The European Union has regretted the hanging of the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, asking India to put a moratorium on executions. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said it was with "regret" that she learned of the execution of Afzal Guru last Saturday.         

 

While recognising that "terrible murders" were committed in the attack and aware of the sufferings of the victims and their families, the EU "reiterates its principled opposition to the death penalty under all circumstances", Baroness Ashton said in a press statement.         

 

Afzal had been on a death row during the last ten years since he was convicted in December, 2002 for playing a central role in the attack on the Parliament on December 13, 2001 that left nine people dead.         

 

His execution at the Tihar Jail in New Delhi last Saturday comes less than three months after Ajmal Kasab, the only survivor among the perpetrators of the terror strike in Mumbai in 2008, was hanged in November.

An all-party delegation from Karnataka would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday to apprise him of the state's position on the Cauvery issue.    The announcement to take a delegation of floor leaders of both Houses of the state legislature to New Delhi was made by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar in the assembly today.  

 

The BJP government has been facing fire from opposition Congress and JD-S for releasing Cauvery water in compliance with the February seven order of the Supreme Court.   

 

The apex court had directed Karnataka to immediately release 2.44 TMC feet of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu whose plea for 12 TMC ft was refused.  

HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju, who was minister of state for defence when the deal for procuring 12 choppers from Italian firm Finmeccanica was signed in 2010, today said he can vouch for the integrity of former IAF chief S P Tyagi, whose name has surfaced in the scam.        

Lawyers N D Pancholi and Nandita Haksar have withdrawn as counsel to the family of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was hanged at Tihar Jail on Saturday morning.

Four Maoists were arrested in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh today, said the police.        

It was a cricket match with a difference -- two teams on the pitch at Tihar Jail and cricketer Virender Sehwag cheering them up.        

SEBI has also ordered that bank accounts of top executives, including Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy, be frozen in connection to the investor money refund case.     

SEBI has reportedly frozen all the bank accounts of two firms of the Sahara Group, their promoters and three directors.

Air pollution is the fifth largest killer in India as it takes 6.2 lakh lives per year. Delhi is among one of the five most critically polluted regions in the country, a study by a US-based health institute has claimed.        

The Congress-NCP alliance today hit out at MNS president Raj Thackeray over his speech at Kolhapur, saying he provides "free entertainment" and should take up mimicry.     

Looking tired but serene, Pope Benedict XVI told the thousands who gathered for his weekly audience that he was resigning for "the good of the church" an extraordinary scene that unfolded in his first appearance since dropping the bombshell announcement. 

Britain summoned North Korea's ambassador today after the pariah state sparked global fury with its third nuclear test, the Foreign Office said. 

Six journalists, including three women of the erstwhile News of the World tabloid owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch were arrested today by Scotland Yard over allegations of phone hacking. 

A PIL was today filed in the Supreme Court seeking an apex-court monitored probe by a special investigation team or the Chief Vigilance Commission into the alleged kickbacks in the Rs 3600 crore VVIP chopper deal. 

The Karnataka government today appointed former chief justice of Karnataka High Court Justice (retired) Y Bhaskar Rao as the Lokayukta, a post lying vacant since September 2011.    

India is in touch with Maldivian authorities to resolve former President Mohammad Nasheed's arrest issue, a spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs has said.

Suspected Maoists killed a journalist whose body was found today morning, by slitting his throat, on suspicion that he was a police informer, in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, the police said. 

Seven Pakistani fishermen were apprehended along with their boat by the Indian Coast Guard off Mitha Port, for illegally entering Indian waters, an official said. 

The Samajwadi Party today announced to field standup comedian and actor Raju Srivastava as party candidate from Kanpur in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. His name was formally announced by SP national general secretary and spokesman Ram Gopal Yadav. 

The price of petrol may be hiked by about Re 1 a litre and diesel by 50 paise a litre by this weekend, as oil firms begin to exercise the recently accorded freedom to adjust rates in step with cost. 

A special CBI court today adjourned till March 8 the ongoing trial in RTI activist Shehla Masood murder case as the prosecution failed to produce original call records documents as evidence. 

