A prominent pro-democracy Myanmar rights organisation in the US today expressed its dismay at President Barack Obama's decision to invite Myanmar's President Thein Sein to the White House, saying America is honouring an abusive leader.        

Finance Minister P Chidambaram's reform push to revive the Indian economy and restore investor confidence was today lauded by British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who said he has done a great job.        

BJP leaders L K Advani and Uma Bharti today met President Pranab Mukherjee and appealed him to direct the government to ensure uninterrupted flow of Ganga downstream from Tehri dam and save Dhari Devi temple in Uttarakhand from submergence due to the construction of a dam.        

A woman Maoist leader and wife of recently arrested senior CPI-Maoist leader Anukul ChandraNaskar alias 'Pareshda' has been arrested in Guwahati.

The Union Cabinet today approved the establishment of the Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission to fulfill the objective of conserving and restoring the heritage sites associated with the Father of the Nation.       

Food Minister K V Thomas today virtually ruled out bringing an Ordinance on the National Food Security Bill and favoured discussion on the proposed legislation in the coming session of Parliament.        

Pakistan's prime minister-elect Nawaz Sharif may retain the crucial foreign affairs portfolio with himself despite intense lobbying within the PML-N party for the plum post, sources said today.        

Arrested Indian pacer S Sreesanth and 13 others, including two other cricketers of Rajasthan Royals franchise, were today sent to police custody for five days by a court for being quizzed in connection with the IPL spot-fixing scandal case. 

Expressing concern over the spot-fixing controversy in the ongoing IPL tournament, Congress today hoped the arrest of three cricketers would prove a "deterrent" to others involved in such illegal activities.        

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley today gave notes of dissent against the government's proposal to make Cyriac Joseph, a retired Supreme Court judge, an NHRC member.    

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya was today questioned by the CBI for the second day for nearly eight hours in connection with the killings in Balipur of DSP Zia ul Haq and village head Nanhe Yadav nearly two months ago.        

S Sreesanth and his teammates of Rajasthan Royals -- Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandilya -- have reached the Saket court in Delhi in the IPL spot-fixing scandal case. The three had covered their faces and were taken to the magistrate's residence inside the Saket district court complex. The media was restrained from witnessing the remand proceedings at judge's residence.

Sanjay Dutt, who surrendered today before a special TADA court in Mumbai,  is planning to file a curative petition before the Supreme Court, his lawyer said today.

"We are planning to file a curative petition in the apex court soon," Dutt's advocate Rizwan Merchant told special TADA Judge G A Sanap when the proceedings were on to take the 53-year-old actor into custody.

Dutt had earlier filed a review petition in the apex court against its March 21 judgement upholding his conviction under the Arms Act and sentencing him to five years in jail.

The apex court had, however, rejected the review petition and directed him to surrender by May 16. After review petition, a convict is left with the option of filing a curative petition or a pardon petition.

The concept of curative petition was evolved in 2002 by a SC judgement to cure any defect that may lead to gross miscarriage of justice in a final judgement/order of the Supreme Court, after dismissal of a review petition.

While a review petition has to be filed within 30 days of the judgement, there is no time limit for filing a curative petition. Dutt's remaining options also include a leniency plea and remissions (like for good behaviour) which can reduce his jail term.

While the disgraced trios families cry conspiracy, here's a list of other cricketers accused of fixing matches. Refresh your memory, here.

Besides actor Sanjay Dutt, four other convicts in the 1993 bomb blast case today surrendered before a designated TADA court which took them into custody to serve their remaining sentence.

The convicts Essa Memon, Kersi Adjania, Yusuf Nulwala and Altaf Sayyed Shaikh surrendered as the Supreme Court had rejected their appeals against conviction.

Judge G A Sanap allowed Memon, Adjania and Nulwala to take medicines in jail.

