Iran's semi-official Fars news agency says a private plane carrying a Saudi national and an Iranian pilot has gone missing in northern Iran. 

The United Nations' highest court ruled on Tuesday that neither Croatia nor Serbia had committed genocide against each other's populations during the wars that accompanied the violent breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Pope Francis today approved a decree declaring slain Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Romero a martyr for the church. The cleric, a defender of the poor and vocal critic of the military in El Salvador, was shot dead in 1980 while celebrating mass. 

Striking a defiant note against BJP's mounting attack on AAP on the donation issue, Arvind Kejriwal today dared the government to "arrest" him over the allegations and said his party was ready to face investigation by any central agency including the CBI.

The MNS today threatened to stop films of director-producer Karan Johar and actors Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh from releasing in the state unless they tendered an "unconditional apology" for participating in the controversial comedy show AIB Knockout.

Around167 FIRs have been registered against different political parties so far for alleged violation of Model Mode of Conduct in the run up to the Delhi assembly election.

With Kashmir Valley experiencing the first heavy snowfall of the winter, authorities today issued a high danger avalanche warning for prone areas in Bandipora district and medium danger warning for seven other districts. 

Congress should put a six-year ban on the return of deserters and defectors, a senior leader said today in the wake of exit of former Union Ministers Jayanthi Natarajan and G K Vasan from the party.

With the CBI failed to submit evidences along with case diary in the alleged rape and murder case of Badaun cousins, a POCSO court today ordered it to submit them within two days.

US President Barack Obama has proposed over $1 billion in civilian and military aid to"strategically important" Pakistan for fighting terror,economic development, safety of nuclear installations and improving ties with India among other objectives.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today mounted a shrill attack on AAP over allegations of the party receiving "dubious" donations, saying it has exposed its claim of being more honest than others and questioned whether AAP can run Delhi with "dishonesty and lies".

In an election rally, Modi also had a swipe at Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, calling them "Maa-beta", and said nobody was listening to them except when they make statements against him.

"While big and old Congress has ruined the city during its 15 years of regime, the temporary party (i.e AAP), which is new and small, destroyed it for one year," the Prime Minister said, adding it was BJP's responsibility to repair the damage.

"Can Delhi be run through dishonesty and lies. Cleverness does not take you very far. We have given test of fire to be where we are," the Prime Minister said, adding that his party would make the national capital "standout" on the world scene if voted to power.

Karan Johar @karanjohar writes the script for the criticism on the AIB roast: Not your cup of tea...don't drink it!!!

Filmmaker and censor board member Ashoke Pandit has triggered a controversy for his derogatory tweet on Karan Johar, who hosted the AIB Knockout YouTube video, and his mother who was in the audience.

Pandit was slammed on Twitter for his distasteful tweet by many. @desktopdiarist, for instance, tweeted his outrage, saying, 'Henhji, who will censor this censor Board clown Ashok Pandit-ji? Did they coin the B in #AIB after listening to him for 10 mins, ji?'. Another tweet from @RanaAyyub said '@ashokepandit intellectual bankruptcy , ashok?' @IAmTathagat wrote 'The best thing about #AIBRoast is that it offended the people who weren't mocked and people who were mocked aren't offended'.

More power to you, Mr Johar.

Read more

The price of petrol was today slashed by Rs. 2.42 per litre while that of diesel was reduced by Rs. 2.25.

This is the tenth cut in the price of petrol since August last, and the sixth in case of diesel since its regulation in October.

Fuel prices were last revised on January 16 when petrol and diesel prices were cut by the same margin in the wake of falling oil prices.

The rupee, which plays an important role in determining prices of the imported fuels, ended steady at 61.66 against the US dollar today.

Kiren Rijiju, MoS Home on BJP vision document calling people from the north-east as immigrants: "Must be a typing/printing mistake or clerical error, will correct it."

BJP's vision document for the Delhi Assembly polls stoked a fresh controversy after it referred to people from the north-eastern states living in Delhi as 'immigrants'.

