A powerful bomb went off in a shop selling DVDs and mobile phones in the restive Orakzai tribal region of northwest Pakistan today, killing at least 12 people and injuring over 20 others, officials said.        

The bomb exploded in the shop in a market in Kalaya, the main town of Orakzai Agency, officials of the local political administration said. Initial reports had said the bomb went off near a security check post. Some officials said the attack targeted a group of Ferozkhel tribesmen who are opposed to the Taliban.        

The tribesmen had gathered in the area after Friday prayers. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. In the past, the Taliban have targeted shops selling music and movies, which they have declared "un-Islamic".         The injured were taken to nearby hospitals. Two shops were destroyed by the blast while several more were damaged.

A school teacher was today arrested on the charge of raping a 14-year-old girl student in Pullampeta village of Andhra Pradesh's Kadapa district, police said.    

The accused, Nageshwar Rao, had been harassing the class-IX student of the government school for the past three months and recently raped her in his house, according to the police.         

The girl told her parents about the incident yesterday, following which the complaint was filed with Rajampet Rural Police station.         

Local residents thrashed the teacher before police took him into custody. The accused has been suspended from service.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today accused the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh of not fulfilling its poll promises and regretted that he was not able to do enough for the state as it did not have a Congress government.    

"The Samajwadi Party which came to power making tall promises failed to fulfil them," he said during his road shows and road meetings in his Lok Sabha constituency Amethi on the second and last day of his two-day visit.    

He asked people of the constituency whether they had got laptops, tablets, kanya vidhyadhan, unemployment allowance and loan waiver as promised by the ruling party during election.    

When they replied in the negative, Rahul said SP and BSP governments have not taken care of the people of the state and did not pay enough attention on development.    

The Congress leader said that since his party did not have its government in UP, it was like one hand was empty. "We are doing only as much as we can do with one hand... supplying power is not the work of the central government," he said, adding that all these things can be done only when there is a Congress government in the state. "We have to work towards having it in Lucknow," he said.

Karnataka today decided to file a petition before the Supreme Court seeking a review of its order directing the state to release 2.44 tmc ft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, citing depleted water storage level.   

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of floor leaders of both the Houses of the legislature convened by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar to discuss the situation arising out of the apex court's directive yesterday on water release.  

State's Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters that the review petition was likely to be moved on February 11.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has deferred his visit to Nagaland and Tripura to campaign for the Congress in the assembly elections slated for February 23 and February 14 respectively.      

Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee president S I Jamir told PTI that the proposed visit of the Prime Minister to Kohima has been deferred but could not confirm the date of his next visit.      

Congress sources here also said that the proposed visit of All India Congress Committee vice president Rahul Gandhi to Mon and Tuensang districts of the state on February 14 has also not been confirmed as of date.   

NPCC which has been in the opposition for the last one decade is trying hard to woo the electorate by bringing in several central leaders.

Kader Khan has become the latest celeb victim of an internet hoax as social networking sites were abuzz today with rumours about the actor's demise.          Rumours gained traction when a 'RIP Kader Khan' Facebook page was made, after which many took to micro-blogging site Twitter to pass on their condolences.         

However, there was a debate online as some believed the reports to be frivolous. "Kader Khan the legendary Bollywood actor, comedian, script and dialogue writer and director passed away today. May his soul rest in peace!," posted one user and there were several other tweets in the same vein.          But the air was cleared sooner rather than later.         

Balaji Motion Pictures CEO Tanuj Garg said, "Kader Khan is fine. Why then are people bombarding my inbox with bad news?" Another user tweeted, "Twitter & Facebook should be screened to stop hoax, pranks and rumors. Lamers here just killed a healthy legend. #Kader Khan is alive."

Image: Screenshot of FB page 'RIP Kader Khan'

Jailed Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi, his elder brother Asaduddin and four other party MLAs appeared before a court in Sangareddy today in an eight-year-old case of 'preventing' government officials from doing their duties.        

While Akbaruddin, who is lodged in the Adilabad district jail in connection with the Nirmal 'hate speech' case was brought by police to Sangareddy town and produced before the court, his elder brother Asaduddin and other MIM legislators presented themselves before the court.        

The Owaisi brothers had filed a review petition in court on February 6, contending that they were not directly involved in obstructing officials and their names were unnecessarily being dragged into the case.        

The judicial magistrate court had examined the Owaisi brothers and the four party MLAs on January 28. As the petition was still pending, counsels of the Owaisis sought postponement of the matter, after which the court adjourned the case to February 22.  

AP: Car bombs struck two outdoor markets and a group of taxi vans in Shiite areas across Iraq today, killing at least 36 people and wounding nearly 100 in the bloodiest day in more than two months, as minority Sunnis staged mass anti-government protests in a sign of mounting sectarian tensions.        

Tens of thousands of Sunni protesters rallied in five major cities against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite accused of monopolising power. Sunni protest leaders have rejected a recent call by an Al Qaeda-linked group in Iraq to take up arms against the government, but there is concern militants are trying to exploit the discontent.        

In the city of Samarra, rally speaker Sheik Mohammed Jumaa sent a warning to the prime minister. "Stop tyranny and oppression," he said. "We want our rights. You will witness what other tyrants have witnessed before you."        

In the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi in the western Anbar province, demonstrators blocked the main highway to Jordan while rallies were held in the cities of Mosul and Tikrit.        

Earlier today, suspected Sunni insurgents detonated five car bombs, killing at least 37 people and wounding 97, health and police officials said.        

Today's bombings targeted an outdoor pet market in Baghdad's northern Kazimyah neighbourhood, a vegetable market in the town of Shomali in Hillah province, south of the Iraqi capital, and a stand for taxi vans on the edge of the southern city of Karbala.  

Image: An Iraqi resident stands near burnt vehicles after a car bomb attack in Baghdad's Kadhimiya district, on Friday  Photograph: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters

Modi spent the next two hours with Steiner and his other guests ambassadors of all countries in the European Union. Over lunch, he faced some "tough" questions on the 2002 riots in Gujarat, and he answered them all patiently. He also told the envoys about his model of governance, and his ideas for India.