A group of Arab and the Western countries today agreed with Syria's moderate opposition that President Bashar al-Assad should have no role in any future Syrian government. 

One of New York's best loved music venues, which for nearly a century has hosted stars from Fred Astaire to Madonna, announced today it would close next year. 

Small cigars flavored to taste like candy or fruit are popular among US teens, according to the first government study to gauge their use. About 1 in 30 middle and high school kids said they smoke the compact, sweet-flavored cigars. 

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrived at the European Parliament in Strasbourg today to finally collect the Sakharov Prize she was awarded in 1990.

Accused dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar today filed a fresh petition in the special CBI court seeking summoning of journalist Nalini Singh and the then CBI deputy SP Anuj Arya as court witnesses in Arushi- Hemraj murder trial.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi today finally received the EU's Sakharov rights prize she won in 1990 at the height of a brutal military crackdown, but said her work was not yet done. 

The infamous royal prank call, which led to the death of an India-born nurse, was mired in another controversy today when the head of the Australian media group that owns the radio station brushed off the incident as "sh*t happens".

If you're a school kid in Bangalore, be prepared to confront the possibility of a life without Facebook. After banning logging onto social networks on campus, some schools have asked that Facebook accounts be deleted entirely by their students. Read

Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, will propose India's participation in a key peace conference to be held in Geneva next month to find a solution to the Syrian crisis, official sources said today.

The Geneva II Middle East peace conference is a UN-backed meeting that will be held in the Swiss city during November 23-24 to discuss ways to stop the fighting in Syria and to organise a transition period and post-war reconstruction.

A 36-year-old man allegedly committed suicide by jumping before a metro train at Chandni Chowk station in New Delhi this morning, police said.

At least 10 persons, including four cops, were injured when police resorted to lathicharge today to chase away a mob protesting alleged diversion of kerosene meant for relief at Chikiti in Odisha's cyclone hit Ganjam district.

Worried over the "increased infiltration" this year in Jammu and Kashmir, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today said Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed could be training terrorists on the other side of Indo-Pak border for infiltration.

Shinde also rejected Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif's proposal for US intervention to resolve Kashmir issue, saying "Kashmir is ours" and that there is no question of any role for a third party.

He made these remarks while talking to reporters and in his address to BSF personnel here after reviewing the security situation in Jammu region in the wake of escalation in ceasefire violations along the International Border(IB) and the Line of Control (LoC) and rise in infiltration bids.

The Price of War: A new report details the civilian costs of U.S. drone strikes -- and failures to compensate the families of victims. Read

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit admits that debutant Arvind Kejriwal has caught the people's imagination, but says she does not expect that to translate into votes for his Aam Aadmi Party in the assembly elections. Read the interview on NDTV.

The Sultan of Brunei generally in the news for his many wives, today introduced tough Islamic punishments including death by stoning for adultery, making his oil-rich realm the first East Asian country to do so at the national level.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah -- one of the world's wealthiest men -- said a new Sharia Penal Code in the works for years was officially introduced today and would "come into force six months hereafter and in phases", sparking sharp criticism from rights groups.

Under the code, which applies only to Muslims, punishments can include stoning to death for adultery, severing of limbs for theft, and flogging for violations ranging from abortion to alcohol consumption.

PM Manmohan Singh reaches Beijing in the second leg of his visit to Russia and China. Before his departure, the PM said that in his nine years of tenure he has worked closely with the Chinese leadership to establish a strategic and cooperative partnership.

The PM also said that both the countries have made preliminary progress towards settlement of the India-China boundary question.

He noted that peaceful and friendly relations have given both the countries a wider region to grow with stability.

The government has decided to float tenders through THE National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Fedration of India Limited (NAFED) to import onions.

The Centre today said the price spike in onions is due to artificial scarcity and asked the state governments to take firm action against hoarders.

The onion crisis has been continuing since the last three months and retail prices have risen back to Rs 80-90/kg in Delhi and other major cities because of severe supply crunch.

