At least 45 people have died after the roof of a supermarket collapsed in the Latvian capital Riga, rescuers said today, upping a previous death toll. 

The head of a rights group working for the Baloch people today alleged that around 18,000 people had been detained without charge by security agencies in the troubled Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan. 

The Pakistan government today nominated Akram Sheikh as its lawyer for the trial of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on charges of high treason. 

An Indian billionaire couple in the UK has hosted a birthday bash for Prince Charles' 65th birthday at the Buckingham Palace, splurging out thousands of pounds on the mega event. 

The death toll from this month's Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines has spiked to 5,209, the government-run Philippines News Agency reported, citing the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. 

At least 35 people were killed and 166 others injured when a leaking oil pipeline exploded today in the densely populated coastal city of Qingdao causing extensive damage, in one of the worst industrial accidents in China this year. 

The lawyer for a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden says his client has been charged with murder.

Actress Shruti Haasan has registered a molestation and trespassing complaint against an unidentified stalker who allegedly tried to barge into her suburban residence in Mumbai on Tuesday morning.        

A special CBI court has granted permission to YSR Congress chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to visit Bhubaneswar and Mumbai to meet leaders of political parties to lobby for an "united" Andhra Pradesh.        

Trinamool Congress all-India general secretary Mukul Roy today said he would not comment on the allegation by suspended party MP Kunal Ghosh -- that he was being made a scapegoat in the Saradha scam -- saying 'nobody is above the law'.        

The Centre has decided to give more financial powers to the CBI director which would be on par with the chiefs of paramilitary forces.        

Challenger Magnus Carlsen won the crown after defeating defending champion Viswanathan Anand in the tenth game of the World Chess Championship match in Chennai on Friday.

Apprehending imminent arrest in the Saradha scam, suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh today said that he would reveal the names of party leaders to the police on Saturday and accused a section of the party leadership of making him a scapegoat in the case.        

Essar Shipping today said its vessel, detained by Singapore authorities, will sail out on Saturday, following the settlement of a dispute.        

Countering the prime minister's accusation that Narendra Modi is not following his Rajdharma, the BJP today alleged that the Manmohan Singh government has failed on this front by "doing the unthinkable" in commuting death sentences to life terms in some cases of heinous crimes.        

Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily has told the Supreme Court that he has not done any favours to Reliance Industries Ltd and allegations levelled against him by CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta are baseless and politically motivated.        

Hinting at a possible cut in the country's defence budget, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the Services will have to exercise prudence in acquisitions in view of the economic slowdown, stressing on the need to "cut our coat according to our cloth".        

Army troops today foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. 

Updates on the Tehelka case:

RPN Singh, MoS Home, says the home ministry has sought a detailed reported on the Tarun Tejpal sexual assault case from the Goa government.

Barkha Dutt tweets that Indira Jaising, who is the Additional Solicitor General, says that Tehelka is in breach of the law since a criminal complaint should have been filed immediately by them.  

barkha dutt: Suzette Jordan, Park Street rape survivor, tells me she feels "dirty" for having shared her own story at Think Fest, Goa.

Here's the picture of Chaudhury at the Think Fest with Jordan.

Shoma Chaudhury tweets: Madeline Albright: there's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women.

A Delhi police team reached Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal's house this afternoon to provide security against possible protest.

According to the police, the deployment was made at Tejpal's Jangpura residence as a "precautionary measure" after members of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a protest outside the investigative magazine's Greater Kailash office earlier in the day.

"Police personnel have been moved in to provide security in case of a protest at Tejpal's residence as there was one earlier in the day at the magazine's office. It is a precautionary measure, we have nothing to do with the case," said a senior Delhi police official.

Sources said Delhi police will have to provide logistical support to a Goa police team which is coming to the national capital to question Tejpal, against whom an FIR has been filed and rape charge slapped by Goa police, but won't be directly involved in the matter.

Tejpal faces arrest after Goa police booked him on charges of rape and outraging the modesty of a woman colleague of Tehelka magazine.

The Congress Core Committee is to meet at 5:30 pm to discuss the Telangana issue, the campaign scene for the assembly polls and the Tarun Tejpal episode.

A Congress leaders says the Goa incident is a setback as Tehelkha has been close to the UPA leadership ever since the Bangaru Laxman during the NDA regime.   

Tunku Varadarajan: I wonder what Shabana Azmi makes of Javed Akhtar's apologia for Tarun Tejpal...

