Among the dead were Muslim worshippers shot as they prayed in the village mosque, said Abdullahi Bego, spokesman for the governor of the troubled state of Yobe. 

Vessels of China's ministry of transport searching for the missing passenger jet have searched a total of 136,000 square kilometers by midday today, Zhuo Li, an official with the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center, said.

Addressing workers from over six lakh polling booths across the country through a video conference on the occasion of BJP's 34th foundation day, the party's Prime Ministerial candidate equated them with security forces manning the posts on border and securing the boundaries of the nation.

The pro-government "Red Shirt" supporters issued the warning at a rally outside Bangkok - the first staged by the movement near the capital since violent clashes broke out in November. Tens of thousands of people from across the country joined a pro-government rally.

Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) president Liow Tiong Lai said everyone wished for the safe return of the airliner as soon as possible.

I don't think the way things are at the moment are acceptable to the public," Ecclestone told www.autosport.com ahead of today's Bahrain Grand Prix. "People buying tickets to come here expect to see what Formula 1 used to be," he said.

"In Uttar Pradesh, especially western UP, it is an election for honour. It is an election to take revenge for the insult. It is an election to teach a lesson to those who have committed injustice," Shah was quoted as telling a meeting of Jat leaders two days ago in Muzaffarnagar.

The Congress had moved the poll panel seeking Shah's arrest.

Malaysian authorities, citing expert analysis of satellite, radar and other data available, concluded earlier that the ill-fated flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

The External Affairs Ministry should immediately take up the matter with British High Commission and seek an explanation since "the report by the magazine was an attempt to interfere into India's internal affairs," he told reporters.

 "....if Rahul Gandhi is speaking about Yeddyurappa, it shows how much Congress fears about Yeddyurappa... 

The tugboat was at the dry dock undergoing repairs when the incident occurred.  

The EVMs were seized at Podapadar near Ghantapada by a flying squad yesterday while being transported illegally in the vehicle requisitioned by an independent candidate contesting from Kantamal assembly seat, they said.

World leaders praised the courage of Afghan voters, who cast their ballots in force despite bad weather and the violent campaign of intimidation, and urged patience in the long vote count.

Sources said the Chief Electoral Officer of UP had yesterday taken cognisance of Shah's statement and had sought the CD along with a detailed report from the district authorities.

There will be serious consequences if Modi became the next Prime Minister, warned the Congress stalwart launching a scathing attack on the BJP's PM candidate.

Quoting senior BJP leader LK Advani, Chidambaram said that the BJP patriarch was right in describing Modi as a successful event manager. He said the BJP was taken over by a single individual for which the party would have to pay a heavy price in the future.

The 4,300-tonne Mongolian-flagged ship carrying 16 North Korean crew sank in the international waters off the South's southern island of Geomun on Friday.

Justices Sir Brian Leveson and Blake, sitting in the Queen's Bench Division in London, had dealt a major blow to the CBI last week by ruling against extradition as there was no prima facie case established against the 47-year-old former Indian Navy officer.

"The big leaders of BJP are misleading the people. They are intentionally stoking communalism and raking up such issues so that no one would ask them about the development. "It is easy to be communal, but being secular is difficult," he said at an election rally

"We have to closely examine why India abstained," Mohamed Muzammil, the NFF spokesman told reporters.

"We have to closely examine why India abstained," Mohamed Muzammil, the NFF spokesman told reporters.

Xi, also head of the ruling Communist Party of China, heads the list of the 100 Most Influential Asian People of 2014 published by Asian Awards Ltd 2014. 

The Asian Awards honouring Asian Excellence is founded by businessman Paul Sagoo.

He also sought to blame Gandhi and Yadav for the communal clashes, saying "700 riots took place right under the nose of Madam Soniaji in the last one year and 250 of them took place right here under Netaji (Yadav) in Uttar Pradesh."

Meanwhile, Upadhyay has denied report of his suspension. "I have not been given a notice, nobody from the party has called me. I have not been expelled. This is a lie," he said.