'Photographer Giles Duley was nearly killed after stepping on a landmine in Afghanistan. Back home, fighting for his life in hospital, he made himself a promise: to return to Kabul to complete his mission of documenting the savage toll that war takes on civilians. This is his story,' says the blurb in The Guardian online, introducing a brilliant read. 

Two Air India attendants have been suspended following instructions from Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on grounds of dereliction of duty. 

Encouraged by the response of foreign investors to the PSU stake sale, the government is proposing to raise the disinvestment target to Rs 40,000 crore in the next financial year by selling equity in 20 companies. 

The Delhi police is likely to file a supplementary charge-sheet tomorrow in the gangrape case relating to the robbing of Ramadhar Singh, a vegetable seller, before the accused assaulted the girl in a moving bus on December 16, 2012.

Renowned poet and lyricist Gulzar today abruptly cut short a visit to Pakistan and returned to India, with film director Vishal Bhardwaj, who accompanied him, saying there were no political or security reasons behind the decision. 

The 'Xi Dada' fan club started by a Chinese migrant worker to drum up support for the ruling Communist Party's new leader, Xi Jinping has been shut down, apparently under pressure from officials. 

Just In: Defence Acquisition Council clears procurement proposals worth over Rs 1500 crore; defers decision on 197 helicopters for IAF and Army.

The Army staged a flag march today in areas hit by violence in Assam's Goalpara district and shoot-at-sight orders issued even as Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said he would recommend a CBI inquiry into the violence in which the toll rose to 19. 

The British government has reportedly threatened to place a ban on all Pakistan International Airlines flights, due to the fear of influx of Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists after it was found that tens of Afghan nationals are illegally flying into the UK on Pakistani passports. 

Anoushka Shankar, daughter of legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar, has thrown her weight behind an online campaign demanding an end to crime against women, in the wake of the Delhi gang rape.

Just In: Supreme Court to pronounce order on February 21 on constitution of team for probing the contents of tapes having the conversations of Niira Radia and others

As several media offices resumed functioning today after a gap of four days, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said there was no ban imposed on publication of newspapers but the dailies had chosen not to print as curfew had made distribution impossible. 

Demanding that the contract for the Rs 3600 crore VVIP chopper deal be scrapped in the wake of bribery charges, the CPI-Marxist today said it would seek the government's response on the issue in the upcoming Budget session of Parliament. 

With the government ordering a CBI probe, the Enforcement Directorate may also register a criminal case of money laundering to probe allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal from an Italian defence and aerospace firm. 

The European Union has expressed regret over the hanging of the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and asked India to put a moratorium on executions. 

The Aligarh Muslim University Students' Union will confer its honorary life membership on Congress president Sonia Gandhi. 

Five Cardinals from India will participate in the conclave at the Vatican in the 'Holy Week' beginning from March 24 and vote to elect the next Pope. 

Notwithstanding the focus on women, Rahul Gandhi's scheduled interaction with state Congress leaders in New Delhi on Friday and Saturday will virtually be an all-male affair.

This is because barring Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit there is hardly any woman leader in the party who is either the PCC President or CLP leader in any state.

Gandhi's meeting with the PCC chiefs and CLP leaders also assume significance as there are nine Assembly elections scheduled this year and the Lok Sabha polls not far away. The state polls include those in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Karnataka.

The Kashmir Valley is on the fifth day of a government-imposed shutdown begun immediately after the hanging of the militant Muhammad Afzal, also known as Afzal Guru, who comes from the town of Sopore in Baramulla district. Read

While the entire nation was in shock after the death of 36 pilgrims in a stampede at the Allahabad railway station, the Congressmen in Barabanki were celebrating Union steel minister Beni Prasad Verma's 73rd birthday.The party took place amid the gyrations of bar dancers, who danced to Bollywood numbers for about two hours. Read more

Authorities will comb through a burned-out cabin in the mountains above Los Angeles on Wednesday for the charred remains of a suspect thought to be an ex-cop who led them on a six-day manhunt climaxing in a shootout there.

Police say even if they find a body in the smoldering rubble it may take some time to determine if it belongs to Christopher Dorner, the 33-year-old former Los Angeles police officer accused of carrying out a revenge-fueled killing spree.