The government is also mulling banning onion exports to contain prices.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram today ruled out the possibility of lifting a ban on import of gold coins and medallions and asked banks to strictly follow guidelines restricting inward shipments of the metal.

"Import of gold coins and gold medallions is prohibited. Nobody can import gold coins and medallions," he said, referring to a suggestion that the government should allow import of coins for 'shagun' (auspicious gift) purposes.

He said traders can buy gold from the domestic market and make coins, but the government will not relax the curbs that were imposed to contain the current account deficit (CAD).

Chidambaram said banks have been asked to strictly adhere to the norms on gold imports.

The Q Branch CID of the Tamil Nadu Police today moved court seeking custody of three crew members of the detained US vessel, arrested for illegally carrying arms and ammunition in Indian waters, for further investigation.

Terming the ongoing gold hunt in Unnao "ridiculous", JD(U) today threatened to file a police case against Union Minister Charan Das Mahant for promoting the alleged superstition and noted that the the seer who had claimed he had had a dream about the supposed treasure should ideally have been put in jail.

The excavation work is being carried out at the fort of Raja Rao Ram Bux Singh at Daudiakala village in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh by a 12-member team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Shobhan Sarkar, a seer, had apparently had a dream that 1,000 tonnes of gold was buried in the ruins of the fort.

He reportedly convinced the Union Minister about the presence of the gold, following which a team of ASI and GSI officials surveyed the area.

"A tamasha is going on... I have heard of some people being superstitious, but I am saddened and worried that the government has become superstitious. On the dream of a sadhu, GSI and ASI suggested that they take up the excavation (of the site), which is ridiculous. They talk about gold. Can anybody see gold reserves in dream? This is idle talk."

Is there a worse city in the world to be marked out as a tourist? Maybe, but we haven't been sneered at by a waiter there yet. But you don't have to be the bumbling out of towner. Stick to a few rules (actually 11) and you'll fit right in. Read

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Tuesday attacked the UPA government and the Uttarakhand government for using all its agencies, from the CBI to the local police, to project him as a criminal.

"Congress is scared of my campaign against black money and scams, which will lead to their defeat in the coming assembly elections and parliamentary election, so they are carrying out a campaign for my character assassination ," Ramdev alleged. -- TOI

In the face of continued criticism from rationalists, the government today denied that the digging in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh is not for gold.

The minister of culture says the excavation was based on a report by the Geological Survey of India and the government expects the dig to unearth weapons used during the 1857 war of Independence. It said gold jewellery, if found during the search, would have belonged to people in the same period who had run away.

The government's bizarre decision to start an excavation to locate 1,000 kg of gold is on the basis of a dream by Kanpur seer Shobhan Sarkar. The Archaeological Survey of India has since denied that it went by the dream.

Delhi's eclectic range of street food is known and loved for many things. Hygiene is not among them. The capital where thousands of vendors sell snacks and meals from carts, stalls and the back of bicycles, lends its name to the stomach upset known to travelers as Delhi Belly and has a reputation for requiring diners to have a strong digestive system. Read

A Capt Ajit Vadakayil's blog on Karva Chauth. Take your time over this, it's unbelieveable!

"It never happened that my wife ate a meal before me or along with me-- for 3 decades .  She , the quintessential Bharatiya Nari , always ate after feeding her husband and her children.   Of course she sailed with me for 9 years as the "Captains wife ", and she sat on my table , and ate with me as per  shipboard decorum. It never happened that I got up from sleep in the morning (or a nap in the afternoon ) and a cup of hot tea was NOT given to me by my wife , within 3 minutes ,  for the past 3 decades.  So --  is she my slave? No , she is my wife , just carrying out her Dharma which makes her happy !"  More of that here.

More onion news: The Centre today said the price spike in onions is due to artificial scarcity and asked the state governments to take firm action against hoarders.

The onion crisis has been continuing since the last three months and retail prices have risen back to Rs 80-90/kg in Delhi and other major cities because of severe supply crunch.