According to the lists of candidates announced so far by these three parties, just 133 women figure among more than 1,250 nominations declared by them. The figure is a far cry from almost equal representation for the women voters in the country's population.

"The Congress has two soldiers in Uttar Pradesh. These people from Congress, SP and BSP are indulging in WWF (World Wrestling Federation) fights that you see on TV. These people indulge in stage managed fights in Lucknow but they come together to grab power in Delhi," he said while addressing a rally.

After weeks of bargaining, discussing and protesting, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam Party have come to an agreement on a seat sharing arrangement in Andhra Pradesh.

 

Two naval ships carrying sophisticated deep-sea black box detectors are being sent to the area off western Australia where the pulses were reported to try to confirm or rule out whether they were from the missing plane's flight recorders, Retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston told reporters.

Seoul said Friday it had successfully test-fired a new ballistic missile capable of carrying a one-tonne payload up to 500 kilometres (310 miles), suggesting it could hit any part of the North.

"All nations deserve respect, no matter how large or how small," Hagel said during a visit to Tokyo.

In unusually forceful remarks about China, Hagel drew a direct line between Russia's takeover of Ukraine's Crimea region and the ongoing territorial disputes between China, Japan and others over remote islands in the East China Sea.

Leading the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) government since December 12, 1994, Chamling has completed 20 years as the CM of the Himalayan state, which had merged with India in 1975.

Basu had created a record of the longest serving chief minister by holding the post in West Bengal for more than 23 years from June 21, 1977 to November 5, 2000 when CPI(M) replaced him with Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

In an in-depth interview with Gulf News, Sardesai shares his views on the hottest topic at the moment in India '" the upcoming general elections. 

In a recent blog post, you said that Narendra Modi's real role model in the 2014 election is Indira Gandhi. Both the Congress and the BJP, for different reasons, may find that offensive.Narendra Modi is running a presidential-style campaign, wherein the campaign is about Modi's personality. It is not about any specific issue. 

It is largely about Modi claiming that he has the answers to all the crises and problems facing the country. In my view, the last time an individual positioned himself/herself in this manner in an election campaign was Indira Gandhi in 1971. In that sense, I see a similarity. I also see a similarity in force of personality '" 

Mrs Gandhi was also in many ways seen as an authoritarian, very much as someone around whom power was concentrated. She was seen as building a personality cult. I see the same thing happening with Modi.There are positives to that and negatives as well. On the positive side, it means that the voter has someone clear and identifiable; someone who can provide him leadership. Modi is making the 2014 election about 'who do you think is best placed to lead India'. Which individual, not which party. Mrs Gandhi did the same in 1971. As a result, Modi has been successful in changing the terms of the election debate. So that is the strength.

Among the 51 candidates, are union ministers Ranee Narah and Paban Singh Ghatowar, former union minister and sitting MLA Bijoy Krishna Handique, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's son Gourav Gogoi and Bhupen Kumar Bora for the Congress.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Japan Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, Hagel said their talks revolved around the threat posed by Pyongyang. He said the two ships are in response to North Korea's "pattern of provocative and destabilizing actions, including missile launches" that violate UN resolutions.

"On behalf of the American people, I congratulate the millions of Afghans who enthusiastically participated in the historic elections, which promise to usher in the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan's history," Obama said in a statement yesterday.

In the eastern city of Jalalabad, three women posed for photographers outside a school turned into a polling station for the first round of the presidential election.

Of course, filmmakers have a right to make what they want. But, the fact that our films needed to pander to such conclusions saddened me. It made me write a column about Indian men's inexplicable love for phulkamakers. I appealed to them to forsake hot phulkas and celebrate our working women in the interest of the nation.

He was 86.His son Alex said the cause was leukemia, which was diagnosed more than a year ago. "He continued to fight gallantly to the end and was surrounded by his family,' Alex said. "He was terrifically brave.'