CBI will soon begin its probe into the alleged payment of the Rs 362 crore bribe in India by an Italian aerospace firm to clear a Rs 3600 crore helicopter deal for ferrying VVIPs.

The agency today received a complaint from the Defence Ministry seeking a probe in the alleged kickback given in the procurement of 12 helicopters produced by Finmeccanica's subsidiary AgustaWestland, CBI sources said here.

A call on whether to conduct a preliminary enquiry or register an FIR would be taken at a high-level meeting scheduled this evening, they said.

Thai low-cost carrier Nok Air has released a sexy calendar featuring models from Maxim magazine. But not everyone in Thailand is comfortable seeing the female form displayed in such a fashion. 

According to Thai media, the Ministry of Culture's Permanent Secretary, Prisana Pongtatpitakkul, says the calendar demonstrates that some businesses refuse to stop using women's bodies as a marketing tool.  See the picture.

The former Navy SEAL who said he shot down three bullets in the head of Osama bin Laden is in fact eligible for the same free health care extended to all vets, the military newspaper Stars and Stripes has said.

The newspaper's claim came after it took issue with a report that said that the shooter is 'screwed' as he returns to civilian life and was getting no heath care.

A lengthy profile of the SEAL, released by Esquire magazine, said that the respected vet has retired after 16 years of military service and got little support from the US government. According to the New York Daily News, the name of the piece is 'The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden... Is Screwed'.

More on what the Navy Seal said.

JDU chief and NDA convener Sharad Yadav has appealed to the Prime Minister to return Afzal Guru's body to his family.

The family of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru yesterday said their only demand was that the Centre return his body to enable them to give him a proper burial.

"We have no other demand...the only thing we want is that Afzal's body be returned to us," Mohammad Yasin, a cousin of Guru, said over phone from Sopore.

He said the family has written a letter to Tihar Jail authorities as well as Deputy Commissioner Baramulla seeking that Guru's body be given to them.

Thousands of the faithful will flock into St. Peter's Square today to bid farewell to Pope Benedict XVI at his first public appearance since the shock announcement of his resignation.

The 85-year-old Benedict, who said on Monday that he would step down on February 28 because of his advancing age, will hold a general audience from his window on the square at 0930 GMT.

He will go on to celebrate an Ash Wednesday mass in St. Peter's Basilica at 1400 GMT, his last public mass and one of his last engagements as pope. The mass is traditionally held in the Santa Sabina Church on Rome's Aventine Hill.

On this occasion however it has been moved: out of respect for the outgoing pontiff, and to accommodate the crowd of faithful who will want to mark the end of his eight-year rule -- one of the shortest in the Church's modern history.

A sea slug that is able to detach, re-grow and then re-use its penis has surprised scientists.Japanese researchers observed the bizarre mating behaviour in a species called Chromodoris reticulata, which is found in the Pacific Ocean.They believe this is the first creature known that can repeatedly copulate with what they describe as a "disposable penis". Read

South Korea today said that it would accelerate the development of longer-range ballistic missiles that could cover the whole of North Korea in response to a third nuclear test by Pyongyang.

"We will speed up the development of ballistic missiles with a range of 800 kilometres," Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok said. In October last year, South Korea reached a deal with the United States to almost triple the range of its missile systems -- with Seoul arguing it needed an upgrade to counter the North's missile and nuclear programmes.

Rejecting charges that it was not proactive in probing allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3600 crore VVIP chopper deal, government today said it would act only according to the law and not to please the Opposition in this case.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid also dismissed suggestions that the alleged scam was "Bofors-Part II" saying the Opposition should understand that most of the allegations in the Bofors case were rejected by the Supreme Court.

He also said said India was in touch with authorities in Italy over the case and suggested that Italy was a better place to probe since the firm that produces choppers operates out of that country.

As India moves on to the Westland chopper bribe scandal, 36 families in the country lost their near and dear ones in the stampede at Allahabad station.
Read the editorial on the Hindu. 

Tomato juice can be better than energy drinks at helping the body recover from exercise, a new research has found. Tomatoes provide vital chemicals to help muscles recover and blood levels return to normal after being stretched and strained, experts say.

A number of health institutions in Greece conducted tests on 15 athletes over a period of two months, looking at vital signs before, during and after exercise. Nine of the athletes drank tomato juice after exercise and six consumed their regular fizzy energy drink.

