Arab ambassadors met today to discuss Palestinian amendments to a UN resolution that would call for an end to Israel's occupation within three years, a move vehemently opposed by Israel. 

The Turkish coastguard was searching today for eight people believed to be Syrian migrants missing after their boat capsized off southwestern Turkey while on its way to Greece, news reports said. 

Hitting out at Bollywood actor Salman Khan for allegedly campaigning for Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, MDMK chief Vaiko today dubbed him as a 'betrayer.' "He is also a betrayer," Vaiko told reporters.

About 19 militants belonging to banned militant groups, including sectarian outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, were today arrested during police raids in the cities of Karachi and Quetta in Pakistan, officials said. 

A Virgin Atlantic plane has made an emergency landing at Gatwick Airport after a technical fault occurred with one of its landing gears.

In a bold move, Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government has decided to downgrade security of top politicians of Congress and NCP and their kin, including former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and his the then deputy Ajit Pawar.

At least 13 people were killed today when a fire broke out in a multi-storey building in a busy market in this eastern Pakistani city, officials said.

BJP President Amit Shah today constituted a five-member committee headed by its senior leader S S Ahluwalia to visit and review the conditions of tribal victims of NDFB-S violence in Assam in relief camps. 

Metro railway services were disrupted partially after a man committed suicide by jumping in front of a train at Chadni Chowk station this evening, railway officials said.

Sri Lanka today claimed to have 'rescued' 8 Indian fishermen who it said were distressed at sea even as officials in Tamil Nadu said that they had been arrested for alleged poaching.

Mumbai attacks mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, whose detention under a public security order was suspended by a Pakistani court, submitted his Rs 1 million (around Rs surety bond today and is likely to be released anytime now.

Vladimir Putin delivered a lump of coal in the Kremlin's stocking this year when he announced Thursday that he has canceled holiday vacations for members of the government.

Security forces in Assam arrested two linkmen of NDFB-S which carried out a massacre of tribals in three districts of Assam on December 23.

Sonitpur Superintendent of Police Sanjukta Parasar said that two persons were arrested by security forces last night at Dhekiajuli and Biswanath Chariali. She said that interrogation of the duo revealed some names of persons in the group involved in the attack on adivasis.

"The two persons have been identified as Suklai Basumatary, 25, from Batachipur under Dhekiajuli police station and Arun Narzari, 26, from Kharaibari under Biswanath Charilai police station," Parasar said

Eighty-one people have lost their lives in NDFB-S-sponsored violence on December 23 in Kokrajhar, Sonitpur and Chirang districts in lower Assam and subsequent retaliatory violence and police firing.
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Straits Times reports: The search and locate operation for missing Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501 will expand to land on Tuesday, the chief of Indonesia's search and rescue agency Basarnas told reporters late today.

"Search operations tomorrow will expand to land, to among others the western part of west Kalimantan province," said F H Bambang Soelistyo at the media briefing in Jakarta.

PTI reports: As suspense over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir continued, Peoples Democratic Party today said the idea of a grand alliance with the National Conference and the Congress was an option for forming a stable government in the state.   

"A grand alliance with the PDP, National Conference and the Congress as partners is also an option," PDP spokesman Naeem Akhtar told PTI.   

Akhtar said it was one of the options that can be explored to form a stable government in the state and also fulfill the aspirations of all the regions of the state.

More than 125 million pre-paid mobile phone users in Pakistan may lose their connections as telecom operators have expressed their inability to re-verify their subscribers within the 28-day deadline set by the government after a brutal Taliban attack on an army school in Peshawar.

Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan last week set the deadline for the top five telecom operators -- Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor, Warid and Zong. He said the government did not want "free availability" of SIMs to militants. The

Taliban militants who attacked the army-run school in Peshawar on December 16 that killed 150 people, most of them children, used a SIM (subscriber identification module) of one of these top five telecom operators.

"We cannot re-verify over 125 million pre-paid connections in 28 days. If we are forced to so then eventually we will have to block the pre-paid SIMs to meet the deadline," said a senior official of a cellular company. He said the operators needed at least 150-200 days to complete the re-verification process.