In the document, the party promises to protect "north-eastern immigrants" with measures that include setting up special cells in all police stations "for the protection of the north-eastern migrants."

Sonakshi Sinha on the AIB controversy tweets: So nice to see twitter is filled with such angels who point out hypocrisy n never use foul language n have nvr laughed at dirty jokes (haw).

The post of Foreign Secretary brings with it an aura of brilliance, political acceptability, high visibility and vulnerability. But staying in the position for a full term is a Herculean task. Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday defended the amendments made in Land bill saying the new law will be used for development of villages and not for the rich.

During a public rally before Delhi assembly polls in Rohini, Modi said, "New land acquisition law brought through ordinance to be used for development of villages; not for the rich.'The Prime Minister also attacked the Congress for teaching him the meaning of poverty. "Please do not teach me what is poverty; I have lived with it for years,' said Modi.

New land acquisition law brought through ordinance to be used for development of villages; not for the rich: Prime Minister Narendra Modi tells voters in Rohini. 

Mohamed Fahmy, one of two al-Jazeera journalists still held in Egypt, could be freed within hours after renouncing his Egyptian citizenship. Fahmy's brother said the journalist, who is also Canadian, was told to give up his nationality or his freedom, AFP reported. His fiance, Marwa Omara, told the Canadian Press that it was a very difficult decision for Fahmy because he is a "proud Egyptian who comes from a family of military service'.  Read more

PM Modi in Rohini, Delhi: When the world looks at India, they 1st look at Delhi. With a view of Delhi they make a perception about India. Your dreams are my dreams, your ambitions are my responsibility, together we have to take the national capital to new heights. Congress ruined your city for 15 years. Now it's our responsibility to rectify the mistakes of 16 years."

This is PM's third rally in Delhi.

PM Modi: When Lok Sabha polls were being held, they said that no-one even knows Modi in Delhi,but we got all 7 seats here,am grateful to all.

With just four days left for the national capital to go to polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun his barrage of election rallies in Delhi's Rohini, amid unprecedented security.

In the previous rally addressed by the Prime Minister on February 1, he spoke about need of a stable and responsible government in Delhi.

The elections for the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held in a single phase on February 7. The counting of votes will take place on February 10. The last day of campaigning is February 5. The results will be declared on February 10.

A study teenagers found that those who used a computer in the hour before bedtime were nearly three times as likely to get less than five hours sleep. Read

200 meters down an Indian mine: Why the country is digging deep for coal. Read

If you still haven't watched this video, do so now. A young, gutsy, woman takes on a man who groped her aboard a flight and shames him. Watch

In an effort to woo young voters, BJP will set up around 2,500 'Selfie with Modi' booths across Delhi where people will be able to click their photos with a "virtual Narendra Modi".

The first such 'Selfie with Modi' booth was inaugurated by BJP President Amit Shah last month at Central Delhi's Khan Market.

Modi is himself known for clicking selfies on various occasions. The party feels the 'Selfie with Modi' campaign will hit the right chord in the city when it goes to polls on February 7.

A poignant tweet by murdered journalist Kenji Goto on the virtue of being calm was spreading rapidly on social media today, days after he was apparently beheaded by Islamist militants.

"Close your eyes and remain patient. It's over once you get angry or yell. It is almost like praying. Hating is not the role of humans; judgement is God's domain," Goto's four-year-old tweet read. "It was my Arab brothers who taught me this," he tweeted in Japanese on September 7, 2010.

By early today afternoon, the message had been retweeted more than 26,000 times in Japanese, with English versions also widely circulated. Goto's brutal killing by militants from the Islamic State movement has provoked an outpouring of emotion in Japan, a country that previously considered itself far removed from the violence that afflicts Western nations facing off against Muslim militants.

In a statement on Sunday, his mother cautioned against this emotion becoming destructive. "I believe this sorrow must not create a chain of hatred," said Junko Ishido.