Those drinking tomato juice had quicker levels of muscle recovery and their glucose levels returned to normal faster after strenuous exercise, the 'Daily Mail' reported. Tomatoes contain a compound called lycopene, which principally give them their deep-red colour. Anti-oxidants in tomatoes are already known to combat cancer, heart disease and other ailments.

Women with high calcium intake are at a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, a new study has claimed. Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden studied 61,443 Swedish women (born between 1914 and 1948) for an average of 19 years to test an association between high calcium intake and risk of ischemic heart disease and stroke.

BJP charges Defence Minister AK Antony with giving a false statement in Parliament on the Italian chopper deal and asks him for a clarification on the AugustaWestland chopper deal.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad also hit out at the government earlier questioning whether the investigation into the Rs 3,700 crore deal was not done earlier because the company was from Italy.

The Ministry of Defence has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the allegations that kickbacks were paid to Indian middlemen in the Rs 3,700-crore deal to buy 12 high-security VVIP helicopters from Anglo-Italian company, AgustaWestland.

According to leaks from the Italian prosecutors, reported in the Italian media, an amount of 51 million Euro has been paid to facilitate the contract with New Delhi.

Those cardinals who were in Vatican City on February 11 thought they were assembling in the Hall of the Consistory to hear about impending canonisations; instead, they were left stunned by Pope Benedict XVI's announcement that he was resigning from the papacy with effect from 8 p.m. on February 28. More

Left-liberals assist the state in slowing India's natural evolution from a discrete salad bowl to a composite, dynamic melting pot. Read

India will blacklist Finmeccanica Spa and cancel its deal to buy 12 helicopters from the Italian defence group if allegations of bribery are proven against the company, defence minister AK Antony said on Wednesday. Antony said Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had been ordered to investigate the matter and if the allegations were proven, those involved would "pay for their lapses. Nobody will be spared."
-- Reuters.

Meanwhile, in the US, the extraordinary manhunt for the former Los Angeles police officer suspected of three murders converged on a mountain cabin where authorities believe he barricaded himself inside, engaged in a shootout that killed a deputy and then never emerged as the home went up in flames. A single gunshot was heard from within, and a charred body was found inside.

If the man inside proves to be Christopher Dorner, the search for the most wanted man in America over the last week would have ended the way he had expected death, with the police pursuing him.

More on former Air chief SP Tyagi's reactions to the bribery allegations.

"I have been hit by a thunderstorm," Tyagi told reporters on allegations that the Italian company had bribed him to swing the chopper deal in its favour.

Another scam unfolded with the arrest of the head of a state-controlled Italian aerospace company that is suspected of paying bribes of about Rs 362 crore in India to get orders for helicopters to ferry Indian VVIPs, prompting the government to order a CBI probe.

The Ministry of Defence also decided to put on hold the receipt of the remaining nine of the 12 helicopters for which the Rs 3600 crore deal was struck in 2010.

"Giuseppe Orsi, the head of Italian defence and aerospace giant Finmeccanica, was arrested on Monday in relation to a probe into international corruption. He is suspected of involvement in the payment of bribes regarding the sale to the Indian government of 12 helicopters produced by Finmeccanica's subsidiary AgustaWestland," Italian news agency Ansa said.

"There is smoke," Tyagi said while favouring a probe into the deal. "When I became the Air chief in 2004 and in 2007, I retired, during that period no changes were made. "According to my information, nothing was done which raises a suspicion from my side. But it is true if there are so many reports, then there is something in it.

"I don't know what it is but all I can say is that it should be inquired. There should be an inquiry so that all the facts come out. I am not only ready for an inquiry but I want an inquiry," he said.

After waiting for almost a year, lenders led by State Bank of India on Tuesday decided to recall loans given to Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines and encash shares that are pledged with banks as collateral.

