alleged kingpin of an international kidney racket that came to  light in 2008, has been put on trial by a Delhi court for allegedly violating
foreign exchange act and stashing black money abroad. 

District Judge P S Teji paved the way for the trial of Amit Kumar by framing charges against him saying the Enforcement Directorate has brought sufficient material to show that properties acquired by him were the proceeds of crime, kidney transplant racket, as defined under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Act.

Yesteryear superstar Rajesh Khanna is trending on Twitter: Here's why:  

dibang: Havells Fans Forever ad with a frail Rajesh Khanna is big conversation starter and this clip may go viral See

If there is one attribute that the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign has brought us in great measure, aside from sweater vests and former pizza magnates with delusions of grandeur, it is false outrage.

Read the Foreign Policy report

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today hardened her stance on the demand for a three-year moratorium on interest payment for accumulated debts, saying the Centre "cannot deny its responsibility in the matter".

"We are not going with a begging bowl. We are not asking for a special package. It is their commitment and their promise. They (Central government) has to do it. Our demand for moratorium is nothing new. It happened with Punjab. Is not Bengal a state? Is not Bengal's problem everyone's problem",she told reporters prior to her departure for Delhi. "How many times have I to say this?" she asked.

Banerjee, who headed for Delhi to attend the meeting on NCTC on May 5 and is likely to meet the Prime Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi during her four-day stay, said this when a reporter asked if she was hopeful this time of
getting the moratorium from the Centre.

Government today sought to put an end to a controversy, generated by President Pratibha Patil taking her two grandchildren on a nine-day state visit to
Seychelles and South Africa, saying it is a "normal diplomatic practice". 

"It's a normal diplomatic practice that a visiting dignitaries occasionally takes members of his/her family on visiting trips. Hospitality for such visiting dignitaries in such cases is usually provided by the host government. It is not abnormal," official spokesperson in MEA Syed Akbaruddin said. He was asked if it was usual for the President to travel with her grandchildren. 

Citing several examples of visiting heads of states travelling with their family members, he said it included the recent visit by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, who was accompanied by his son, and former US President Bill Clinton, who travelled with his daughter Chelsea on a visit here.

Sidin Vadukut ' @sidin Sachin Tendulhair.

Just about sums it up.

Contrary reports: American defense analysts have said there are plenty of reasons to believe that Al Qaeda is still a dangerous terrorist outfit even after the death of Osama bin laden.

According to The Christian Science Monitor, defense officials described bin Laden as being "more operationally engaged" than Zawahiri, who was an irritable micromanager. 

Robert Cardillo, deputy director for intelligence integration with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said Zawahiri did not have the charisma to attract to new recruits.  "He may not be bin Laden in his operational expertise, but the affiliates have all sworn allegiance to him," Seth Jones, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corp. and author of "Hunting in the Shadows: The Pursuit of Al Qaeda Since 9/11, said.

In other news, a PTI report says that a Briton has come up with an ingenious idea to collect four tonnes of dog poo in a day from one county and turn it into electricity. Gary Downie, 41, a former banker, came up with the pioneering scheme and has now struck a deal with the council to install 'dog stations' around Flintshire, in north Wales.

The waste collected will then be broken down by microorganisms and turned into power, in a process called anaerobic digestion, the Daily Mail reported. Dog waste and biodegradable bag is thrown in an airtight 'methane digester'.

The mixture is stirred using hand crank to help methane rise to the top of tank.  When the tank fills up to the level of the outlet pipe and then overflows into the overflow tank, keeping the digester tank at a constant level, a small pipe coming off the digesterbrings the methane to a lamppost where it is burned.

One healthy intestine courtesy of a US transplant centre: $1,206,800. Having the same centre insert a new heart: $997,700. Opting for the heart/lung combo-pack: $1,248,400. Sharing your donor status on Facebook: priceless. Or so the social network, which on Tuesday added an organ donation status option to its timeline view, would have you believe.

More on the Guardian

The explosive powder, collected from an apartment here of an alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative, who carried out the July 13 triple blasts, was RDX
though it was not used to trigger explosions on the fateful day, a senior ATS official said today. 