Goto's killing was announced in a video posted late Saturday by IS militants and came a week after his friend and fellow captive Haruna Yukawa was beheaded.

The 47-year-old freelance journalist, who established his own video production company in 1996, had supplied documentaries on the Middle East and other regions to Japanese television networks. Much of his work had focused on the plight of children in war zones.

Retired Major (Dr) Surendra Poonia quits the AAP over allegations that the party received donations from bogus companies. Read his resignation letter here

The Aam Aadmi Party, which was considered a month ago to have lost much of its support base across Delhi, is likely to storm back to power in the national capital if multiple opinions polls are to be believed. The BJP, which arrived onto the scene harping on successive victories in state elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand might just finish in a close second position, the polls predict.   Read more

Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP, alludes to Arvind Kejriwal (without naming him) in this tweet: "Am sorry to give a frivolous analogy, but a 'chor' cannot decide who should investigate."

AAP tweeted its response to the name calling with senior leader Ashutosh saying, "Not surprised if Nirmala Sitharam is calling Kejriwal 'chor', that is what the political culture they have been born into."

Sitharaman made the comment in response to the Aam Aadmi Party's decision today where it said it will ask the leadership of BJP and Congress to agree for a probe by a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the funding of all the three major parties in the Delhi polls.

Ignore the obituaries and eulogies of the past week. Saudi activists like me know the truth about the late king, writes Hala Aldosari. Read

Aldosari is a human rights defender in Saudi Arabia. 

Here's someone who thought AIB wasn't funny -- author, Chetan Bhagat.  Bhagat tweets: I don't support hounding of people who make dirty jokes. But that doesn't mean I find making dirty jokes cool. Clean Humour > Dirty humour. Just incidentally, when I make a remotely sexist funny comment, I get bajaoed by the same people who today find AIB really cool.

Censor Board member Ashok Pandit today tweeted his support to the probe on the AIB roast, saying, "I support #MaharashtraGovts inquiry into #AIB a porn show on stage. Did the police give permission to #AIB even after they knew what B stands for? Was the script of #AIB which was a stage play approved by the authorites which approve plays?"

While the Pandit censures AIB for using graphic language, his own derogatory tweet on Karan Johar, who had conducted the AIB's roast, and Johar's mother, who was in audience, has come in for huge criticism.

@desktopdiarist, for instance, tweeted his outrage, saying, "Henhji, who will censor this censor Board clown Ashok Pandit-ji? Did they coin the B in #AIB after listening to him for 10 mins, ji?"

What Pandit tweeted is far too graphic and vulgar and extremely bad taste for us to reproduce here.

The Maharashtra government, meanwhile, has said it will not exercise "moral policing." Maharashtra minister for cultural affairs Vinod Tawde first said: "Such vulgarity is a crime and based on facts which will emerge, the government will file a case against them."

China's official media today highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plans to visit the Communist nation in May, with commentaries asking China to dispel India's doubts about the ambitious Silk Road projects citing the influence it wields in South Asia.

State-run newspapers - China Daily and Global Times - besides the ruling Communist Party of China-run People's Daily featured External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's meeting with President Xi Jinping on front pages while the state TV CCTV extended elaborate coverage for her engagements.

Modi to visit China in May was the headline in Global Times with Xi's remarks that China and India need to "patiently manage differences". His visit will likely deepen mutual trust, seek investment and trade opportunities for India and discuss border issues, Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow with the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

After trading in the positive territory in early trade, the benchmark BSE Sensex slumped by 221 points after the RBI kept the interest rate unchanged.

The Sensex, which gained 130.79 points in early trade, fell 221.20 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 28,901.07 at 1215 hours after the Reserve Bank maintained its key lending rate at 7.75 per cent in its 6th bi-monthly monetary policy review.

The gauge had lost 559.50 points in the previous two straight sessions. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty was trading at 8,729.40, down 68.00 points, or 0.77 per cent.

The Prince of Wales was wracked with such doubts about his doomed marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales that he told an aide on the eve of his wedding: "I can't go through with it,' a new biography reveals.