Here's what Javed Akhtar had tweeted yesterday:

Javed Akhtar: It is not a case of rape or molestation why are they hiding the identity of the lady . She should call a press con and tell the truth

Javed Akhtar: It is a shame that some one with such impeccable values has committed such an act but unlike some he has the guts to accept and repent.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Brinda Karat today condemned the sexual assault incident involving Tehelka magazine editor Tarun Tejpal, and asked that if offenders can decide punishments for themselves, then what is the use of having laws and courts in the country?

"The government must definitely investigate it. If offenders decide punishments for themselves, what is the use of law and courts in the country,?" she asked. 

The Delhi police team reaches Tarun Tejpal's residence in Delhi. The police were apparently there to deliver some papers, and that done, the police left.

Tehelka has justified its investigative journalism as being solely in the interest of the victim. There cannot be a different rule when the magazine's founder is under scrutiny. Read

AAP holds a press conference after Media Sarkar refuses to share the raw footage of the sting op CD with them. This morning, AAP's Yogendra Yadav had said that if the party does not receive the CD by 3 pm today, it will maintain that it was doctored.

At the just concluded press conference, Yadav says Shazia Ilm's resignation  has not been accepted and that the part showing Ilmi was certainly doctored.

He said that the EC must probe the CD and if anyone is found guilty the party will withdraw that person from contesting the polls.

He said the CD was a cut-paste job and misrepresents facts and AAP would sue the website Media Sarkar.

With militants present in the area he was visiting, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah gave some anxious moments to his security personnel when he decided to break the cordon thrown around him and mix with people in Tral area in South Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Sticking to his decision to carry on with his visit as scheduled yesterday despite opposition from security agencies in view of firing by terrorists at a police bunker on Wednesday, Omar visited the area and addressed a gathering during which he spoke about the dangers of militancy.

Journalist Anuranjan Jha hands over the raw footage of the sting op CD on AAP leaders to the Election Commission. The sting operation, conducted by a website called Media Sarkar, alleged that several leaders of AAP, who were contacted for their help in recovery of money from individuals and getting land deals done, readily agreed to extend their support in return of donations in cash to AAP.

Editor-in-chief of Tehelka, Tarun Tejpal's full statement after the Goa police filed attempt to rape charges against him.

There have been serious allegations cast on me in this last week, and unfortunately as sometimes happens in life, the complete truth and the need to do the honorable thing can come into conflict. In this case this anguish was accentuated by the fact that very many intimate people, professional and personal, were involved.

For four days, as demanded by Shoma Chaudhury, the managing editor, and the recipient of the complaint, I have tried to do what was honorably demanded of me.

On Tuesday I issued an apology for the alleged misconduct, as desired by the journalist through Shoma Chaudhury.

On Wednesday I stepped down from the editorship of Tehelka and removed myself from the office premises.

On Thursday I learnt of  the formation of the complaints committee. 

I offer my fullest cooperation to the police and all other authorities, and look to  presenting all the facts of this incident to it. I also urge the committee and the police to obtain, examine and release the CCTV footage so that the accurate version of events stands clearly revealed. 

Tarun J Tejpal

Suspended Trinamool MP Kunal Ghosh said that Mamata Banerjee's  police can arrest him, but Mukul Roy and others are the main culprits in the Saradha scam.

Ghosh was questioned by the police yesterday and asked about the details of how Saradha spent its money.

Ghosh said he did not know. However, the police want answers by Saturday, failing which he may be arrested.

"I will not apply for anticipatory bail," he told Rediff.com over the telephone from an undisclosed location.

Ghosh also said Mukul Roy was pressuring the police to harass him. There is no investigation being done to track the Saradha funds, he added.

In light of the revelations on Tarun Tejpal, sexual assault and the demands for filing a case by the State, the Amba Salekar looks at the victim's right to choose. Read the column on the DNA.

A court hearing the 2008 case on the alleged bribing of MPs by the UPA government to survive a confidence vote in Parliament has discharged all but one accused in the case.

Former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, three BJP MPs and two others have been discharged.

Only one accused, Anil Saxena, an alleged agent of Amar Singh, has been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Kiran Bedi on Tarun Tejpal's statement saying he will cooperate with the probe. "For #Tejpal it's not a Question of Cooperation with d police.He's an accused & ought to surrender himself! He has admitted d crime already"

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said attempt to rape charges have been pressed in the FIR against Tejpal.

"I am yet to see the FIR copy. What I know is they have pressed attempt to rape charge (against Tejpal)," he said.

He said police have complete authority to investigate the sexual assault case against Tejpal and they should not worry about the stature of the person involved.

"I have given complete authority to the police to investigate the case. I have told them don't worry whether the person is low profile or high profile. Stature does not count. What counts is the crime. You go by what is correct in law," the Chief Minister told the police.

These days, it is only the world's grandparents who can tell you where they were when they heard John F Kennedy was dead.