A forensic report received by the Maharashtra ATS suggested that there was presence of RDX powder in the third floor apartment in Habib Building at Byculla, sources said. The triple blasts last year at Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar claimed 27 lives and left more than 130 people injured.

The ATS has so far arrested four IM operatives Haroon Naik, Naqi Ahmed Wasi Ahmed Sheikh, Nadeem Akhtar Ashfaq Sheikh and Kanwar Nain Wazeer Chand Patrija and invoked the stringent provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against them.

BJP and its NDA ally JD(U) today tried to patch up their differences on the Presidential candidate issue and the comments made by Leader of Opposition
in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj on Vice-President Hamid Ansari. Swaraj held a meeting with JD(U) President and NDA Convenor Sharad Yadav this morning in Parliament House to discuss the issue.

Sources said both parties have agreed to be silent on the issue till a meeting of the NDA is held and a final call is made on the presidential candidate. 

"What Swaraj had said was BJP's view. The matter had not been discussed with other NDA partners, including JD(U). A meeting of NDA will be held soon to discuss the matter," a senior BJP leader said.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad today opposed the government's policy of giving free accommodation to President and Vice-President after their retirement. 

"Candidates for President and Vice-President should give the undertaking that after retirement they would not claim free accommodation anywhere in the country," Lalu told reporters outside Parliament.

"We are following a wrong precedence...The public should not bear the burden of providing accommodation to President and Vice-President after their retirement...Ours is a poor country. We have not been able to provide even slum houses to poor people," he said. Currently, President and Vice-President get free accommodation post retirement. Now there is a demand for providing free accommodation to Speaker also as retirement benefit.

Also read: The disastrous presidency of Pratibha Devisingh Patil

Nupur Talwar was taken into judicial custody (Dasna jail, Ghaziabad) on Monday. That morning, Nupur Talwar had surrendered before the CBI Special Court after the Supreme Court directive ordering her to do so.

The court however refused to cancel the non-bailable warrant against her and she was packed off to Dasna jail at 4 pm.

Her lawyers applied for bail immediately, but she wasn't granted bail because according to the magistrate, the CBI special court has no jurisdiction to grant bail. Her lawyers then filed a petition before the sessions court, which refused to grant bail on May 1 and again, today.

This is what Subramanian Swamy writes on Sonia Gandhi on the party website.

Read

In the last 12 years, the three Services have lost 1,426 officers and men in incidents of suicides and fratricides, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

In written repply, Defence Minister A K Antony said 1,426 personnel have died in incidents of suicides and fratricides since 2000. The reply said that the Army, the largest of the three Services, registered over 1,150 deaths due to these incidents in he 12-year time frame.

It has lost 27 personnel in these incidents so far this year. Antony said the possible reasons for the soldiers committing these acts included stress and personal and financial problems. "The physical and mental well-being of personnel is factored in while planning deployment of personnel for counter-insurgency operations," he said.

On rediff.com, read Archana Masih's report: Salute that soldier at the LoC 

Even as efforts are on for the release of the kidnapped Sukma district collector, four police personnel were injured today when a group of Maoists allegedly opened fire at a police van in the neighbouring Dantewada district. 

One of the injured is reported to be critical. Chhattisgarh Additional Director General of Police (naxal operations) Ram Niwas said here today that while the team of policemen was patrolling in the weekly market held in the Bacheli area of Dantewada, some Maoists fired on their van. 

In retaliation, the policemen also opened fire, but the Naxals managed to flee. In the attack, an assistant police inspector, a constable, a police jawan and a Homeguard jawan were injured and the latter is reported to be critical.

Police in Gurgaon have confirmed a report of a 23-year-old Manipur woman being molested at her home. Police said that they registered a case after the unnamed victim contacted them. However, the police instead of lodging the complaint immediately, reportedly questioned her about why she lived with two male cousins in an apartment.

They said the victim had told them that she had forgotten to lock the door after entering her home. 

The victim claimed that the police unnecessarily questioned her about why she was staying with her cousin brothers. She confirmed that she was working in a shopping mall in Gurgaon and that the molestation had taken place on Monday.

A Pune court today gave its clearance for a polygraph test on seven policemen in connection with the murder of Right To Information activist Satish Shetty, who was murdered in 2010 in Pune. Shetty had exposed several land scams in the Talegaon-Lonavala region in Maharashtra, a favourite with realtors in the state, using RTI.