Both the Prince and his young bride-to-be entertained thoughts of calling off the wedding because each knew that their relationship was deeply flawed.

While the then Lady Diana Spencer knew the Prince held a candle for Camilla Parker Bowles, her groom panicked that he was rushing into marriage with a girl he hardly knew.  Read more

So, will Prime Minister Modi vote during the Delhi polls? While the PM has repeatedly said that he has become a Delhi resident, it is still not clear whether he got his voter card transferred from Vadodra to 7 Race Course Road.

The PMO refuses to speak on the issue, which it believes is personal. So, watch this space on February 7.

Vice President Hamid Ansari is a voter in Delhi and is likely to vote. on February 7. As will Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka. 

While on the Delhi polls, President Pranab Mukherjee will abstain from voting in the polls as he is a registered voter in Kolkata. The Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said that the President did not get the voter card transferred to the Delhi address.

"There will be constant monitoring of govt projects. Digital India-online and mobile technologies to be used to the fullest. Constant dialogue with all stakeholders, monthly radio address -- Dil Ki Baat," promises Bedi.  

Kiran Bedi, BJP's Delhi CM candidate: This documents covers over 270 points, will focus on the following urgent matters -- women safety, security, youth affairs, electricity and water, cleanliness, education and skill development, environment. 

Union minister Niramala Sitharaman also at the presser. Last week, the BJP scrapped plans to release a manifesto and decided to give Delhi the vision document instead; the manifesto was reportedly stuck due to differences between key state leaders over the demand for full statehood for Delhi.

Kiran Bedi's turn to speak. With a laptop placed before her, she goes through every point in the vision document.  

Satish Upadhyay, BJP Delhi Prez: We are fighting the Delhi polls under Kiran Bedi's leadership, our Delhi CM candidate. We promise 24-hour water supply for all of Delhi. In our vision document we have addressed how Delhi can be made a smart city, a knowledge hub, a skill development hub."

Yesterday, BJP President Amit Shah was supposed to release the document, but it was rescheduled for today.

The Vision Document focuses on development and promises to turn Delhi into a smart city, a world-class city.

BJP releases Vision Document,  a day after the scheduled date. The vision document 2050 will feature a roadmap for the development of the city in line with Prime Minister's vision to turn India into a developed country where all strata of the society will benefit from the fruits of his pro-development policies of his government at the Centre.

The document was released by BJP's CM candidate Kiran Bedi and its Delhi unit head Satish Upadhyay. Also present was Dr Harsh Vardhan. Party president Amit Shah was absent.

A Delhi court today fixed April 9, for recording of pre-summoning evidence in a criminal complaint seeking action against AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly exhorting voters to take bribes from BJP and Congress and vote for his party.

"I am fixing it for April 9, for recording of the pre-summoning evidence," Metropolitan Magistrate Richa Gusain Solanki said. During the hearing, advocate Arun Kumar who is also the complainant in the matter, argued that Kejriwal has instigated the public to take bribe from political parties.

"Kejriwal has asked voters to take money from Congress and BJP but to vote for his party," the advocate appearing in person said. He also said the Election Commission had issued notice to the former Delhi chief minister and later directed him not to make such remarks, warning him of strict action in the event of any violation.

It was one of the greatest Hollywood love affairs, beginning in a whirlwind of passion and secrecy and ending in breakdown and divorce. Now a cache of 200 previously unpublished letters between Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh is to be made public, revealing the intimate thoughts and ardent declarations of love between the pair. Read

The BJP Monday warned Sadhvi Prachi, one of its leaders in Uttar Pradesh, after she made a comment derisive of Muslims and asked her to show restraint.

Sadhvi Prachi said at a VHP event in Badayun Sunday that she had done no wrong by asking Hindu women to mother four children as she was not asking them to "give birth to 30-40 pups like others'.