Two other convicts, Zebunisa Kazi and Sharif (Dada) Parkar, are likely to surrender tomorrow. Essa is the brother of prime absconding accused Tiger Memon. He is suffering from brain tumour and had earlier refused to get operated.

the TADA court had sentenced him to life imprisonment and the apex court had confirmed the punishment awarded to him. 83-year-old Kersi, who had destroyed the AK-56 rifle possessed by Sanjay Dutt, in his workshop, was awarded one- year jail term.

He has already spent three to four months in jail. Nulwala had picked up the AK-56 rifle from the house of Sanjay Dutt as per the instructions of the actor and given the weapon to Kersi to destroy it. Nulwala was awarded a five-year term, of which he has already spent 18 months in jail. Altaf Shaikh was convicted for possessing hand grenades in notified area of TADA. He was awarded five years' imprisonment.

The Mumbai Mirror lead story today profiles the troubled actor who apparently took to drinking a bottle of vodka every day. If that's true, he's probably better off in jail.

Here's what the story says: The star who has been drug-free for decades and overcome his heavy alcoholism has taken to finishing a bottle of vodka a day, revealed a source close to him.

"Baba is unable to sleep without it. He wouldn't listen to anyone, including Manyata advising him against it. And when he is not drinking, he is smoking," said the friend who did not wish to be quoted on record.

"For weeks now he has been drinking to crash out." He has also been getting crying jags and has been particularly inconsolable around his twins, aged two and a half.

To whosoever has been to visit the star, he has one thing to say: "How will I survive without fans, pillows and mosquito repellents? I had none of these when I was last jailed in 1993 but don't forget I was 33 then. I am a 53-year-old man now."

Recalling the rough quality of the standard issue blanket, he told friends he was unsure he'd survive the next three and a half years of jail life.

Dutt who only recently returned to India after expensive hair and cosmetic surgery is most dreading the filthy Indian-style toilets in the jail, which he last shared with eight other prisoners.

Ajit Chandila's mother on her son being arrested in spot fixing scandal: "My son can't do this. I have given him birth. I know him very well. The truth will soon come out." 

Update on Sanjay Dutt surrendering before the Tada court.

Sanjay Dutt arrived at the TADA court at around 2.50 pm. Besides his wife Manyata and friend Mahesh Bhatt, Dutt's sister and MP Priya and brother-in-law Owen Roncon were also present. The actor was visibly shaken and appeared to be nervous. He looked stressed and was on verge of tears when his lawyer Rizwan Merchant told the court that Dutt was surrounded by a mob outside.

As soon as Dutt entered the court, he bowed down before Judge G A Sanap, who asked him his name.

To this, the actor replied, "Sanjay Sunil Dutt."

The judge then asked him about the punishment undergone by him and Sanjay said "551 days in jail, sir."

The judge then asked Dutt to take a seat in the dock located in the back row of the room. Manyata sat next to him and held his hand. Priya and Owen also sat on the bench along with them.

Dutt's lawyer Rizwan Merchant sought permission of the court to grant certain facilities to the actor such as a fan, medicines, a thin mattress, pillow, home food and an electronic cigarette.

Rizwan submitted that Dutt was a chain-smoker and wanted to use the electronic cigarette for de-addiction.

The lawyer also urged the court to allow the visits of family members of Dutt regularly to the jail. He also urged that the actor may not be asked to perform harsh jobs in the prison. The judge told Dutt that he was allowing all the requests made by him except electronic cigarette. Instead, he advised Dutt to quit smoking.

A man has shot himself in front of a dozen children in the corridor of a nursery school in Paris, French media report.He is said to have entered the school in the 7th arrondissement with a sawn-off shotgun.The man then turned the weapon on himself and pulled the trigger in front of the children and an adult, Le Parisien newspaper reports. -- BBC

Former IPL chief Lalit Kumar Modi takes the high moral ground: I want to understand why was the BCCI and ICC anti corruption not vigilant. Have they stopped the zero tolerance policy we had put in place?