"We have enough onion stock in the country. The state governments must act firmly against hoarders who are hoarding onions which has led to the artificial scarcity and sharp escalation of prices," Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said.

I never wanted media hype on Unnao gold hunt, says seer Shobhan Sarkar. Read

The government is mulling banning onion exports to contain prices, which have risen back to the Rs 80-90/kg level in the national capital owing to supply crunch.

Not only in Delhi, consumers in other parts of the country are affected by rise in onion prices.

In major cities, onion is being sold at Rs 60-80 per kg in retail markets. The domestic availability of onion has been affected on account of damage to kharif crop because of unseasonal rains in key producing states including Maharashtra.

The India-China Border Defence Cooperation Agreement, expected to be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's three-day visit here, would be a "double guarantee" to deal with frequent face offs by the two armies along the Line of Actual Control, Chinese experts said.

The defence deal will be "very important in controlling border crises," said Hu Shisheng, director of the Institute of South and Southeast Asian and Oceanian Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

The Supreme Court is likely to take up the coal scam status report on October 29.

The CBI has filed its status report in the coal scam before the Supreme Court and is believed to hold details of its 14th FIR against Hindalco and others and also progress in the remaining 13 cases. The status report was placed in a sealed envelope.

Highly-placed sources said the Supreme Court would be given the details of fresh FIR filed against Aditya Birla group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Hindalco and former coal secretary PC Parakh.

The food ministry has called for a review meeting with onion growing states on October 25. This comes after onion prices soared to the year's high of Rs 90 per kg in many parts of Delhi on Monday, amid indications that it would touch Rs 100 before coming down to more normal levels around Diwali.

The government also said that states should act against farmers who were hoarding onions as there was no reason for the prices to shoot up.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that commitment by Indian and Chinese leaderships to maintain peace and tranquility at borders pending boundary settlement is an important guarantor for further progress in Sino-Indian ties, particularly growth of 2.5 billion people.

"Boundary Question between India and China is complex and sensitive. We have established the Special Representatives mechanism to find a political solution," Singh said in written interview to China's official media ahead of his three-day visit starting today.

New battlelines were drawn and some old ones revived at Kasturi and Sons Ltd (KSL), publisher of The Hindu, after chairman N. Ram used his casting vote to effect a change in top management after the 12 member board of the company voted 6-6 on the move. Read

"On Feb. 11, 2010, I returned to Mumbai after a reporting assignment in Hyderabad. A rare weekend off with family, it was also my niece's birthday. I switched my phone to silent mode to avoid work-related phone calls and tried to play host to a bunch of kids who were home.

"At around 10 p.m., I returned back to my phone to find 50-odd missed calls and an equal number of messages. Anticipating some kind of news emergency, I pressed on the last message from a journalist friend, who asked, "Could you confirm if Shahid Azmi is dead?' My friend Shahid was 32. He had been killed." Read

Senior bureaucrat Ashok Khemka has written to the Haryana government alleging that he is being hounded for challenging a land deal struck in the state by Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, the country's most powerful politician. Read

Rabri Devi says Lalu's conviction was a conspiracy. She says the RJD remains strong despite Lalu's absence and the people of Bihar are with him.

Rabri Devi in an interview to CNN IBN says she is missing her husband Lalu Prasad Yadav. Lalu was on October 3 sentenced to five years imprisonment in a 17-year-old fodder scam case by the court after on the charges of corruption and other charges. She also said that she had no problem handling the party (RJD) in his absence as the party was together.

Ahead of his three-day visit starting today, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has welcomed Chinese investment and the proposal to establish a Chinese Industrial Park in India to boost bilateral trade ties.

In a written interview with Chinese media based in Delhi, Singh said India faces an unsustainable imbalance in its trade with China and one of the ways of overcoming the trade deficit is for India to attract larger flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) from China.

"We are happy that more Chinese firms are looking to India as an investment destination. During his visit to India in May 2013, Premier Li Keqiang suggested that we look at the option of establishing a Chinese Industrial Park in India where companies and firms from China could cluster together. We welcome this idea," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.

