Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama today received the prestigious 1.1 million pound Templeton Prize here and announced that most of the prize money will go to 'Save the Children' fund in India. 

Speaking at the St Paul's Cathedral where he received the prize, 76-year-old Dalai Lama said that most of the prize money will go to the 'Save the Children' fund in India, with smaller bequests to a science and religion group which is studying the effects of Buddhist practice and to a project to train Buddhist monks as scientists. 

About 900,000 pounds will go to 'Save the Children', an Indian NGO that works for child rights, with 125,000 pounds set aside for 'The Minds and Life Institute', a US based  non-profit organisation. Money will also go towards a fund to educate Tibetan monks about science.

Three months after the income tax department conducted searches on his businesses, liquor baron Ponty Chadha is said to have reported Rs 175 crore of
'undisclosed' income to the department. 

"The business group has admitted an undisclosed income of Rs 175 crore and further tax related proceedings are on," official sources said. The IT department has begun the process of collecting tax on the concealed income after it recently got the challans (receipts) deposited after the raids from the business entities of Chadha, the sources said.

Also read: How Ponty Chadha mixed power, politics and alcohol

Update on the Air India strike which is a week-old now.

The government today refused to hold talks with the agitating pilots till they resumed work, as harried passengers got no respite with 14 international flights being cancelled.

"As the pilots are not ready to call-off their strike and join work, we have cancelled 14 international flights from Delhi and Mumbai," an Air India official said. Hundreds of passengers were stranded following the flight cancellations. 

The pilots, who are on strike since Tuesday, are not ready to relent from their stand until their demands are met. They have also refused to accept Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh's call to come to the negotiating table after withdrawing their strike.

Yeddy says Arun Jaitley is the only BJP leader at the national level. He says the the CM, Sadananda Gowda and the BJP state president Ananth Kumar have no face to meet MLAs.

Yeddyurappa says he has temporarily postponed his decision to resign from the assembly membership. "I am not qutting for now," he says. "I have not dropped my demands, just postponed them," says Yeddy. He says he was forced to quit as CM by Ananth Kumar (BJP state president) and his followers.

Also read on rediff.com: Jaitley brokers peace in K'taka; Yeddyurappa falls in line

Yeddyurappa says there has been many allegations against him and he has spoken to the Speaker about it. He reiterates that Karnataka CM Sadananda Gowda and state president Ananth Kumar have insulted him. Yeddy says Gowda cannot govern and Ananth Kumar is trying to be the chief minister.

Pictured: Sadananda Gowda during his swearing-in ceremony as Karnataka CM 

@abhijitmajumder ND Tiwari will be that rare case in which the nurse comes out of the room and screams, 'It's a dad!'  

See our 11:46 am post for the context: ND Tiwari gets 2 days to give blood sample or else!

Global credit ratings firm Moody's today downgraded the country's three largest private sector lenders -- ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank -- to D+ from C- to align them with the sovereign rating. As a result, the hybrid debt ratings of these banks, except HDFC Bank, will be negatively impacted.

Two stories on the Times of India: At the Sarna Secondary School in Ranchi, teachers who think of the welfare of students and not their salary. The teachers get only Rs 50 per month as salary since the school was set up in 1970.  Read

A government-aided high school at Taranari in Red-hit Chandrapura block is now talk of the town for producing district toppers in the Class X Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) examination.  Read

Update on the Nagaland visit story. The home ministry today sent a secret note to the Ministry of External Affairs questioning the visit by eight envoys of European nations visting Nagaland without security clearance. The note questions how the team can be treated as state guests without security clerance.

As many as 177 Indians will participate in Fulbright programme of the US-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) this year, which is aimed at promoting
mutual understanding between people of the two countries, the foundation said here. 

The scholars, hailing from various cities across India, will pursue Fulbright projects in the US during the 2012-13 academic year in a variety of disciplines, including agriculture, economics, education, energy, environment, international relations, management and leadership development, media and communications, public administration, public health and science and technology, it said.

The USIEF is hosting a pre-departure orientation for the Fulbright scholars in Hyderabad from May 13-15. 

Refusing to quash batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar's nomination to the Rajya Sabha, the Supreme Court asked petitioner Ram Gopal Singh Sisodia, a former Delhi MLA to rather approach the high court with his plea. 