Rofl Indian tweets: Jiju Janardhan, Jupiter, and now Tikku Mandi! One more name and Ram Gopal Varma has a cult movie under his belt.

The Delhi police commissioner also said that they had been surveying phones since April. "But we have found evidence on these three players only. There will be more arrests of bookies, but no more players will be arrested," Kumar said.

He also said that arrested bookie Jiju Janardhan, who is believed to be Sreesanth's cousin, was the conduit between the bookies and Sreesanth. "Sreesanth has been paid Rs 40 lakh for fixing an over. But no other player apart from Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandilya, were involved," the Delhi police chief said.

Pic: Getty Images

Neeraj Kumar says the Mumbai underworld, no international players, only players of Rajasthan Royals involved. 

Ankeet Chavan was promised Rs 60 lakh to give away 14 runs in yesterday's match against Mumbai Indians.

Neeraj Kumar says that the police have 100s of hours of audio conversations between bookies and the three players.

The mastermind of the spot fixing scandal is abroad and while Neeraj Kumar did not name Dawood, it is widely believed that he is the kingpin. 

The police commissioner says more arrests are likely. He could not put a figure to how much money the players received since they have yet to be questioned and details of money recovered from their rooms has to be collated. "We waited for a situation when all three players could be pinned down together," says Kumar. 

The Delhi police commissioner says S Sreesanth may not be the kingpin and the conspiracy does not seem to go beyond the players and the bookies. The Delhi police team was present through all the three matches. Player codes included wearing a towel, doing stretching exercises and fiddling with a watch. Neeraj Kumar says they have no evidence of Australian cricketer Shaun Tait being involved in this scandal. 

The rate, says the Delhi police commissioner is 1 over, 14 runs for Rs 20 lakh. 

The Delhi police say Sreesanth put a towel over his trousers and did stretching exercises to give bookies enough time during the May 9 match against Kings XI.

The Delhi police says that during the May 5 match against Pune Warriors, Ajit  Chandila gave away 14 runs and forgot to give signal to bookies. He had to give Rs 20 lakh for the miss. That was the first time the spot fixing took place by the three. 

Ankeet gave away 14 runs in yesterday's match against Mumbai Indians.

Delhi police show video evidence of spot fixing and how bookies indicated codes to show that an over would be fixed. Spot fixing codes given to players by bookies, says Delhi Police.

In the May 9 RR match vs Kings XI Punjab: Sree put a towel on his trousers to signal bookies. The police say the Mohali match was fixed. The first time the spot fixing took place was during the May 5 match of RR vs Pune Warriors.

Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar addressing a press conference on spot fixing scandal. He says three players and 11 bookied have been arrested. Players would give certain signals, indications, to give away runs. "The modus was that they would give away runs in particular overs. The contract was a minimum number of runs per over," says Neeraj Kumar. 

Now that Sanjay Dutt has surrendered, here's more on the spot-fixing scandal. 

This media frenzy is exactly what Sanjay Dutt feared and had filed a plea with the court asking to be allowed to surrender inside the Yerwada jail. The court turned down the plea. 

Congress MP Priya Dutt, film director and family friend Mahesh Bhatt beg the media to give way to Dutt. The actor finally makes his way through the mob and enters the TADA court.

It's impossible for Sanjay Dutt to get out of the car. Mahesh Dutt (with folded hands) who is in the car with him is begging media persons to get away from the car. Dutt has already been waiting outside the TADA court for 15 minutes.  

Sanjay Dutt and his 15-car convoy reache TADA court. His family and friends with him as the actor tries to get out of his Innova. The actor will surrender at the court today in keeping with the deadline mandated by the Supreme Court. There is utter chaos outside the TADA court. His white Innova is surrounded by the media, police personnel, and it is impossible for Dutt to move towards the court, which is just a metre or so away. Once inside court, Dutt will submit an affidavit saying he is surrendering.   