A day after his disqualification from the Rajya Sabha, Congress leader Rashid Masood today moved the Delhi High Court challenging his conviction and four years sentence in a corruption case.

Justice Hima Kohli issued notice to the CBI and sought its response by November 13 on Masood's appeal.

Masood's counsel H R Khan Suhail also sought suspension of his client's jail term on medical grounds.

He said 67-year-old Masood is acute diabetic and is taking insulin several times a day besides other medicines for his ailments.

He also submitted that the trial was going on against Masood for past 17 years and he is in custody since October 1 when he was sentenced to four years jail by the trial court.

Archaeologists and treasure hunters go back a long way. Both in real life and in popular culture, they have often been inseparable, if not one and the same. Heinrich Schliemann, who dug up Priam's treasure in the 19th century, loved gold as much as he did excavation. Read

Putting an end to weeks of speculation, the BCCI today gave its consent to India's tour of South Africa after Cricket South Africa withdrew its CEO Haroon Lorgat from not just its dealings with the Indian Board but also the ICC Chief Executives Committee pending an enquiry into his actions.

"What really makes me sad with our country is that the majority feel that politics should be avoided. We don't have our best people in politics.

"We could have been a developed country in 15 years if our best brains had come forward to lead the country," says politician, academician, activist Dr Subramanian Swamy in Rediff.com's special series where well-known Indians speak about their idea of India. Read

The BJP is going all out to ensure that Narendra Modi's mega rally in Bihar capital Patna, his first in three years, is a sweet success. The proof is in a Jalebi shop that has recently opened in Saharsa district, 250 km from Patna. Read

After giving evidence for more than four hours in the trial of the men accused of gang-raping her, a photojournalist from Mumbai collapsed in court last week, according to the prosecutor in the case.

The fainting spell was covered in the Indian media, and raised fresh questions about the treatment of rape victims during trials, women's rights groups said. Read

The US has carried out "unlawful killings" in Pakistan through drone attacks, some of which could even amount to war crimes, a human rights group said today.

In its report, the Amnesty International (AI) also expressed concern that "some officials and institutions" in Pakistan and in other countries including Australia, Germany and the UK may be assisting the US to carry out drone strikes that constitute human rights violations.

The report, "Will I be next? US drone strikes in Pakistan", has said a number of civilians were killed in US drone strikes in Pakistan.

The report said that according to NGO and Pakistan government sources, the US has launched some 330 to 374 drone strikes in Pakistan between 2004 and September 2013.

'By pursuing this case, Captain Saurabh Kalia and the five soldiers will not come back to us, but this is the least I can do as a humble citizen of India to honour Indian soldiers,' says Dr N K Kalia on his struggle for justice for his son who was brutally tortured, mutilated and killed by the Pakistan army in the Kargil war.  Read the interview with Rediff.com's Archana Masih.

In other stories: As the sole Western journalist covering a unique bicycle race in North Korea last month, I was provided with a personal guide, a car with a driver and the promise that I was free to take any photographs I wanted.

As a journalist, it seemed like an incredible opportunity to document a small snapshot of what North Korea was really like. However, the promise turned out not to be completely true. Read

Just in: Lalu Prasad Yadav has been disqualified from the Lok Sabha. Yesterday, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar issued disqualification notices to the RJD chief and JD(U)'s Jagdish Sharma. The two MPs were sent the disqualification notice following their conviction in the 17-year-old Bihar fodder scam case by a Ranchi court.

Yesterday, Congress member of the Rajya Sabha Rashid Masood became the first MP MP to lose his seat after the Supreme Court struck down a provision in the electoral law that protected a convicted lawmaker from disqualification on the ground of pendency of appeal in higher courts.

The home minister reviewed the situation first hand in the forward areas with senior officers of the BSF and met the local residents, reports Rediff.com's Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar.

Shinde will also visit Hiranagar in Kathua district. He is scheduled to chair the unified headquarters meeting later in the day to assess the overall security situation in the state.

Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde holding a press conference in Samba, Jammu now. Shinde, who is accompanied by J-K chief minister Omar Abdullah, met Border Security Force personnel and reviewed the security situation along the border.   

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today left for China on the second leg of his two-nation tour after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin here during which the two leaders pledged to "resolve all outstanding issues" related to the Kudankulam nuclear project.

During his Russia visit, the Prime Minister met Russian President at Kremlin Palace in his fifth annual summit with Putin and the 14th summit between the two countries.

A joint statement issued at the end of the talks said the two sides agreed to "expeditiously finalise" the General Framework Agreement and the techno-commercial offer for Units 3 and 4 of Kudankulam nuclear power project.

Also read: 8 crucial takeaways from Singh-Putin summit

The Unnao gold hunt has led to illegal digging at forts and temples rumoured to have hidden treasures in Uttar Pradesh. Shobhan Sarkar, the seer who had 'dreamt' about 1,000 tonne gold buried under Unnao's Daundia Khera fort, had said the precious metal was hidden in Fatehpur's Adampur area as well. Read more

RJD leader Rabri Devi said Bihar's Chief Minister Nitish Kumar does not have the strength to stop Narendra Modi from coming to the state, the way her husband Lalu Prasad had stopped LK Advani during his rath yatra in 1990.

"Lalu Prasad had the guts to stop the rath of LK Advani but Nitish Kumar does not have the strength to stop Narendra Modi," she was quoted as saying by party spokesman Randhir Yadav.

Advani was arrested on October 23, 1990 at Samastipur in Bihar by the then government of Lalu Prasad when the BJP patriarch was on his way to Ayodhya from Somnath via central India to garner support for the Ayodhya temple.

Hitting out at BJP too, Rabri Devi, who has been chosen by RJD leaders to 'guide' the party in the absence of her jailed husband Lalu Prasad, said Narendra Modi would have "no impact" in Bihar.-- NDTV

The Supreme Court orders periodic checks of aerated soft drinks by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Details awaited. 

This is Pakistan's response to Indian leadership's remarks on Jammu & Kashmir issued by the ministry of foreign affairs.

"Expressing disappointment at the comments by the Indian External Affairs Minister on the status of Jammu & Kashmir, appearing in a section of the Indian media, the Spokesperson stated that the Kashmir dispute is the core issue that remains unresolved between the two countries.

It is unfortunate that Indian leadership continues to refer to the state of Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India, when the reality is clearly otherwise.

As a member of the United Nations, India should not overlook or undermine the numerous UN Security Council resolutions on this issue.

While bilateral agreements may exist, the sanctity of the UN resolutions cannot be understated.

The Kashmir dispute remains a fundamental component of the bilateral dialogue process and resolution of this dispute is vital for maintaining peace and security in the region.

India's continued intransigence over this issue is counterproductive and is unhelpful in the efforts to resolve this dispute.

Pakistan remains committed to a purposeful, constructive and result-oriented dialogue with India and believes that serious efforts need to be made in maintaining a positive atmosphere and avoid negative propaganda."

Just in: Locals burn down portions of Asaram Bapu's ashram in Valsad, Gujarat. Farmers in Valsad have also demanded that the land they had donated to the preacher be returned after cases were filed against him.

Yesterday, the spiritual leader, currently in jail in Gujarat, lost a case to stop the media from reporting on his alleged sexual assault of a school girl. Asaram's lawyer argued in the Supreme Court to stop the media from carrying what he described as speculative reports about the 75-year-old preacher, his family, and his many ashrams or retreats.  

Here's what The Hindu says on changes in the paper.

N Ravi has taken over as Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, and Malini Parthasarathy as Editor of The Hindu.

Arun Anant is no longer the Chief Executive Officer of Kasturi & Sons Limited, the company that owns and publishes The Hindu Group of publications.

N Ram has become Chairman of KSL and Publisher of The Hindu and Group publications; and N Murali, Co-Chairman of the company.