BJP Uttar Pradesh president Laxmikant Bajpayi said the comment was uncalled for and Sadhvi Prachi cannot behave like a Vishwa Hindu Parishad worker while being in the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"The BJP does not support such statements. It would be better that Sadhvi Prachi realises that she cannot give a statement on the lines of VHP while being a BJP leader."

Prachi had dared state Urban Development Minister Mohd Azam Khan to embrace Hinduism.

Read: BJP's Sadhvi Prachi invites Musharraf for ghar wapsi

Narendra Modi has unveiled a new face after coming to power. While his tailor and the cut of his clothes remain the same, the colours have become more sober; there is less of yellow and pink.

While he was wedded to Hindi till then, he has ventured into English, beginning with his speech to Australian Parliament. While he confined himself earlier to domestic issues, he has actively engaged himself in foreign policy as Prime Minister. And most important, he has thrown non-alignment into the dust bin. He has actively wooed capitalist leaders, starting with Abe and Abbott, to whom he has now added Obama.

Read more

The Adani mining company donated about 50,000 Australian dollars to Australia's ruling Liberal Party last year, new disclosures under that nation's electoral laws show. The opposition Labour Party received a donation of 11,000 Australian dollars from the company. Read

Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah did well to try and quell the controversy over the demands for dropping the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the Preamble of the Constitution.

In his interview to The Hindu, he could not have been more unequivocal: "The BJP believes that the Preamble, as it stands today, should remain. There is no need to change it.'

Read

Just in: RBI keeps interest rates unchanged. The RBI cut its policy interest rate just three weeks ago, and has now held rates steady at its monetary policy review on Tuesday, leaving its next move until after the government presents its annual budget on February 28.

BJP's CM candidate Kiran Bedi on her key opponent Arvind Kejriwal's allegations of EVM tampering, asks, "Is Arvind Kejriwal scared of losing?"

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal today alleged that Electronic Voting Machines were being tampered with to favour the BJP in the February 7 assembly election.

Kejriwal claimed that it was found during an inspection of four such machines at Delhi Cantonment area yesterday. He alleged that whatever button was pressed on the machines, the light against the BJP symbol lit up.

"Large scale EVM tampering? Yest (yesterday), during inspection of EVMs in Del cant (Delhi Cantt), in 4 machines, whatever button u pressed, light against BJP lit," he said in a tweet.

In a significant development, China and Russia on Monday decided to back India for moving a proposal at the United Nations that essentially goes against Pakistan on the issue of terrorism.

In order to corner Pakistan for sheltering and facilitating terrorists involved the 26/11 carnage and other attacks in the country, India seeks to move a resolution in the UN to punish those who shelter and finance terrorism.

And on Monday, it enlisted the support of China and Russia for the same. "I see this as a major achievement," Exteral affairs minister Sushma Swaraj told newsmen after a summit of the foreign ministers of Russia, India and China (RIC). Read more

Minister Madan Mitra was subjected to Saradha-laced expletives by a group of inmates in an adjacent cell in Alipore jail this morning, prompting a scuffle between cellmates of the Trinamul leader and his tormentors, sources said.

Other inmates intervened and separated the two groups before they came to blows, the sources added.

Mitra later lodged a complaint with jail officials, mentioning the abuses hurled at him. "We are conducting an internal inquiry. No complaint has been lodged with police as the alleged offence is non-cognisable," said a jail official.

Read more

Faced with allegations of receiving funds from "dubious" companies, the Aam Aadmi Party  demanded a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team to probe funding of all three major parties in Delhi polls and said it was ready to face any action if found guilty.

Asserting that it adopted "total transparency" in its funding, AAP's Yogendra Yadav in a press conference on Monday night accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of attempting to influence the voters ahead of the February 7 polls by bringing out false allegations.

He was responding to allegations by AAP Volunteer Action Manch, a breakaway group of the party, which accused the Kejriwal-led party of receiving Rs 2 crore last year through four "dubious" companies.