BCCI president N Srinivasan says Indian players are paid well enough. "If anything you can call it greed. It is not a case of a player being paid inadequately."

The BCCI chief also denied that the scandal was something the board was aware of before the arrests were made. "It was a bolt from the blue. We will see whatever is necessary will be done. The board is clean and we will continue running it that way,' he said. "In fact, almost all cricketers are honest but certain bad eggs need to be removed."

The BCCI suspends all players -- S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandilya -- on spot-fixing charges.

Sanjay Dutt's journey from freedom to incarceration goes on. Must be hoping for a tyre puncture or that his driver loses the way to the TADA court. 


Meanwhile, BCCI president N Srinivasan speaking via video conference says the body will take up the issue with ICC as well. For now, the IPL will continue. Srinivasan says the involvement of the players in spot fixing is shocking. "I am personally shocked and upset. We will take action against the three players once the police report is out. We don't know the exact charges filed by the police, yet. We will root out this corruption; we have an anti-corruption code and an anti-doping code as well," says the BCCI president.

He admitted that there was a huge network of bookies and it was difficult to monitor them.

And some good news: Awais Sheikh, the Pakistani lawyer of slain Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, and his son were abducted and briefly held by unidentified men in an area near the border with India.   

Sheikh and his son Shahrukh had gone to a village near Burki Hudaira area this morning to buy land for a farmhouse. Two men riding a motorcycle, who were wearing police uniforms, intercepted them, said Haroon, another son of Sheikh.   

The lawyer and his son were bundled into a pick-up truck and taken to an unknown location, Haroon told the police. About an hour-and-half later, Sheikh and his son were dumped beside a highway by the kidnappers.

Also read: Sanjay Dutt worried about poor jail amenities. 

Meanwhile, the Sports Ministry today asked Indian Premier League authorities to hand down deterrent punishment to three cricketers allegedly involved in spot-fixing if they are found guilty and said the Board should ensure that such unethical incidents do not happen in future.

"It is very unfortunate that Delhi Police have arrested some cricket players for their alleged role in the spot fixing in the ongoing IPL tournament," the Ministry said in a statement.

"The Minister of Sports, Shri Jitendra Singh has spoken to Chairman of the IPL Shri Rajeev Shukla on the issue and impressed upon him to take urgent steps to put in place a mechanism to prevent such unethical activities and ensure clean sports in the country.

"The Minister also emphasised that strict action be taken against all those who are found guilty to serve as a deterrent to others," the release added.

Before Sanjay Dutt left home to surrender at the TADA court, a steady streamline of celebrities arrived at the 53-year-old actor's suburban residence to support him. Actors Salman Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and directors David Dhawan, Sanjay Gupta and Apoorva Lakhia (with whom Dutt worked in 'Zanjeer' remake) visited Dutt last night at his residence in Imperial Heights in suburban Bandra.

Directors Rajkumar Hirani and Milan Luthria, businessman and Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra, Bhushan Kumar, producers Rahul Agarwal and Vashu Bhagnani, politician Kripashankar Singh and actor Kiran Kumar arrived at Dutt's residence this morning.

Sanjay Dutt is expected to stop at the Mahim dargah on his way to the TADA court to surrender, says CNN IBN, but that may or may not happen. He left his home a few minutes ago for the court accompanied by a convoy of 15 cars. With him in his car, was wife Manyataa.

Dutt will be taken to a government hospital, likely to be St George hospital, for the mandatory medical test before he is incarcerated. Alternatively, a medical test can also be conducted inside the jail. He may then be taken to Yerwada jail in Pune, though normally transfers to other jails like Nashik and Pune take place over weekends.

Sanjay Dutt leaves his residence at Imperial Heights building in suburban Bandra and heads to the designated TADA court in Mumbai to surrender. The actor is accompanied by wife Manyataa and director Mahesh Bhatt and is travelling in his car. He faces 42 months in jail.