Satish was hacked to death by unidentified men in January 2010 in Talegoan after exposing corrupt land deals in and around the country's first expressway from Mumbai to Pune over a decade ago.

The Supreme Court's ruling on the requirement of previous sanction to prosecute soldiers accused of committing crimes may have clarified matters as far as the legal provisions of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act are concerned but for the families of the five innocent men who were killed in a fake encounter at Pathribal, Jammu and Kashmir, in March 2000, it is still not clear whether or not they will receive justice.

Read the opinion piece on the Hindu.

And news of General V K Singh. The Army Chief today reviewed the conduct of the ongoing exercise 'Shoor Veer' in Rajasthan's Humangarh and nearby regions. 

The Army Chief witnessed the exercise that entails the launch of theatre offensive by Sapta Shakti Command spearheaded by 1 Corps and Chetak Corps. 

The exercise displayed synergy of Army and Air Force in launching air-land battle and the capability to orchestrate battle in network centric environment with integration of reconnaissance, surveillance and electronic warfare and communication assets to provide real time battle and situational awareness of commanders.

Gen VK Singh will retire as army chief on May 31.

The Ghaziabad court rejected her bail plea saying she may "flee justice, tamper with evidence and her history of evading court appearances" also worked against her.

According to an NDTV report, this morning, as she waited for news on her bail application, Talwar was seen doing yoga at the prison. She also recited lines from the Gita, a copy of which she borrowed yesterday from the jail library.

She was heard telling other inmates that she is innocent and wants to help other prisoners who need legal counselling or medical assistance.

Her lawyers had argued for bail on the grounds that she is a women, has gone through significant trauma after Aarushi's death, and because the Supreme Court has granted bail to her husband, who is accused like her of murder, she should be given parity.

Nupur Talwar may have to spend 11 more days in jail since the Allahabad HC will hear a bail petition only 10 days after it is filed.

Nupur Talwar has been praying and reading religions scriptures in the Dasna jail and this morning she went on fast saying she would end it only if she was granted bail.

OK, another night in jail for Nupur Talwar. The Sessions Court has rejected her bail plea for the third time today. 

Nupur Talwar is an accused in double murders of her daughter Aarushi and servant Hemraj. She will now be applying for bail to the Allahabad in High Court. The court refused bail saying she may tamper with evidence.

The bail of her husband Rajesh Talwar ends on May 7 and the CBI wants him in custody as well.

More on the Osama death anniversary. A year after Osama bin Laden was killed by US Navy SEALS in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad, the world's number one terrorist is keeping busy tweeting from hell. Dozens of fake accounts were floated on Twitter shortly after bin Laden's death and ever since, there has been no stopping the updates and "fatwas" from "hell". 

"My ex-wife is talking to ABC News. This is even more disrespectful than the time she asked to look out a window...," read a tweet by a fake account operated by "Osama". 

Another one pronounces that "hot chocolate is haram". The descriptions of Osama on the many fake accounts are hilarious. One such account describes him as "former public enemy #1". 

One tweet on a fake account went: "...faked my own death, now travelling the world. Maybe I'm coming to your city! Check your local Al Qaeda branch!"

On other accounts, the messages are matter-of-fact: "I was the leader of Al Qaeda.  Now I'm dead" or "Those still alive can reach me at OsamaInHell" or "I was once the best terrorist of all time! Greatest ever at hide and seek!"Some other tweets read. "I may be dead...but life continues!!!" or "71% of the Earth is covered in oceans. So I may be anywhere!! (Remember that!)"

In other news, prominent Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has left the US embassy in Beijing, where he had sought shelter. Xinhua news agency said that he left "of his own volition". A US official said the had been taken to a medical facility in Beijing. The blind dissident escaped from hour arrest six days ago. Neither side had confirmed he was at the US embassy.

More on the bbc.

US President Barack Obama appears to be frustrated with Pakistan, which is reflected in his address to the nation from Afghanistan, an eminent American expert on South Asian issues said today. 