The police today announced Rs 10 lakh reward for information about the person who planted the bomb that killed a woman and injured three others outside a restaurant in Bengaluru last night.   

"Yes, Rs 10 lakh reward has been announced for information on the bomb planter," DCP Central (Bengaluru) Sandeep Patiltold PTI.   

Earlier, speaking to reporters, City Police Commissioner M N Reddi had sought public support in apprehending the culprits. "The police in tandem with public alone can prevent terrorist acts. I firmly believe that if public are with us, we can one hundred per cent prevent terrorist activities because the public are the eyes and ears of the police," he said.   

Stating that no organisation or outfit has claimed responsibility for the blast, he said, "It might have been done by various organisations or individuals. There are different angles. We are looking at all of them."

Describing himself a "baniya" who understands business, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal today sought to woo the traders community ahead of the assembly polls, by promising to restructure the tax regime in Delhi and to put an end to "extortion and raid racket" by the VAT department.

Addressing a traders rally, at the bustling Nehru Place in New Delhi, Kejriwal announced a slew of measures for them, saying if voted to power, his party will create a business-friendly environment and make Delhi a wholesale and distribution hub in the country.

The AAP leader described himself a trader, and said he understood the "dhandha".

"I am from the trader community and I understand the trade (mayn baniya hun aur dhandha samjhta hun)," Kejriwal said, adding, "We want you to do your business with full honesty and pay taxes."

Dashing hopes of family members of those on board the ill-fated Flight QZ8501, Indonesian officials announced that objects found floating in the sea in the search area of the AirAsia flight, do not belong to the plane. Earlier, during their search, officials had said that Australian aircraft had found some objects floating in the sea in the AirAsia search area. 

Hours after Islamabad high court cancelled 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's detention, the ministry of external affairs has summoned Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit to discuss the same. 

The father of the pilot of missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 last saw his son just days ago, at the funeral of another of his sons.Captain Irianto's brother died of diabetes, their father Suwarto told the BBC, saying the second tragedy to hit the family was in the hands of god. "I want my son to come back alive and well but if that's not meant to be, if god doesn't want that, it's in the hands of fate," he added. 

China today offered to send aircraft and ships to help in the search operations for an AirAsia flight that vanished over the Java Sea with 162 people on board. The flight which disappeared yesterday was flying from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore. "The Chinese side has already said to Indonesia that it is willing to urgently send aircraft and ships to participate in search and rescue, and will provide other aid according to Indonesian needs," said Hua Chunying, spokeswoman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in a statement.

Jet Airways flight 9W268 Mumbai to Kathmandu B737 made an emergency landing after it hit a bird. The airlines issued a statement that all passengers on board were safe. 

Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nripendra Mishra, will chair the Padma Award Committee on January 7, 2015. The meet will arrive at a list of 150 names from a selection of 3,600 names, which will then be forwarded to the PM. A second meeting at the cabinet level will decide 115 names out of the 150 and once this list is approved, the candidate will be officially informed by the joint secretary from the home affairs ministry. 

Bajrang Dal activists have gone on a rampage in Ahmedabad vandalising theatres that are showing Aamir Khan's PK. Bajrang Dal and other Hindu groups have asked for a ban on the movie, alleging that the Aamir starrer insults Hindu gods. 

Speculation is rife that missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501 has been found after Australian planes have found some objects floating in the sea in the search area. Indonesian officials resumed their search this morning at the crack of dawn. Earlier, the head of the search operations had said that there were strong chances that the plane may have crashed into the sea and will not be at the bottom of the sea. 

India has reacted sharply to the cancellation of the detention of 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. Sources within the government said, "Bail for Lakhvi makes a mockery of fight against terror, India is outraged."

Trinamool Congress leader Sankudeb Ponda was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the money laundering probe in the multi-crore Saradha chitfunds scam case today. Ponda, who was asked to present himself before the investigating officer of the case tomorrow, reported today around 11 AM to record his statement and answer ED queries. 