These decisions were taken by the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting on Monday.

In consequence, Siddharth Varadarajan, who was made Contributing Editor and Senior Columnist, The Hindu, has submitted his resignation.

The Board also decided to allocate specific responsibilities to other Directors.

The decision to make deep-going changes was made chiefly on the ground that there were recurrent violations and defiance of the framework of the institution's longstanding values on the business side, and recurrent violations and defiance of 'Living Our Values', the mandatory Code of Editorial Values applicable to The Hindu. The whole effort is to restore employee morale, good industrial relations, and the trust of this newspaper's more than two million readers.

The existing editorial arrangements for Business Line, Frontline, Sportstar, and The Hindu (Tamil) will continue unchanged and the process of professionalisation, now involving a mix of shareholder-Directors and other professionals, will continue.

Three senior officials of the home ministry have triggered a controversy by latching on to a foreign trip meant for pilots and engineers attached to the ministry's aircraft fleet.

Their eagerness to travel to Lisbon, Cairo, Istanbul and Dubai at the public exchequer's cost at a time when the government is supposed to be in austerity mode resulted in three engineers being offloaded, while the trip itself was expanded from nine to 14 days. Read

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde arrives in the Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir. He is expected to meet Border Security Force personnel and address the issue of increase in ceasefire violations in Pakistan.

Along with J&K CM Omar Abdullah, Shinde will review the security situation along the border.   

The first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was synchronised with the southern power grid on Tuesday, marking a major milestone in power generation of the ambitious Indo-Russian nuclear collaboration in Tamil Nadu.

"The synchronisation of Unit 1 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was done at 2.45 am. It is generating 75 MWe," KNPP Site Director R S Sundar told PTI.

The rupee lost 27 paise to Rs 61.79 against the US dollar in early trade today on the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to appreciation of the Greenback against other overseas currencies.

Increased demand for the dollar from importers and banks also put pressure on the local currency. Dealers attributed the fall in rupee to gains made by US dollar against the euro and other overseas currencies ahead of US jobs data and a lower opening in the domestic equity market.

The Times of India reports: Onion prices soared to the year's high of Rs 90 per kg in many parts of New Delhi, amid indications that it many touch Rs 100 before coming down around Diwali.

In Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi, onions were selling between Rs 60 and Rs 80.

Read the full report here

The Central Bureau of Investigation will file its status report on the coal block allocation in the Supreme Court today. According to CNN-IBN, the CBI will stand by its FIR against industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and former coal secretary P C Parakh.

The status report however is silent on whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be questioned or not.

Read the full report on CNN-IBN  

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde reaches to review border security in the region. Pakistan has been violating ceasefire time and again along the International Border. 

Amid uproar in France over the revelation that the National Security Agency carried out extensive electronic surveillance there, United States President Barack Obama called up his French counterpart Francois Hollande and told that Washington has begun reviewing the way it gathers intelligence.

"The president made clear that the US has begun to review the way that we gather intelligence, so that we properly balance the legitimate security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share, the White House said in readout of the call.

Obama and Hollande discussed recent disclosures in the press, "Some of which have distorted our activities and some of which raise legitimate questions for our friends and allies about how these capabilities are employed," it said.

There has been yet another ceasefire violation. Last night Pakistani troops fired at Indian posts in Abdullian sector, R S Pura along the International Border last night.    

In wake of the increased ceasefire violations by Pakistan, the Border Security Force has instructed their troops to retaliate strongly and not become easy targets, reports CNN-IBN. 

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will review border security today.

There have been more than 200 ceasefire violations from Pakistan this year.

Editor-in-chief Siddharth Varadarajan quits The Hindu 

Russian Deputy PM: 'No limitations, restrictions in Russia-India relationship'

Antony holds sudden meet with army chief on LoC situation

Rupee drops another 25 paise to 61.52 against dollar

CSA could sacrifice CEO Lorgat for India tour

Struggling Ishant sweats it out in nets with bowling coach