The Supreme Court in its March 21 verdict awarded five year imprisonment to the 53-year-old actor for illegal possession of arms. Dutt is slated to surrender before a designated Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court Thursday as the apex court on May 14 refused to grant him more time to surrender for undergoing remainder of the three-and-a- half-year jail term.

On May 10, the Supreme Court had dismissed Dutt's plea seeking review of its judgement on his conviction and the five-year jail term. Dutt's staff has put up a green cloth on the compound wall of his residence at Pali Hill to avoid media glare as media personnel have been camping at Imperial Heights since Wednesday night.

Ankeet Chavan, Ajit Chandila and S Sreesanth, arrested for spot fixing, have reached Delhi.

Sourav Ganguly doesn't mince his words. Speaking to CNN IBN the former India skipper says, "I'm disappointed and angry with Sreesanth. He is a wasted talent. I'm angry with players who bring disrepute to the game, but, yes,  charges have to be proved. They must be banned if guilty."

Speaking on allegations made by the players' families that this was a conspiracy, Ganguly says, "The deed is done by the players, nobody can force them. No one can prevent it, if a player wants to indulge in spot fixing."


Compare this what Sunil Gavaskar said earlier, to NDTV:  "We need to remember that people are innocent till proven guilty. The T-20 format is such that unorthodox things are tried, sometimes they come off, sometimes they don't. I don't think there has been anything in the IPL that has raised my eyebrows," he said.

Mandira Bedi who hosted IPL Season II tweets: "And the worst of it is that they play for a team whose Captain is one of the most honorable men in cricket."

BCCI president N Srinivasan will address the media by audio conference at 2 pm in Mumbai. The Delhi police commissioner's presser is at 3 pm.

Meanwhile, former ICC chief Sharad Pawar says stern action should be taken if the players are found guilty.

The BCCI has already promised a ban for life if they are found guilty. 

"I feel ashamed to talk about my cricketing colleagues like this," says former cricketer Syed Kirmani.

Meanwhile, one of the bookies arrested, who goes by the name Jiju Janardhan, is a cousin of Sreesanth, says Times Now. He is alleged to have links with the D-Company.  

Back to the spot-fixing scandal: S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandilya, the three Rajasthan Royals players who have been arrested for spot-fixing and banned from the Indian Premier League, were in touch with two bookies, Delhi police sources told Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa. Sources say the bookies, who go by the names Jupiter and Shubham, had contacted the players individually to make their offer. Read the full story on rediff.com.

Just in: Sarabjit Singh's lawyer Awais Sheikh and his son have been kidnapped from a Pakistani village near the Indian border.

A quick reminder of who Sarabjit Singh was: The mortal remains of Sarabjit Singh, who died after being brutally assaulted by fellow inmates in a Lahore jail, were consigned to flames in his native village in Bikhiwind on May 3 with state honours. The village witnessed angry protests with locals raising anti-Pakistan slogans and burning effigies.


A large number of people, including women, were present in Bikhiwind for the cremation of 49-year-old Sarabjit who succumbed to his injuries in a Lahore hospital on Thursday following a brutal attack on Friday last in Kot Lakhpat Jail where he was lodged since 1990.

Earlier, the tri-colour draped coffin of Sarabjit was earlier kept on the premises of a government school in Bikhiwind for public to pay their respects. 'Sahabd kirtan' was recited at the venue and religious hymns played on speakers, even as mourners raised anti-Pakistan slogans and chanted "Sarabjit Amar Rahe".

Here's the official statement by the BCCI...

"The BCCI is shocked and saddened at the recent developments. The BCCI has zero tolerance to corruption. We will offer all cooperation to the Delhi police and all other authorities in their investigations in this matter. The IPL Governing Council has met and decided that the cricketers found involved will be dealt with severely," the Board stated.

"The BCCI engages the services of the anti corruption wing of the ICC to educate and monitor players and support staff in prevention of corruption of any form in the game," it said.