Minutes after it was announced that 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's detention had been suspended, politicians reacted sharply, criticising Pakistan and calling the nation insincere. BJP's Sambit Patra asked, "Is this how Pakistan wants to fight terrorism." Sources added that the ministry of external affairs will take up the issue with Pakistan.

The Islamabad high court has suspended the detention order for dreaded terrorist Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the brains behind the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. On December 18, he was granted bail in the Mumbai attacks case, but before he could be released from jail, the government detained him for three more months under Public Maintenance Order in Adiala Jail where the trial is being held.

Claire Danes is lucky no Emmy voters live in Islamabad. Pakistani officials are furious with Showtime after watching the fourth season of its hit show Homeland, which they say portrays their country as an ugly, ignorant, terror-plagued hellhole.

An encounter is on between police forces and around 30-40 Maoists in the Khammam district of Telangana. During the raid, Greyhound commandos found three weapons. 

Taking to Twitter, Tony Fernandes, the CEO and founder of AirAsia honoured the staff and crew of Flight QZ8501. He wrote on the microblogging website, "The staff in Indonesia have been brave, strong, committed and doing 150 percent for all our guests. My pride for them is enormous."

The second bilateral meeting of US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 25, will see them discussing priority areas in the ties from trade to terrorism. It is likely the stalled civil nuclear deal, signed in 2008, might see some movement. 

Tony Fernandes, who went to school in Calcutta and built AirAsia into one of the world's fastest growing airlines, has been hit by his worst nightmare."This is my worst nightmare. But there is no stopping," Fernandes said on his Twitter feed, which has nearly one million followers, after Flight QZ8501 was reported missing. "I as your group CEO will be there through these hard times. We will go through this terrible ordeal together and I will try to see as many of you."

On Monday morning, Minister of State for Home Affairs speaking to the media confirmed that the IED explosion on Church Street in Bengaluru was a terror attack. "Security and alertness needs to be enhanced. This was definitely a terror attack," he said.

A Fox News host has drawn the ire of the internet after speculating on air what could have caused the disappearance of AsiaAir Flight QZ8501. The flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore went missing early on Sunday morning over the Java Sea, shortly after the pilot asked for a change in altitude due to severe weather. Fox News co-host Anna Kooiman interviewed former FAA spokesperson Scott Brenner about the search for the missing flight Sunday morning, asking the airline industry insider whether foreign pilots were at a disadvantage since they were trained using the metric system. "Even when we think about temperature, it's Fahrenheit or Celsius," Kooiman said. "It's kilometers or miles. You know, everything about their training could be similar, but different." Kooiman continued to ask Brenner if the difference in measurements were to blame, and if that makes international travel riskier.

Actor Aamir Khan's year-ender hit PK, has broken box office records, but stirred the hornet's nest. Amid demands by Hindu outfits to ban alleged objectionable scenes from the movie, the Censor Board has refused to take any such action. Leela Samson, chairperson of Censor Board of Film Certification said the board will not remove any scenes from the film as it has already been released. 

Falling for the fourth straight session, the rupee today weakened by another 13 paise to 63.70 against the US dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to appreciation of the greenback against other currencies overseas.

Air and rail traffic is severely affected in Delhi as a massive blanket of fog has settled in. While 78 trains are running late due to low visibility, 20 others have been rescheduled. Rajdhani trains originating from Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Sealdah and Dibrugarh are among the ones running late. 

At a press conference, the head of Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency has said that based on current co-ordinates and the estimated crash site, "the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea". "That's the preliminary suspicion and it can develop based on the evaluation of the result of our search."

Following the Bengaluru Church Street blast in which one person was killed and three others were injured, Mumbai has been put on high alert. Intelligence Bureau officials sounded the alert stating that a possible SIMI attack was possible. All 93 police stations have been alerted.

Almost three hundred people are awaiting rescue from an Italian ferry that caught fire north-west of Corfu. Rescue operations are continuing despite massive waves and strong winds. 

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of a woman who was killed in the low-intensity explosion outside a popular restaurant at Bengaluru's Church Street that also left three persons injured.