"AAP demands constitution of a SIT to probe funding of all three main political parties (the AAP, Congress and BJP). The SIT should be monitored by the Supreme Court as we already know how the government can manipulate a probe," he said while daring the parties to disclose their fundings publicly.

Yadav said "strangely instead of inquiring against the AAP, the BJP ministers are making allegations even after sitting on the files for eight months." He said the party had anticipated such activities by the BJP and Kejriwal had warned about it a few days ago. "Ahead of last assembly polls also, the BJP had brought out a CD which turned out to be false later. They do not allow politics of honesty," Yadav said.

Neither U.S. President Barack Obama nor King Salman of Saudi Arabia can be comforted with the mess that their countries have made in West Asia. Tragically, the only pathway they seem to favour is the one that would create more distress. Read

After two sessions of losses, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose over 130 points in early trade today on fresh spell of buying by participants ahead of RBI's monetary policy review.

The 30-share index, which had lost 559.50 points in the previous two sessions, recovered by 130.79 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 29,253.06, with consumer durables, FMCG, oil & gas, auto and banking sector stocks leading the rise.

On similar lines, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty gained 26.00 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 8,823.40 in early trade.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal today alleged that Electronic Voting Machines were being tampered with to favour the BJP in the February 7 assembly election.

Kejriwal claimed that it was found during an inspection of four such machines at Delhi Cantonment area yesterday. He alleged that whatever button was pressed on the machines, the light against the BJP symbol lit up.

"Large scale EVM tampering? Yest (yesterday), during inspection of EVMs in Del cant (Delhi Cantt), in 4 machines, whatever button u pressed, light against BJP lit," he said in a tweet.

Arjun Rampal has been summoned by the Mumbai police after it received information that the Bollywood actor met jailed gangster Arun Gawli in January.

He met Gawli at J J Hospital last month. Rampal is playing the role of the gangster in an underproduction movie 'Daddy.' 

The actor spent close to an hour with the don in the hospital's out-patient department. He did not have permission to meet Gawli, who is serving a life term in connection with the murder of corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar in 2008.

Gawli was brought to the hospital for a routine check-up and was in judicial custody when he met Rampal.     

An article in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh mouthpiece Organiser has said that the Bharatiya Janata Party is not on a "comfortable ground at present in Delhi. It also revealed that the BJP had projected Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate after receiving an adverse feedback from field against the Delhi BJP.

The RSS is the ideological mentor of the BJP.

The article, written by its Delhi bureau, says there was resentment in the Delhi BJP after Bedi was inducted and made a CM nominee.

It points out that Aam Aadmi Party has emerged strong in Delhi. "The AAP through its constant field work and anti-establishment rhetoric has managed to reclaim a large portion of its lost ground."

Malayalam actor Mohanlal, who has been slammed on social media over the performance of his music band Lalism at the inauguration of the National Games, has said he would return the hefty fee he had charged, reports NDTV. 

Mohanlal and his band had been under fire for allegedly giving a poor performance despite heavily charging the Kerala government. Since Saturday, when the inauguration of the National Games took place, his official blog has been flooded with criticisms. There were even allegations that the performance was lip-synced.

In a letter to the state government, Mohanlal wrote he had been "pained by the strong criticism" and wishing to stay out of controversy, was ready to return the Rs. 1.63 crore fee.

Mohanlal further said he had undertaken the performance after he was approached by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and state sports minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.

Business Standard reports: Starting Indian Premier League 2015, the big cricket tournament, will be the auctions for players on February 16 at Bengaluru.

Unlike the process in 2014, which spanned over two days, this year's will wrap up in one day. Manning the gavel this year as well will be professional auctioneer Richard Madley.

It is not known how many players will be involved, since the Board of Control for Cricket in India has pushed the deadline for franchises to give the final list of retained players to Wednesday. The teams have a total salary purse of Rs 63 crore for the 2015 season (five per cent increase over the 2014 one). The salaries of those retained will be deducted from this amount. As of now, the collective sum available for auction is Rs 134.65 crore.