"In fact, it is wholly unfortunate that despite such education, best playing conditions and terms of engagement offered, some players seem to be indulging in such activity," it added

More reactions...

Sreesanth's mother has complete faith in her son: "Sreesanth not corrupt. He does not run after money. He was trying really hard to return to international cricket," she says. 

BCCI CAO Ratnakar Shetty says the BCCI is shocked and saddened by what has happened. "BCCI has always taken a strong stand against corruption," says Shetty.

A case has been registered at the Marine Drive police station, Mumbai, under sections 420, which deals with cheating, and 120 (b), which deals with criminal conspiracy, of the Indian Penal Code. The players are in the custody of Delhi police. The Delhi police commissioner will address the media at 3 pm. 

This is what the BCCI has said so far: The BCCI is shocked and saddened at the recent developments. The BCCI has zero tolerance to corruption. If the players are found guilty, they will be banned for life. 

The news so far is this: The three players have been suspended for the remainder of the IPL tournament through this year. BCCI sources have been saying that all three could face a lifetime ban if found guilty.  Read more on that here

Meanwhile, Headlines Today is looking at the link with Dawood Ibrahim through the call records made by Sreesanth with the bookies. Times Now says says that the three players' friends were in fact aware they were involved in spot fixing.

Sreesanth's father tells the Malayala Manorama news channel that he was trapped because of a conspiracy by MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh, reports Firstpost.com

"Ever since he spoke out against Harbhajan on Twitter, the two decided to take him out," his father said.

Sreesanth was very close to Dhoni and knew many of his personal details, his father said, without explicitly saying what it had to do with this case. "Dhoni had threatened him that he would never be taken back in the test side," his father said.

"He is innocent, this is a conspiracy to defame him," his mother told CNN-IBN.

HRD minister Shashi Tharoor says Sreesanth is innocent, unless proven guilty. "There is no conclusive evidence against him as yet. I like Sree, and I think he has contributed to Indian cricket."

Meanwhile, Ajit Chandila's mother defends her son, one of the three RR players arrested for spot fixing. "Politics is going on, false allegations are being put on him," she says.

Sreesanth's mother joins the chorus to say her son is innocent and this was a conspiracy to defame him.

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court today ruled that no person should be arrested for posting objectionable comments on social networking sites without permission of senior police officials. The Court directed all states and union territories to comply with the Centre's advisory on arresting people for their comments on websites.

The other big story today we will be following today is Sanjay Dutt's surrender at the TADA court.

A large posse of policemen has been deployed outside actor Sanjay Dutt's residence at Imperial Heights building in suburban Bandra ahead of his surrender before a designated TADA court in the 1993 serial blasts case today.

Security has been beefed in the wake of alleged threat to Dutt's life and protests by a little known organisation "Hindu Rashtra Sena" outside his residence yesterday demanding that the actor should not be granted any VIP treatment.

The Supreme Court in its March 21 verdict awarded five year imprisonment to the 53-year-old actor for illegal possession of arms.

Dutt is slated to surrender before a designated Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court today as the apex court on May 14 refused to grant him more time to surrender for undergoing remainder of the three-and-a-half-year jail term.

RR skipper Rahul Dravid on Sreesanth for the Indian Express, before the spot fixing scandal broke.

"Sree's got a lot of skill as a bowler. A lot of talent. There's no doubt that when he's bowling well, he's probably one of the best that I've ever seen. It's just a question of him realizing that he's got to be able to be a lot more consistent to get selected," Dravid told The Indian Express on Wednesday."

Read more

BCCI sources tell CNN IBN that all players are found guilty of spot fixing, they will be banned for life. BCCI's Niranjan Shah says there is zero tolerance for this.  Indian paceman S Sreesanth and two of his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan will be produced in court shortly.

IPL governing council says that the disciplinary panel will investigate the allegations.