Subsequently, if loans adding up to Rs 7,500 crore and overdue of over Rs 1,000 crore are not repaid by the flamboyant businessman, who often drew comparisons with Virgin's Richard Branson, lenders will encash other securities, including Mallya's personal guarantee and property. Already, banks are in the process of selling his villa in Goa to recover part of the dues. More

India on Tuesday officially protested against the third nuclear test by North Korea which it sees as evidence of a clandestine proliferation network from Pakistan. Indian sources stressed that if the test was found to have been conducted with enriched uranium, it would confirm Pakistani "proliferation linkages". Read

Just in: Two people have been killed, and several injured as a car in Khar, in suburban Mumbai, ran over them. The car is believed to belong to a foreigner but her driver was at the wheel. Details awaited. 

US president Barack Obama had found a variant of the AW-101 helicopters too exorbitant to pass muster in 2009. But theIndian government had no such qualms while inking the Rs 3,546-crore deal for 12 plush AW-101 helicopters just a year later in 2010. Read

Former Indian Air Force chief SP Tyagi has denied bribery charges in the $750 million chopper deal with Italian firm Finmeccanica. Tyagi was allegedly bribed by the company to swing the contract in its favour. Tyagi says he is innocent and that the deal was finalised three years after he retired as air chief. He said the charges were baseless.

BBC: Syrian rebels have captured a military air base near the northern city of Aleppo, activists say. Fighters took control of al-Jarrah base after days of clashes there with security forces, reports said.

 

The reported capture comes a day after rebels in the north-east overran Syria biggest hydro-electric dam, delivering a strategic blow to the government. Turkey's prime minister meanwhile has said a deadly blast at a crossing with Syria was caused by a car bomb.

 

At least 10 Syrians and three Turkish nationals died on Monday in the explosion at the Cilvegozu customs post on the Turkish side of the border, in the southern province of Hatay. "A vehicle loaded with bombs was able to reach our customs gate because the customs gate on the Syrian side is not working and is not being controlled," Tayyip Erdogan was quoted by AFP news agency as saying.

BBC: A man believed to be a former Los Angeles police officer accused of three murders has been involved in a shoot-out with police, reports say. The fugitive exchanged shots with federal officers in California's Big Bear Lake region, according to the Los Angeles Times.

 

Christopher Dorner, 33, has been on the run since last week, after the murders in southern California. He had sworn revenge on police officers he blamed for his sacking in 2008.

France's National Assembly has approved a law allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. After days of intense debate, the bill was passed by 329 votes to 229. It must now win final approval in the Senate.

 

The "Marriage for All" bill was backed by President Francois Hollande's Socialists and other left-wing MPs. But it was opposed by many in the opposition conservative UMP and provoked months of mass protests and counter-protests.

 

Read more on BBC

President Barack Obama will announce in his State of the Union speech 34,000 US troops will leave Afghanistan by early 2014, a White House official has said. The move would effectively halve the current US troop levels in the country from about 66,000.

 

The US will end combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, but it is unclear how large a residual training force will remain behind. Mr Obama is not expected to address post-2014 troop levels in the speech.

 

Read the full story on BBC

AFP: The Vatican prepared for a momentous transition after Pope Benedict XVI announced he will resign on February 28, starting with a special mass tomorrow and culminating in a final farewell in St Peter's Square on the eve of his departure.        

 

The rumour mill over a successor was into full swing after what will be only the second voluntary papal resignation in he Catholic Church's 2,000-year history, although no clear favourite has emerged.        

The 85-year-old Benedict told cardinals in a speech in Latin yesterday that he will step down after just eight years because he could no longer fulfil his duties in a fast-changing world. Benedict will have no influence on the election of his successor -- he is too old to be eligible to vote.        

 

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the Vatican had not yet decided what title the pope will have once he resigns, but said among those being considered was "Bishop Emeritus of Rome".        

 

The Vatican said the pope had an operation to replace the batteries in his pacemaker but said the surgery had no bearing on his decision, amid speculation that the resignation was due to health reasons. The Holy See has emphasised that Benedict's decision part of a long thought process.

We want peace but LoC incident is unacceptable: PM

Raj Thackeray rules out merger with Shiv Sena

BJP, RSS leaders hold discussion for over five hours

Afzal hanging: 5 injured, curfew relaxed in Srinagar

Cong identifies two MPs who can replace Kurien

2G probe not polluted by alleged collusion: CBI chief

PIL seeks judicial probe into Kumbh stampede

Yasin Malik's passport likely to be revoked

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