For decades that was a staple of the global collective memory, a question that could be asked in Berlin or London as readily as New York or Los Angeles. Today that memory becomes exactly 50 years old. Read

Union agriculture minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar has been admitted to a hospital in Mumbai following high blood pressure, party spokesperson Nawab Malik said.

Pawar, 72, was admitted to the hospital when he was on his way to attend the Rashtrawadi Yuvati Congress programme at the Y B Chavan Centre here, he said.

Tarun Tejpal's first statement since the attempt to rape charges filed by the Goa police.

The Tehelka editor says he will cooperate with the probe and in his statement says he has rendered an unconditional apology to the girl.

And quite ambiguously says that the Goa police should see the CCTV footage of the elevator so that they can verify what had actually happened. 

On 22 November 1963 the world was too preoccupied with the Kennedy assassination to pay much attention to the passing of two writers from the other side of the Atlantic: CS Lewis and Aldous Huxley. Fifty years on, Lewis is being honoured with a plaque in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey, to be unveiled in a ceremony on Friday. The fanfare for Huxley has been more muted. Read

Can Narendra Modi revive India's economy? In some ways, this is the central question Indian voters face when the country goes to the polls next summer. Yet as with most anything that concerns the Gujarat chief minister and opposition BJP prime ministerial candidate, opinion in the country is sharply divided. Read more

The Goa police has filed the FIR suo motu since the victim has not filed a complaint. The action by the Goa police comes after the MHA took cognizance of the incident on the basis of media reports and has sought a report from the Goa government on the case.

Deputy Inspector General of Police OP Mishra said that the police are examining the footage received from the five star hotel where the incident was reported.

"We will go through all the details. We will press rape charges against him, if the complaint of the girl is substantiated," Mishra said.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had ordered a preliminary inquiry into the allegations by the girl that she was sexually abused by Tejpal during an event in Goa.

The alleged incident happened in a lift in a five star hotel in Goa about 10 days ago. The DIG said the CCTV footage was received from the hotel last evening and was preserved. The details of the incident can only be known after examining the footage, he said.

Police have already written to the Tehelka management, asking for the documents including email of the victim and the statement by Tejpal Parrikar had said yesterday that the police were trying to reach to the girl and record her statement.

"We will fully backup the girl if she files the complaint," the chief minister had said.

The Goa police registers an FIR against Tarun Tejpal in the sex assault case. The FIR mentions attempt to rape and outraging the modesty of a woman. The Goa DGP says they will arrest Tejpal if he doesn't cooperate in the probe.

A police team has gone to Delhi to interrogate Tejpal.  The police are also looking at CCTV footage from the five-star hotel in Goa where the incident allegedly occurred. 

Earlier, acting editor Shoma Choudhary told CNN IBN that she would not cooperate with the Goa police till the victim herself files an FIR.

Literary giant Sir Salman Rushdie is romancing New York designer and socialite Missy Brody after escorting her to a string of parties. Sir Salman,65, has been seen with Melissa 'Missy' Brody at a series of posh events, including this red carpet event at the IAAC Gala in New York. 

With India rocked by another sexual assault case, US lawmakers have been told that rape cases are not only being hushed up in the country due to fear and stigma but are also very poorly investigated, many ending up in acquittals.

"In India, rape cases have been hushed up and not reported due to fear and stigma. The cases which are reported are very poorly investigated and many end up in acquittals," Ravi Kant, president of board of directors of non-governmental Shakti Vahini, told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing in Washington.

"Brutal rape and subsequent death of a 23-year-old in a crowded area of Delhi, physical and mental torture of a minor housemaid by a highly qualified MNC employee, mysterious death of a tribal girl employed as a domestic help are all instances that have shocked and shook the public conscience in India and have led to massive outpouring of anger," Kant said.

50 years of conspiracies about JFK's death. Warning: Graphic images. See

In other news: The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a PIL accusing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of filing incomplete details by leaving blank the column meant for specifying marital status in the 2012 assembly polls.

A bench comprising Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that such issues are to be dealt by Chief Election Officer and it did not intent to go into it.

taslima nasreen: Tehelka's managing editor Shoma Chaudhury should know that sexual advances with consent is an 'internal matter',without consent it is NOT.

nitin gokhale: Stinging. Exposes the hypocrite.Shoma Chaudhury messes up for Tehelka by batting for godfather Tarun Tejpal

taslima nasreen: If media houses full of anti-rape activists, feminists & modern progressive thinkers are not safe for women,then nowhere is safe for women.

Suhasini Haidar: I have not breathed a word of Tarun's "different version yet" Shoma Chaudhury to CNN-IBN.. This sounds dangerously like a threat.

