Criticising US drone strikes on militant targets in Pakistan that killed Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, China today said Pakistan should be allowed to work out its own strategy to counter terrorism as per its "national conditions".

"China believes that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan should be respected in earnest manner and relevant action should strictly abide by the UN charter on international law and conflict," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said without directly referring to US drone strike that killed Mehsud last week.

"We sincerely hope that Pakistan can achieve stability and development and we support the Pakistani government in formulating and applying strategies on counter terrorism and security in accordance with national conditions," he told a media briefing here on a question as to whether Mehsud's killing was aimed at scuttling Pakistan's planned peace talks with Tehrik-e-Taliban.

YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy is planning to resume his Odarpu Yatra from November 16, after a gap of around one-and-half-year.        

"We are planning to resume the Odarpu Yatra from November 16," Jaganmohan said while talking to reporters at his Lotus Pond residence in Hyderabad today.        

 The Kadapa MP had launched his Odarpu Yatra (condolence tour) in April 2010 to meet families of those who either committed suicide or died of shock after hearing the news of the death of his father the then Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in a chopper crash.        

However, he was forced to cut-short his Yatra in view of the questioning by the CBI in an alleged disproportionate assets case involving his companies and subsequent arrest on May 27, 2012.        

He was granted bail on September 23 this year and a local court also allowed his plea and permitted him to leave Hyderabad and tour Andhra Pradesh and Delhi.  

Since it was announced last month that Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, would be retiring, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has kept the country dangling on his choice, creating a new parlor game for the chattering classes in the process.

General Kayani has been characteristically mum, except for an unusual press release that said he was leaving the office on Nov. 29, without closing out other options, even as he accepted the concurrent role of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mr. Sharif could begin consolidating his power by making an early and firm choice to replace General Kayani.

Explaining the reason behind the choice would end speculation about the process. Currently, the only certainty appears to be the fact that there will be a new army chief come the end of November 2013 and whoever gets the prime minister's nod will be a changed person after that, for the office in many ways makes the man.

The top five in order of seniority all are highly trained professionals, each with certain proven qualities and different backgrounds. All except one are Punjabis, an unusual coincidence in a military that has a substantial Pakhtun presence and at a time when the army is fighting a war inside its borders in the Pakhtun territories.

Read more on NYT

Since it was announced last month that Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, would be retiring, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has kept the country dangling on his choice, creating a new parlor game for the chattering classes in the process.

General Kayani has been characteristically mum, except for an unusual press release that said he was leaving the office on Nov. 29, without closing out other options, even as he accepted the concurrent role of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mr. Sharif could begin consolidating his power by making an early and firm choice to replace General Kayani.

Explaining the reason behind the choice would end speculation about the process. Currently, the only certainty appears to be the fact that there will be a new army chief come the end of November 2013 and whoever gets the prime minister's nod will be a changed person after that, for the office in many ways makes the man.

The top five in order of seniority all are highly trained professionals, each with certain proven qualities and different backgrounds. All except one are Punjabis, an unusual coincidence in a military that has a substantial Pakhtun presence and at a time when the army is fighting a war inside its borders in the Pakhtun territories.

Read more on NYT

Egypt's ousted leader Mohammed Morsi has gone on trial in Cairo, telling the judge the case is illegitimate as he remains president. He and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood figures face charges of inciting the killing of protesters outside the presidential palace in 2012.

After Mr Morsi's remarks and his refusal to wear a uniform, the judge adjourned the trial until 8 January. Protests took place outside the court and elsewhere in Cairo. There was so much noise and disruption during what was at times almost a circus-like hearing that the judge had to adjourn proceedings twice. Mohammed Morsi arrived looking quite relaxed.

He waved at supporters when he came in, he smiled and gave the four-finger salute [used by his supporters]. Almost as soon as the judge began speaking he began interrupting. He shouted out repeatedly, even when his voice was hoarse.

He kept repeating: "This is not a legitimate trial, this trial is part of the coup; the coup itself is a crime." He interrupted the first session at least three times before the judge adjourned. During the second session he interrupted twice saying: "I am the president, I am the president, you have no right to conduct a trial into presidential matters".

He sat quietly during the first break in the trial and was surrounded by some of his fellow defendants, members of the Brotherhood he has not seen since he was removed by the military. He smiled, gesticulated and gave one of them a bear hug. Mr Morsi was ousted by the military in July after protests against his rule. Until now he has been held at a secret military location but the judge announce

Read more on BBC

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has granted four more days to Rahul Gandhi to reply to its notice on his speeches.   The Congress vice president can now reply by Nov 8.  

Gandhi earlier on Monday sought a week's more time to reply to the model code violation notice by the Election Commission for his remark that Pakistani's Inter Services Intelligence was in touch with Muzaffarnagar riot victims, citing his prior travel commitments and holidays due to the festive season.

The BJP today said restricting opinion polls is neither constitutionally permissible nor desirable as they are a part of free speech and maintained that only losers demand a ban on them.        