The petitioner had challenged the nomination on the ground that Sachin was not entitled to nomination as Article 80 prescribes that only persons of eminence in the fields of art, literature and science are to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

Read the opinion piece on the Hindu: Sachin and Rajya Sabha

Former Yahoo chief executive Scott Thompson has disclosed to colleagues that he has thyroid cancer, according to a report.  

According to a Wall Street Journal report, sources familiar with the matter said Thompson, 54, disclosed the disease to the company''s board of directors and several colleagues last week, prior to his resignation.  

The Journal quoted a person, as saying that the decision to step down from Yahoo was in part influenced by Thompson''s cancer diagnosis, News.com.au reports.  

According to another source, Thompson is beginning treatment for the cancer, and he does not want to discuss his illness publicly.  

Thompson reportedly resigned after a controversy over a fake computer science college degree on his biography broke out.

A meeting of emerging economic heavyweights in New Delhi earlier this year received generous press coverage. The so-called BRICS countries '" Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa '" pledged to expand mutual trade and discussed the possibility of a new development agency to balance the Western-dominated global financial system. Read

Rishang Keishing, 91, sat as a member in India's first Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, in 1952. Sixty years later he sits in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament. As India's Parliament celebrates its 60th anniversary, Mr. Keishing is the only person in India to hold that distinction.

More on the NYT

The Indian Parliament celebrated its 60th anniversary on Sunday, with a daylong special session that included addresses by the prime minister and president of the country. During the special session, which ran more than five hours, speaker after speaker narrated the achievements of and challenges to Indian democracy.

More on the NYT

Almost 10 days after a speeding BMW in Gurgaon took the life of Kshama Chopraand left members of her family severely injured, the Gurgaon police is yet to make headway in the case.

Read more on the WSJ

The CBI today served summons on Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy
issued by a court last week seeking his appearance in an alleged illegal assets case. A team of CBI officials personally served the summons to YSR Congress leader Jagan in Yemmiganur town of Kurnool district, where he was campaigning for the next month's by-elections for his party candidate.

Jagan, son of late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, has been directed to appear in person or through his lawyer before the principal special judge for CBI cases in Hyderabad on May 28.

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai on May 12, is now stable and will be discharged this evening, doctor said. "He is fine and there are no complications. He had come for a regular check up and was admitted due to his chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and heart-related routine checkups", chest physician at Lilavati, Dr Jalil Parkar said.

"There are certain checkups which needed to be done in the hospital for which he was admitted", Dr Parkar said. "He will be discharged at 4:30 pm", the doctor added.

More neighbourhood news: India is likely to thin out troops from wartime positions on the border with Pakistan, where they were deployed after the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, according to a media report on Monday.

Read the report on rediff.com

China today dismissed the Dalai Lama's allegations of China training women agents to kill him. Chinese state-run media today accused him of playing an
"insidious trick" and plotting "more separatist acts" ahead of this year's Communist Party meeting to elect new leadership.

"If the central government wanted to eliminate the Dalai Lama, why has it waited for such a long time? Isn't it foolish to take action against Dalai at such an old age?" state-run Global Times daily said in its editorial titled 'Dalai assassination claims mind boggling'.

"Some believe he is playing an insidious trick. He could use his claims as an excuse for any diseases he has in the future. Even if he dies of a normal illness, the speculation would be that he was poisoned," it said. 

"This claim by the Dalai Lama has no credibility, not only because there is no benefit for Chinese agents to poison him, but also because of the fact that since the establishment of People's Republic China the country has never assassinated its political opponents in exile. China won't change its practice and principles for the Dalai," it said. 

Dalai Lama fears 'Chinese poison plot' to kill him'

Parliament at 60: Pardon us, MPs, but your slip is showing.

A commentary on the 60th anniversary of the first sitting of Parliament. On the Firstpost.com

And here is everything that happened in Parliament yesterday. On rediff.com

Two young Indian girls were lucky to survive the Nepalese airliner crash today near high-altitude Jomsom airport in northern Nepal, being among the six
who were rescued alive from the debris of the ill-fated plane. The girls aged 6 and 9 were among three Indian survivors of the crash in which the Dronier aircraft got buried after hitting a mountain peak straddling the airport. "The girls are conscious and out of danger," Indian Embassy spokesperson Apoorva Srivastav said. 