"The President's frustration with Pakistan and its lack of cooperation in Afghanistan came through in his remarks.  He said Pakistan should be part of the process to stabilise Afghanistan," said Lisa Curtis of The Heritage Foundation. 

She was commenting after the US President delivered his remarks from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan marking the first death anniversary of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. 

"I have made it clear to Afghanistan's neighbour -- Pakistan -- that it can and should be an equal partner in this process in a way that respects Pakistan's sovereignty, interests and democratic institutions.

In pursuit of a durable peace, America has no designs beyond an end to al-Qaeda safe-havens, and respect for Afghan sovereignty," Obama said.

Update on the Aarushi murder case. Mother and accused Nupur Talwar is on fast in Dasna jail till orders for her bail are passed. This morning, her husband Rajesh met her in jail, where she has already spent two nights.  

In Parliament today, against the backdrop of controversy over Tatra truck deal, the government today told the Rajya Sabha the purchases were made as per the requirement raised by defence forces and action will be taken if any wrongdoing was detected in the ongoing CBI probe. "We are clean...we have nothing to hide, nothing to fear," Defence Minister A K Antony said, replying to queries related to Tatra truck deals.

He said the government has ordered an extensive and comprehensive CBI enquiry in the matter and hoped the country's premier investigation agency would complete the probe as quickly as possible. Antony said action would be taken and he would give extensive reply on the matter during a debate on the working of Defence Ministry in the House.

As we promised, more stories on the Osama assassination.

Pakistani doctor Shakeel Afridi, who helped the CIA to gather information about Osama bin Laden through a fake vaccination program also assisted in the final confirmation of the terror leader's hideout in Abbottabad, it has emerged.  

Dr Afridi angered Pakistan's military authorities by helping the CIA organise a fake vaccination program to extract DNA from inside the bin Laden compound in Abbottabad.  

The program failed, but Dr. Afridi provided another vital clue, Pakistani intelligence officials told The London Times.  

According to the New York Post, Dr. Afridi obtained a telephone number for, and spoke to the compound's putative owner, Abu Ahmed al Kuwaiti, who was bin Laden''s right-hand man.

Update on the release of the Italian ship Enrica Lexie: The apex court has allowed the four marines and six crew members on board to leave Indian shores alongwith the vessel. Italian government and the vessel owner assure SC that the marines and crew members will be available when required by Indian legal authorities.

The SC also directs the owner of the vessel to execute a bond of Rs 3 crore before Registrar General of Kerala High Court and says its order won't affect investigations and prosecution in the case of the killing of two Indian fishermen.

Milind Deora @milinddeora The adage that the media can make/break someone may be true not only for individuals, but movements too.

Pragmatic_desi @pragmatic_d :( RT @ANI_news Maoists ambush a police patrol in Bacheli, Chhattisgarh. 5 policemen seriously injured.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev today courted yet another controversy by saying that murderers, looters and illiterate people are sitting in Parliament. He tried to temper the remark saying there were some good people and he respected them.

This of course ensured MPs across party lines united against Ramdev.

Congress leader Jagdambika Pal hit out at Ramdev and said, "It's against India's parliamentary ethics. It's like character assassination of parliamentarians."

BJP senior leader Yashwant Sinha hit out at Ramdev saying, "He has no right to hit out democracy." 

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said, "Ramdev is frustrated and a mental case."

Congress' S Chaturvedi said, "We don't need certificates from fake babas."

Earlier, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal also made similar comments against parliamentarians.

The Congress is likely to move a privilege motion against Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj for her comments against vice president Hamid Ansari questioning his stature to become President.

Congress MPs have expressed their anger over Sushma's remarks. Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, who took initiative in outlining the BJP's strategy on the President election, her pronouncements failed to go down well even with the NDA partners.

Swaraj on Monday had asserted that the BJP will not support any Congress-backed candidate for the President's post and hinted at support for APJ Abdul Kalam as a consensus candidate. Read more here

Our Delhi sources also tell us that the Press Information Bureau (PIB) for the first time, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rajya Sabha TV for official coverage of PIB briefings.

For regional TV network, Rajya Sabha will upload the feed of videos free of cost. This is a new venture, but interestingly Lok Sabha TV levies fees for uploading the Union Budget speech from its LS TV on footage basis. Competition is now tough between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV

There are several reasons why Pranab Mukherjee has lost the enthusiasm he had for the President's job in 2007.