Countering the Congress demand for banning opinion polls, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said though psephology is still maturing in India and some opinion polls do go wrong, it does not mean they should be banned.        

"There are opinion polls and opinion polls. Some have acquired credibility and some can easily be ignored. Some are cases of even 'participatory psephology'. Whatever may be the reliability or otherwise of these polls, can they be prohibited or banned?" Jaitley said in an article released by the BJP today.   

Noting that political parties tend to rubbish opinion polls that predict adverse results, he said the loser demands a ban and the potential winner wants them to continue.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today ruled out that he had used words like "conditional" and "incomplete" regarding accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India and said the state is an integral part of the country.        

"J-K acceded to India. If we acceded to India, are we not an integral part of India...of course we are," Omar told media on the sidelines of re-opening of the bi-annual Darbar Move offices in Jammu today.       

"Please do not put your words in my mouth? I never used the word 'conditional' nor the word 'incomplete'....I have not used such words. You pull out the Assembly record and say what I had said," Omar said, replying to a question about his comments over accession of the state to India.

A court in Islamabad has granted bail to former military dictator Pervez Musharraf in a case related to the murder of Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Rasheed Ghazi in a 2007 military raid. Additional District and Sessions Judge Wajid Ali directed the former army strongman to submit two bonds each worth Rs 100,000 as surety for bail, his lawyer told reporters after the judge announced his verdict on the bail plea on Monday.

Ghazi was killed in the 2007 military operation in the Lal Masjid (red mosque). The ruling by the Islamabad district court means Musharraf is on bail in all the cases brought against him since his return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile, including one relating to the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Read more on Dawn

Our Delhi correspondent in Delhi reports: The count down for 2014 parliament polls has begun with the Election Commission allocating subject matter of  "2014 Lok Sabha polls prepardness" to Deputy Election Commission R Balakrishnan.  

The EC appointed Balakrishnan as the nodal officer for 2014 polls. Balakrishnan is an IAS officer of Odisha cadre. He had conducted 2009 Lok Sabha polls under N Gopalaswami.

Our Delhi correspondent in Delhi reports: Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Pulok Chatterjee and Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth had separate meetings with the President Pranab Mukherjee recently. The speculation is that UPA has decided not to go in for controversial bills in Parliament.  

Also UPA government does not want to pass on certain information to the President. Some say that under transaction of rules of Union government the minutes of the Cabinet Committee meeting on Security, Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs are not submitted to the President Secretariat.  Is this the reason why two top babus of UPA met President?

Our Delhi correspondent in Delhi reports: The prime minister's office is abuzz about V Krishnamurthy, chairman of National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, recently writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh About reorganising the Central Bureau of Investigation.

V Krishnamurthy, 84, had suffered CBI imprisonment in Tihar  jail. The PMO is believed to have sought a detailed response from Department of Personnel and Training on the suggestions of V Krishnamurthy on CBI.V Krishnamurthy is enjoying the status of a Union Minister in Dr Manmohan Singh's Cabinet as he is the chairman of the NMCC.

Our Delhi correspondent in New Delhi reports: Bureaucrats in the Union government are not confident that the Centre is serious in bringing a bill for Telangana for two simple reasons:  

The key figures for Telangana in the Union home ministry are under transfer to their parent cadres. K Skandan, IAS Tamil Nadu, is being reverted back to the state cadre.   And Rajiv Sharma is also to get back to his parent cadre Andhra Pradesh to become the finance secretary of the state.   These two senior officials are crucial for coordination and drafting of the Telangana Bill. Prior to that they have to be present in the all party meeting on Telangana being held in Delhi on November 12 and 13.  

Second, senior Union ministers who matter much on Telangana, are speaking out openly that the solution to the separate state will be difficult; and they feel the time to resolve is also too short.  

Since the Telangana bill is a Constitution amendment bill, the UPA government needs two thirds majority and approval of six state assemblies. The winter session of Parliament is scheduled for eleven sittings from December 5 to 21. The assemblies' election results will mar the winter session. Even if Congress wins all the four states, the BJP would not allow the Parliament to function.

Policy makers say that the Telangana Bill cannot be introduced in the extended session of Parliament. UPA political managers want the winter session extended to February 2014. That means the Parliament will not be prorogued. And this will also indicate that there shall not be a joint session of Parliament where President Pranab Mukherjee will address.

The UPA government wants to cut short the Budget session, which is just a vote on account taking process. With these two stumbling blocks the achievement of Telangana seems extremely difficult.

A Correspondent in Delhi reports: President Pranab Mukherjee will arrive in Hyderabad on Monday evening. The President will be the chief guest at the passing out parade of 2012 Indian Police Service Officers in National Police Academy Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The President has given appointment to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy in Raj Bhavan on Tuesday. Reddy is likely to submit a memorandum against the division of Andhra Pradesh.  

TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy will also meet the President separately in Hyderabad on Tuesday

Deposed president brought from secret detention location to face charges of incitement of violence and murder. Egypt's deposed president, Mohamed Morsi, has been brought from the secret location of his four-month detention to face trial on charges of incitement of violence and murder.

Moris's appearance on Monday at a police academy in an eastern Cairo district was his first public appearance since his military-orchestrated overthrow on July 3. If convicted, Morsi - Egypt's first freely elected president - could face the death penalty. Since his toppling, Morsi has been held at a secret military location. He was flown Monday to the venue of his trial by helicopter.

His co-defendants, 14 senior members of his Muslim Brotherhood, were taken to the venue from their jail in a suburb south of the city, in armoured police cars. The proceedings were expected to start by mid-morning on Monday. The trial is fraught with risks and comes amid a highly charged atmosphere in a bitterly polarised nation, with a deepening rift between Morsi's Islamist supporters in one hand and Egypt's security establishment and the nation's moderate Muslims, secularists, Christians and women on the other.

Read more on Al Jazeera

The Prime Minister faces a growing chorus within his Congress party to miss a Commonwealth summit in Colombo over Sri Lanka's alleged war crimes against Lankan Tamils, though his office has advised him to attend the event.

Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan has become the third union minister to voice her concerns over Dr Manmohan Singh's proposed visit to Colombo on November 15, after Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Shipping Minister GK Vasan.

"I have requested a meeting with the PM. I want to convey the strong sentiments of people of Tamil Nadu on his Sri Lanka visit. I will request him to factor sentiments against his visit when he considers his final decision," said Ms Natarajan, who is a Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu.Last week, GK Vasan had met the Prime Minister and asked him to boycott the event.

Read more on NDTV

The controversy over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's proposed visit to Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting (CHOGM) refuses to die with Union Minister Jayanthi Natarajan on Monday requesting him to skip the summit over alleged war crimes and atrocities against Tamils in the island nation.

Following Jayanthi's appeal pressure is mounting on the Prime Minister not to attend the meet as another Tamil Nadu leader and Shipping Minister GK Vasan too has asked him not to tour Sri Lanka. In Chennai, Tamil parties and protesters are increasing the pressure on the Prime Minister not to attend the meeting.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said that no decision has been taken yet on the participation of Prime Minister in CHOGM.

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Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has sought one week's time to reply to Election Commission's notice on poll code violation. The Election Commission on Thursday issued a notice to Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for his speeches in which he said Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence was in touch with Muzaffarnagar riot victims and charged BJP with indulging in politics of hatred.

The Commission, after examining Gandhi's speeches made in Churu, Rajasthan, on October 23 and in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on October 24 and after taking into account the electoral officer's report, has asked him to explain by Monday why action should not be initiated against him for prima facie violating the model code of conduct.

A member Saudi Arabia's board of religious scholars Sheikh Ali al Hemki has criticised the Mars One project which is attempting to organise a commercial mission to the red planet and has drawnexpressions of interest from more than 200 thousand people worldwide.

The Ah Hayat newspaper quotes him as saying the mission does not conform to "responsible Muslim" practices. "These experiments will lead to the destruction of those who try," and so should be done with animals, not people," he said.

Read more on news.com.au

Hundreds of suspected terrorists have been freed in a series of brazen jailbreaks that U.S. counter-terrorism analysts now suspect may all be part of an al Qaeda-coordinated "Great Escape"-like plot, officials told ABC News.

Just this week, a small group of the escaped showed themselves to be back to their old ways, captured on video carrying out an attack against security forces in Iraq.

While firm connections between the jailbreaks have not been conclusively established, similarities in the tactics al Qaeda-affiliated assault teams used to free known militants in Libya, Iraq and Pakistan, which all occurred within a week of each other this summer, and a relevant message on jailbreaks from Osama bin Laden's successor, lead many to suspect coordination.

At a minimum, the bloody external assaults that freed the jihadis, along with a subsequent uptick in violence in North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, has caused alarm. "We are very concerned about it," said one of several U.S. officials tracking the jailbreaks who spoke to ABC News. Officials said they feared the legion of terrorists sprung from behind bars could target U.S. and other western interests overseas -- or even in the homeland. The Westgate mall terror attack in Nairobi, Kenya, last month, which left more than 60 dead including Western shoppers, added to the jitters already felt over suddenly having to worry about hundreds of liberated inmates expert in assassination, making improvised explosive devices and leading terror cells.

Read more on ABC News

Malayalam actress Shweta Menon has withdrawn her molestation complaint against Congress MP Peethambara Kurup after he apologised to her. The actress insists that she was not pressured by anyone to do so. "There is no pressure whatsoever behind this move.

In the wake of Mr Peethambara Kurup's repeated public and personal apologies about the incidnt at the Presiden't boat race at Kulam, I'm withdrawing all legal and other actions against him," Menon said. But a police case has been filed based on a complaint by Opposition members.

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