She said the actions taken in three days do not smack of a cover-up. Reiterating the measures taken so far she said, Tarun Tejpal has unconditionally resigned, stepped aside and a panel set up to probe the issue.

She said she overrode Tarun Tejpal's version of what happened despite it being completely different from the victim's.

She said the victim can file a police complaint, but till such time that she does not, it is not a police case.

She said the media jumped to conclusions in the Aarushi murder case and was doing the same thing in this case as well.

Shoma Chaudhury, speaking to CNN IBN, says she accepts that Tehelka did not have a grievance redressal  system, as per the Visakha guidelines.

She reiterates that victim had asked for an institutional apology which she has received, since the victim is not satisfied with that, Tehelka set up a panel. But she said the victim told her she was satisfied with Tarun Tejpal stepping down.

She said she had no knowledge of the incident till she received the complaint. She said the media is jumping to conclusions, wrongly accusing them for covering up.

She said the victim has not gone to the police, it is not a police case. And therefore, while she will speak to the NCW, she will not help the Goa police in their probe.

Goa CM Manohar Parrikar has ordered a probe in the case, suo motu.

She said she admits that her mail to her colleagues does reveal the outrage she felt at hearing what happened.

She said Tehelka's image has not been hit and asks Rajdeep Sardesai why she should quit if the editor was responsible for sexual assault. She said her ethics were intact. "Don't question my ethics. I made Tarun apologise unconditionally."

She justice need not necessarily come only only from courts and police. She said media was jumping to the conclusion that it was rape and asked that the panel come out with its decision. 

Meanwhile, Tehelka managing editor Shoma Chaudhury modifies her tone to the media after national outrage over her attempt to protect Tarun Tejpal.

She says the woman journalist (sorry, we refuse to call her a survivor),  only wanted an institutional response.

Shoma Chaudhury said the letter was leaked and she did not have time to react. 

Tehelka has set up a panel headed by feminist Urvashi Butalia to hear both Tarun Tejpal's version and the girl's.

She said Tarun had a different version of what took place, but she overruled his version and angrily confronted him when she received the girl's email.

The girl had complained on Monday and Tejpal resigned on Tuesday. She said she was devastated when she heard the girl's account and condmenns sexual harassment of any kind.

To questions whether Tarun Tejpal has fled the country, she said he was in the country. "He will speak to the committee. Why will he run away?"

She said nothing can be more public than the Tejpal stepping down and asked for time to put things in place. "Three days is not a long time. Please give me time."

She also said the victim was satisfied with Tehelka's response, which however, the girl has denied on NDTV.

She said she would take every action to honour my colleague's sense of outrage. And she was not here to judge or defend anyone.  

AAP leader Yogendra Yadav says the video has been edited and the tapes have been doctored. "We have requested for raw footage and if anyone is found guilty he or she will be removed from the party. If we don't get the raw footage by 3 pm today, the party will stand by the belief that the sting was carried out to malign the clean image of the party and not to present the truth. This is nothing but a conspiracy."

He also asked the media to verify the legitimacy of the tapes before they run it. 

He says Shazia Ilmi's withdrawal as a candidate has not been accepted by the party. "We have asked her to wait we receive the raw footage. Our candidates have only their integrity and honesty and when people cast aspersions on that, they get emotional. Which is why she said she wanted to quit from the elections," says Yadav. 

Another AAP member said, "This is not Big Boss, that you can just take 10 minutes from hours of footage and present a distorted image. AAP will take action against the channel Media Sarkar, that released the video in four hours time if we don't get the raw footage."

However, the channel has said that it will release the tapes only to a constitutional body and not to AAP.

After the sting operation, AAP workers want Shazia Ilmi out of the party, says Times Now. 

AAP to address the media on the the sting op showing candidates agreeing to carry out illegal activities.

Two weeks before Delhi votes, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Admi Party has been hit with a sting operation that allegedly shows some of its candidates agreeing to help push property deals and resolve financial disputes in return for cash donations to the party.

One of those targeted by the sting is AAPs high-profile candidate from RK Puram, Shazia Ilmi, a former journalist and vocal activist, who has offered not to contest the elections.

"I will not allow my party's image to be sullied by the underhand shoddy sting operation. I offer to withdraw my candidature and not contest elections until and unless my name is cleared," Ilmi said.  Read more

Andhra Pradesh is bracing for severe cyclonic storm, Helen, which is expected to hit the state's coast this afternoon.

 

Read the latest updates on NDTV

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Stung AAP leader offers to leave Delhi poll battle

EC dumps Modi's explanation on 'khooni panja'

Journalist bodies condemn Tejpal, demand probe, prosecution

India too good for Windies in Kochi ODI