The third survivor, she said, was a 45-year-old man. It was not clear whether the parents of the young girls survived. The girls and the man were part of a group of Indian pilgrims apparently from the South who were overtaken by ill
fate on their way to a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Muktinath.

"We are in touch with few of the relatives of the families," she said, adding that the control room number has been circulated and people have been contacting us. Sixteen people, most of them Indians, died in the crash.

Any employer owning helicopters and looking to hire a pilot would hesitate to pick Capt. Barun Gupta for the job. On April 19 last year, Capt. Gupta crashlanded a Pawan Hans MI-172 helicopter at Tawang. 

While preparing to land on the mountain-top helipad, the chopper hit the helipad's concrete edge, toppled over and caught fire. Seventeen people, including three crew members, died in the crash.

Read more on the Daily Mail

Chidambaram, who smiling through the debate on Aircel-Maxis, then made an emotional appeal saying, "Don't question my integrity. It would be much simpler if somebody took a dagger and plunged it into my heart than questioning my integrity.

"I have no problem if you wish to look into the accounts of Advantage Strategic Consulting and Aircel. Please go ahead. I will myself convey to the Finance Minister," Chidambaram told Jaitley.

Home Minister P Chidambaram today mounted a defence against allegations that his son Karthi benefited from the Aircel-Maxis deal. He said that the firm his son works for only provided consultancy. Chidamabram said he's open to a probe and denied any member of his family has any connection with Aircel or Maxis.

Chidambaram said the promoters of Osbridge do know the promoters of Advantage Consultancy. "Questions are being raised about transactions in 2005-2006 when Advantage raised a bill, for providing Aircel consultancy services," he said.

On his son's role, he said "My son had made a Rs 1.8 lakh investment in Osbridge and then had sold those shares to his friend and partner." "My family has stated that they do not own any share in any telecom company any time, indirectly or directly. We have no connection with any telecom company. Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd has categorically stated that it owns no equity in Aircel or Global Communications," the Home Minister said, while making a statement in Rajya Sabha.

Is the Nyoma incident, where a group of army officers allegedly thrashed a jawan for alleged misbehaviour and then defied their commanding officer, an aberration? Or is the matter more serious than what the army is making it out to be? Colonel Anil Athale (retd) explains the origins of this Dabangg-giri.

That's the must-read on rediff.com 

External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has expressed grief and sadness over the death of 13 Indians who were killed in an aircrash in north -central Nepal this morning.

"I am deeply saddened to hear about the tragic air crash that occurred earlier this morning near Jomsom airport in Nepal. I would like to convey my deep condolences to the families of all those who have lost their lives in this accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of all those who have lost their near and dear ones. I hope that the Almighty will grant them strength to bear their loss with fortitude,' Krishna said in a statement.

The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu has set up 24- hour helplines to convey information about the crash. The helpline numbers are 0097714423702 and 0097714410900 (Ext. 4109).

Fifteen people including 13 Indians were killed when the Dornier 228 aircraft with 21 on board, including 16 Indians, crashed near Jomsong airport in Nepal. The aircraft belonging to Agni Air, a private carrier, was on its way from the tourist town of Pokhara.

The six people injured including two children, two Danish nationals and the flight stewardess were airlifted to Pokhara where they have admitted to the Manipal College of Medical Sciences.

Earlier today, the Ghaziabad Sessions Court adjourned the hearing of the Aarushi- Hemraj double murder case while asking the CBI to hand over a CD and other related documents to Talwars.

Nupur and Rajesh Talwar are demanding the call details of Krishna, Rajkumar and Vijay Mandal, who were initially arrested in the case. The couple also wants the statements of the police officers who have investigated the case. The CBI has given the statement of Data Ram Nanoria, the first investigating officer in the case, to Talwars.

The couple had asked for call records and narco analysis tests of Krishna as well. The judge made no mention of it in the order. The trial had commenced in the lower court on Friday, four years after sensational double murder, but the court deferred its decision on the plea after the CBI strongly objected to it. 

Just in: Nupur Talwar files her bail plea in the Allahabad High Court. Nupur's lawyers had given a notice to the CBI at least 11 days ago. Nupur has been in the Dasna jail since April 30.