Diptosh Majumdar in the DNA tells you why:

He has become more immersed in governance and may find a passive stint in Rashtrapati Bhavan simply too boring.

Secondly, he knows that even if there is early speculation about his being in the race, the Congress leadership may finally deny him the opportunity to be a candidate. Mukherjee realises that he is a politician of immense experience and nobody trusts such a person for fear of dealing with a politically active Rashtrapati Bhavan on a day-to-day basis. The bitter experience which former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had during the tenure of a combative President Giani Zail Singh taught the ruling parties a lesson. They have become averse to nominating influential politicians for the huge assignment.

Thirdly and more importantly, Mukherjee is aware that though he is widely respected across parties and has established a good relationship with a large number of senior politicians including those of regional parties, it may not be easy to put together the required number.

In other news, shares of Bharti airtel rose by over 2 per cent in the morning trade today even as the company posted a decline of 28.19 per cent in consolidated net income for the fourth quarter ended March 31. The scrip started the day on a bullish note and further gained 2.25 per cent to Rs 317.30 on the BSE. At the NSE, the stock gained 1.37 per cent to Rs 312.55.

Bharti Airtel today reported a decline of 28.19 per cent in consolidated net income at Rs 1,006 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, hit by higher cost of 3G licence fee amortisation, 3G interest costs, forex losses and tax
provisions. 

The country's largest telecom operator had registered a net profit of Rs 1,401 crore in the January-March quarter of the previous fiscal.

Filmmaker, writer, illustrator, graphic designer and music composer, Satyajit Ray would have turned 92 today. Here's what Twitter has on him.    

sujoy ghosh @sujoy_g  happy birthday to satyajit ray. thank you for teaching me to imagine..  

Agnivo ' @Aagan86 Satyajit Ray gifted Indian cinema, two most talented female actors - Sharmila Tagore and Aparna Sen - Debi & Samapti

Sohini @Mittermaniac "Whatever I imagined thousand times and dreamt, Satyajit Ray had laboured hard to make it neatly" - Ritwik Ghatak

More Obama-Osama stories coming up. But first an update on the race for the presidential polls in India:

The BJP has denied a rift with its ally, Nitish Kumar, over who to back in the election for President of India, reports NDTV.com. 

But sources close to Mr Kumar say that he has hardened his stand over the remarks of BJP leader Sushma Swaraj.  Earlier this week, Swaraj said that the BJP will not support Hamid Ansari, currently vice-president of the country, because he lacks the stature to provoke political consensus as a candidate.  

More

More on Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan: Strategic analyst B Raman on how Al Qaeda has been weakened, but not decimated. Read

Yesterday, United States President Barack Obama signed a landmark strategic partnership agreement strengthening post-war ties with Kabul after 2014 when American combat forces return home.

The 10-page long-term agreement pledges US support for Afghanistan for a decade after 2014, when North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces are planning to conclude their combat role. Obama, who arrived in Kabul in the middle of the night on Tuesday called the agreement "a historic moment for our two nations." "I'm here to affirm the bond between our two countries and to thank Americans and Afghans who have sacrificed so much over these last ten years."

More on rediff.com

Suicide blast in Kabul after Obama leaves; 6 killed (Indian Express)
The car bomb exploded, hours after US President left Kabul following an unannounced visit. Read

Aarushi case: Court to decide on Nupur Talwar's bail plea today (Hindustan Times)
Nupur Talwar, the mother of murdered teenager Aarushi, spent another night in jail as a special court in Ghaziabad on Tuesday reserved till Wednesday its order on her bail plea in the double murder case. Read

To support Congress candidate, Mamata may bargain for bailout (Indian Express)
Trinamool is holding its cards close to its chest on the presidential election issue. Read

Soldiers yet to get bulletproof vests, ballistic helmets (The Times of India)
Soldiers currently are saddled with heavy, ineffective jackets and helmets, which greatly restrict their mobility during counter-insurgency and other operations. Read

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to have new look soon? (The Times of India)
For the last six months or so, it is the mane growing at Modi's back which is catching the eye as he curls up a tuft enough to make a pony-tail. Read