Meanwhile, Angelina Jolie, who won much praise for her revelation the she went double mastectomy, is now planning to undergo another surgery. According to People magazine, the 37-year-old actress wants to have her ovaries removed to ensure that she remains cancer-free.

Jolie recently made an announcement about having both her breasts removed after discovering that she carried a faulty gene which put her at 87 percent chance of contracting breast cancer, which reduced that risk to 5 percent. However, the doctors have still given Jolie a 50 per cent chance of developing ovarian cancer.

PritishNandy: Saddest part: they play for a team led by one of the most honourable men I know: rahul dravid.

Ashish Shakya: Sreesanth to play badly is a waste of money. It's like paying Salman to get drunk, or asking an engineer to stay celibate.

The Kerala Cricket Association says it does not believe Sreesanth could be involved in spot fixing.

Another statement from RR owner, this time it's from Shilpa Shetty. She says, "We are completely taken by surprise." And of course, Sreesanth's family says he is being framed.

Raj Kundra, the owner of Rajasthan Royals tweets: When asked the repeated question, is IPL fixed, my answer is always IPL teams CAN'T be fixed but individual players who lack integrity can. Just when IPL was going on so smoothly without controversies I woke up to the news of 3 RR players alleged spot fixing. Investigations r on.


In a sensational development, Indian paceman S Sreesanth and two of his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested by the Delhi police on charges of spot-fixing in the ongoing Indian Premier League. The special cell of the Delhi police arrested Sreesanth from his friend's place in Mumbai while the other two cricketers were arrested on Wednesday night from the team hotel at Nariman Point for their alleged role in spot-fixing.

The BSE benchmark Sensex today fell by nearly 51 points in early trade as funds and retail investors booked profits after recent gains, amid a mixed trend in other Asian markets.  

 

The 30-share barometer declined by 50.84 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 20,162.12. The index had gained 521.29 points in the previous two sessions. Stocks of metal, capital goods, auto, IT and banking sectors were major losers largely on profit-booking.  

 

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 18.50 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 6,128.25. Brokers said selling, mostly of a profit-booking nature, by funds after two sessions of gains amid a mixed trend on other Asian bourses, mainly influenced the trading sentiment here.

 

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei Index was down 1.42 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index up 0.31 per cent in early trade.   The US Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.40 per cent to close at new all-time in yesterday's trade.

The planet-hunting space telescope Kepler has been hobbled by a broken wheel, say scientists at Nasa. Two of four reaction wheels are now faulty. At least three are needed to orient the telescope correctly. "I wouldn't call Kepler down and out just yet," said Nasa administrator John Grunsfeld, saying scientists were working on the problem.

 

Kepler was launched in 2009 and last month identified two distant planets that Nasa said could be habitable. So far, the $600m mission has identified 132 "exoplanets" outside our solar system, and another 2,700 possible candidates.

Image: A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket is prepared for the launch of the Kepler Telescope  Photograph: Reuters

The US has released emails exchanged between the various wings of the Obama administration about Benghazi terrorist attack last September that left three American nationals, including its ambassador to Libya, dead.        

 

The release of emails yesterday, running into 100 pages is seen as an effort by the White House that it is not hiding anything on Benghazi, as being alleged by opposition Republican lawmakers.    

 

Image: US Consulate in Benghazi under attack in September, 2012

Photograph: Reuters

 

According to Obama administration officials, these e-mails demonstrate that the process of developing the so-called talking points was not focused on politics but rather on events.        

 

These emails indicate that the CIA concluded at the start of the attack that this was "spontaneously inspired by the protests at the US Embassy in Cairo," which had taken place earlier in the day and that it "evolved into a direct assault against the US Consulate and subsequently its annex".        

 

These emails reveal that the State Department repeatedly expressed concerns over various revisions of the talking point, which have now become "political flashpoint" in a long-running battle between the Obama administration and Republicans.   Meanwhile in a letter to the Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Congressman Howard P "Buck" McKeon, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, requested additional information related to the Benghazi attack.