Last week in Parliament, the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2012 was introduced in Raja Sabha on May 7, 2012 by Salman Khurshid, Minister of Law and Justice. 

The Bill has been referred to the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice on May 9, 2012. 

Details on that bill

The normally unruffled home minister gets emotional in Parliament over the Aircel-Maxis deal as Arun Jaitley reads out the balance sheet that shows loans and advances given to Aircel.

Jaitley says the party does not accept the theory of consultancy. Chidambaram maintains that the family has no connection with any telecom company nor does the family hold any shares. In the empassioned debate, Chidambaram says, "It would be simpler to put a dagger into my heart than question my integrity."

The Rajya Sabha has now been adjourned for a one-hour lunch break.

What do you get when you mix equal parts of fantastic oratory and the razor-sharp mind of a lawyer and a seasoned politician?

You get the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha -- Arun Jaitley.

The Parliament debate on right now is a treat to watch.

This is the second time Chidambaram is being forced to clarify on the Aircel-Maxis deal.

Union minister P Chidambaram is being targetted over the sale of telecom Aircel in 2006 to a company from Malaysia named Maxis. The BJP's Arun Jaitley said there appeared to be "doubtful clearance" of the deal. 

Last week, Chidambaram, read out a statement refuting allegations that his son, Karti, benefited financially from the deal through his father's position as then Finance Minister.

Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy has alleged that Chidambaram delayed permission for the sale of Aircel so that his son could invest in the telecom and benefit from Maxis' acquisition of the company. 

Like Thursday, Chidambaram today said no member of his family owns a stake in either Aircel or Maxis. However, the din/uproar etc., in the house was many decibels lower than Thursday's session. Chidambaram was actually seen smiling and shaking his head when Jaitley was speaking today. 

Remains to be seen whether Parliament will be adjourned today. In the Lok Sabha the Opposition is gunning for HRD minister Kapil Sibal's head over the NCERT textbook Ambedkar cartoon controversy.

In the Rajya Sabha, Home minister P Chidambaram is explaining his stand on the Aircel-Maxis deal.

It will be real shame if proceedings are disrupted or the session adjourned in the wake of this resolution passed yesterday on the historic 60th anniversary of the first sitting of Parliament. Read

Great read on Bloomberg on the shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo:

In 1907, Bonito, Italy, 9-year-old Salvatore Ferragamo could often be found intently watching the town cobbler tan leather skins, cut patterns, shape them around a wooden foot-shaped "last' and stitch the pieces together. This did not amuse his father: Respectable people did not make shoes. Then fate changed the story. More

A new stealth frigate and naval base are the latest signs of India's maritime ambitions. But can India's Navy become more self-reliant?

Read the report on the Diplomat.

No fresh new on the Nepal plane crash as yet, though TV channels continue to push it as Breaking News.

Read this report on reuters, in the meanwhile:

Kolkata's red-brick secretariat was built more than 200 years ago for Britain's East India Company, which used trade in opium, cloth and tea to colonize the subcontinent.

Distrust of foreign merchants lingers still. For the past year, the sprawling building has been occupied by Mamata Banerjee, the diminutive chief minister of West Bengal state who is perhaps the largest obstacle to economic reforms that would allow 21st-century traders free access to India's consumer markets.

More

In other news, the judicial commission probing the Abbottabad raid which killed Osama Bin Laden last year, is hoping to schedule a 'meeting' with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to 'record his statement' before concluding its report, a top official has revealed.

"The commission will send a formal request to the premier to have a meeting with its members when he comes back from his London trip,' an official privy to the Abbottabad Commission proceedings told The Express Tribune.

Just in: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee says no political cartoons will be allowed in textbooks herewith and action will be taken against all involved.

All objectionable material will be removed in textbooks, says Pranab.

That's the announcement, just made, by the fin min in Parliament. Pranab says those books with cartoons will not be prescribed as textbook and all school textbooks will be scanned before it is released for publication.

This comes in the wake of the Babasaheb Ambedkar cartoon controversy. On Friday, the Ministry for Human Resource Development ordered the removal of the cartoon from the NCERT textbooks in which they were printed. The decision by the ministry came even as proceedings in Parliament were disrupted over the cartoon in Standard XI textbooks drawn in the 1940s by cartoonist Shankar.