Read the full report here

BJP's Nirmala Sitharaman talks to Radhika Ramaseshan about her interests and experiences in the government.

Now, the minister of state for commerce and industry, her big break came when she was appointed a spokesperson and frequently fielded in TV debates on tough subjects such as defending Narendra Modi against various charges related to the 2002 Gujarat violence and the BJP's leadership conundrum before Modi was unveiled as the prime ministerial candidate.

Her sangfroid impressed the BJP, particularly Modi who asked her to stay put in Gujarat during the 2012 assembly elections which won him a third term. How did she do it?

"I always did my homework before going on a TV debate and was particularly meticulous on Gujarat because of the intensity with which those debates happened. I couldn't afford to go wrong on facts because that would have damaged my party. Before wrapping up the preparations, I consulted others. Each one of those debates had a ripple effect because I came out of them successfully, without getting mauled."

Modi's remark in an interview in 2013 in which he said he experienced as much remorse over the killing of Muslims in Gujarat as over a puppy run over by a careless driver was defended by her in the telecasts on that day when other spokespersons plainly said they didn't want to appear on TV.

"Ah that one!" she remembers, and adds, "I will disclose this with a sense of responsibility that I never ran away from anything on Gujarat. If anything I never let go of an opportunity because I was firm in my conviction that how could so many individuals be after one person's blood?"

Read the full report here  

United States President Barack Obama has proposed $14 billion for the fiscal 2016 to boost cyber security across the US.

Obama in his budget sent to the US Congress yesterday proposed to increase the cyber security budget by $1 billion to $14 billion, keeping in view the increased cyber attacks from countries like China and Russia and the recent hacking attack on Sony Pictures.

For the past several years, White House budgets have kept cyber spending around  $3 billion. Cyber threats targeting the private sector, critical infrastructure, and the federal government demonstrate that no sector, network, or system is immune to while also protecting individual privacy.

The budget identifies and promotes initiatives and priorities, including the deployment of intrusion detection and prevention capabilities and enhancement of Government information sharing capabilities with the private sector so that they can be more vigilant and better protect themselves against emerging threats, the proposals said.

PTI reports: Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to be the chief guest at an annual military parade that Pakistan will hold after seven years on its national day, March 23, officials said.

A security official said the venue of the parade has not been decided yet, but it is expected to be held near Islamabad. The joint military parade of the three branches of the armed forces -- that was discontinued due to the deteriorating law and order situation in the country -- was once the centerpiece of Pakistan Day celebrations, featuring a display of military hardware and culture.

The last military parade was held on March 23, 2008, when General Pervez Musharraf was the president.

Faced with allegations of receiving funds from "dubious" companies, the Aam Aadmi Party has demanded a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team to probe funding of all three major parties in Delhi polls and said it was ready to face any action if found guilty.

Asserting that it adopted "total transparency" in its funding, AAP's Yogendra Yadav accused the BJP of attempting to influence the voters ahead of the February 7 polls by bringing out false allegations. He was responding to allegations by AAP Volunteer Action Manch, a breakaway group of the Aam Aadmi Party, which accused the Kejriwal-led party of receiving Rs 2 crore last year through four "dubious" companies.

"AAP demands constitution of an SIT to probe funding of all three main political parties (AAP, Congress and the BJP). The SIT should be monitored by the Supreme Court as we already know how the government can manipulate a probe," he said while daring the parties to disclose their fundings publicly.

Yadav said "strangely instead of inquiring against the AAP, the BJP ministers are today making allegations even after sitting on the files for eight months." He said the party had anticipated such activities by the BJP and Kejriwal had warned about it a few days ago.

In Delhi, it's a battle of the poor versus the middle class

I never towed away PM Indira's car: Kiran Bedi

Fifth Delhi church vandalised; home ministry seeks report 

Chhattisgarh: SHO among 2 cops killed in Naxal ambush, 6 hurt 

Ishant, Rohit, Bhuvi, Jadeja to undergo fitness test on Feb 7