The former Karnataka chief minister is expected to unveil his plan after holding a meeting with his supporting MLAs, reports Vicky Nanjappa.

Read the report on rediff.com

The former Karnataka chief minister is expected to unveil his plan after holding a meeting with his supporting MLAs, reports Vicky Nanjappa.

Read the report on rediff.com

In other news:

The political crisis in the ruling BJP in Karnataka today loomed large with rebel leader and former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa deciding to take a final call on his future political course by this evening. 

"I will consult MPs, MLAs and my supporters today and announce my decision by 4 PM", Yeddyurappa, who has been fuming at BJP central leadership for "ignoring" him, particularly after the Supreme Court order for a CBI probe into illegal mining during his tenure as chief minister.

Yeddyurappa, who visited Siddganga mut pontiff Shivakumara Swamiji of the Lingayat community to which he belongs, attacked BJP General Secretary H N Anantkumar, State unit chief K S Eshwarappa, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda and RSS leader Satish. 

He accused Anantkumar of "feeding malicious information" about him to BJP leader L K Advani. "Anantkumar made efforts to topple me from the Chief Ministership at least thrice earlier with the help of mine
owners", Yeddyurappa alleged.

Updates on the Nepal plane crash: Three of the 16 Indians, who survived are critical. Two are children and one is believed to be elderly.

"The plane was about to land at Jomsom airport. It hit a muddy slope and the plane is now buried in the side of the hill," police spokesman Binod Singh told the AFP news agency.

A BBC report says that aviation accidents involving small aircraft are not uncommon in mountainous Nepal. Last year 19 people were killed when a plane carrying tourists to view Mount Everest crashed outside Kathmandu.

Just in: The Delhi High Court grants two days time to Congress leader N D Tiwari to inform the court whether he wants to give blood sample voluntarily in a paternity suit. The court also restrains Tiwari from leaving the country till he
gives the blood sample for a DNA test.

The Delhi high court heard a plea for taking the blood sample of veteran Congress leader ND Tiwari forcibly for his DNA test to decide the paternity suit of Rohit Shekhar, who claims to be his biological son.

Nearly a fortnight after the court asked Tiwari to  give his blood sample for a DNA test to decide the paternity suit. Shekhar had moved the court last week for forcibly taking his blood sample for the test.

We will get you more updates on the Nepal plane crash as we get them.

A sessions court in Ghaziabad is likely to give its order on the plea of dentist couple Nupur and Rajesh Talwar for providing them all the CBI documents pertaining to the twin murder case of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj.  

The CBI counsel RK Saini had told the court that the agency had provided all relevant documents to them and has withheld only those on which it is not relying for the couple's prosecution.

The judge first orally asked the CBI to give all the documents to the Talwars "for the sake of justice". Later, he fixed May 14 as the next date of hearing of the case to give a formal order on the plea after the couple gave an application to the court seeking the documents.

Sky News says police spokesman Binod Singh said the Agni Air plane crashed into a hill near Jomsom. He said there were 18 passengers and three crew members on board.

"It's a remote area so there is no telephone network but we fear there may be many deaths," Singh said. Of those on board the plane, sixteen passengers were Indian and two Westerners. Jomsom is about about 200 kilometres north west of the capital, Kathmandu.

This means that rescue will be difficult. Reports also say the Nepalese army and rescue teams are at the spot.

This is what the news agency PTI has on this story. 

The figures on board, according to PTI, is 19. TV reports maintain the there were 21 people on board. These 19, says PTI, includes one pilot. Four Indians are among the dead. 

TV reports say when the Dornier aircraft could not land at Jomsom, it turned around and flew towards Pokhara, but crashed near Jomsom. The plane belongs to a local airline company, Agni.

So far, there are just seven survivors of the total of 21 on board. Of those seven, three are Indians. Yes, the total number of passengers on board are 21. Like we said, figures will change; these are early reports.

The police say the plane crashed while trying to land at the airport. Early reports say the Dornier aircraft couldn't land possibly because of bad weather, but there are no confirmed reports on it. There were 12 Indians on board says the Indian embassy in Nepal, of which five were rescued. There are three Indians among the four survivors.

The figures mentioned above are likely to change because these are still early reports.