With questions raised over the credibility of the mid-sea operation that suggested a 26/11 like terror strike was averted, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said all details relating to the sinking of the suspected Pakistani vessel would be released soon. 

Congress today said it will take tothe streets against the Government's controversial ordinanceamending Land Acquisition Act and chalked out agitational programmes across all states ahead of the Budget session likely in mid-February.

Turkish authorities today detained at least 34 police officers in a new wave of raids over the illegal eavesdropping of top officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state media said. 

The Union Cabinet today approved the largest ever telecom spectrum auction that is targeted to fetch at least Rs 64,840 crore from the sale next month. 

One of the two Italian marines, accused of killing two Indian fishermen in 2012, underwent a heart surgery today in Milan to correct a cardiac anomaly, days before his scheduled return to India. 

Over 7,000 people residing along the border in Samba and Kathua districts have been evacuated to safe places after Pakistani side resorted to heavy cross border firing along the international border. 

The Gujarat High Court today rejected the bail application of incarcerated self-styled godman Asaram Bapu in a rape case. Justice A J Desai dismissed the plea in the case filed by a Surat-based woman in 2013.

Budget airline GoAir, which was recently served a notice by the Airports Authority of India to clear its dues, today said it will soon clear all its outstanding amount with the state-owned airport operator. 

Hardcore Maoist leader Pramod Majhi, who is carrying a reward of Rs 3 lakh on his head and has allegedly been involved in over 50 cases, surrendered before the police today. 

Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi today stressed the need to employ science and technology to bail out children reeling under abject poverty even as he lamented that "human connect" has become "superficial" in the digital age. 

Petrol for common man costs more than the Aviation Turbine Fuel used in planes, Congress said today while seeking to paint the Narendra Modi government as anti-poor and questioning it for the "grave injustice".

Buoyed by the response it received from the fund-raising event in Mumbai last month, the AAP will again hold a similar event in that city, but this time it will be with three former ministers in the 49-day AAP government and not its chief Arvind Kejriwal. The party will hold a fund-raising event at Mumbai on January 9 where Somnath Bharti, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendra Jain will give a talk on implementation of Swaraj during AAP's rule.

Mercury hovered close to normal levels in the national capital today but icy winds ensured that Delhiites continue to feel the chill despite a sunny day.

Aamir Khan-starrer 'PK' has crossed the Rs 300 crore mark, becoming the highest grossing Bollywood film in India, according to its producers. The alien drama, which takes potshots at godmen, collected Rs 11.58 crore on its third Sunday since releasing on December 19, bringing its total earnings to Rs 305.27 crore.

Renowned Hollywood actor and activist Richard Gere today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Amid talks with PDP over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Arun Jaitley today said it was "very difficult' for political parties to give up their ideological position but hinted that controversial issues could be set aside.

He underlined that a government in the sensitive state should be based on three issues -- sovereignty, good governance for developmental activities and regional balance -- and hoped that "parties involved' would put their "heads together' for the larger interest of the state. 

Highlighting the depth of Indonesia's air safety problems, the transportation ministry announced harsh measures today against everyone who allowed AirAsia Flight 8501 to take off without proper permits including the suspension of the airport's operator and officials in the control tower.

The routing permits of all airlines flying in the country also will be examined to see if they are violating the rules, said Djoko Murjatmodjo, acting director general of air transportation.

"Who knows if other airlines are also doing the same thing," he said. The crackdown comes as searchers continue to fight bad weather while combing the Java Sea for bodies and wreckage of the Airbus A320 that crashed Dec. 28, killing all 162 passengers and crew on board.

The condition of the youth, who had slapped West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee at a rally on Sunday, was stated to be critical after he suffered multiple head injuries. Attending doctors at the Tamluk Hospital, where he was admitted after being thrashed by Trinamool Congress workers, said the condition of Debashis Acharya was 'critical'.

The doctors said that Acharya, who has deep wounds in his head at three places and in other parts of the body was slipping in and out of consciousness.

Acharya was beaten up by Trinamool Congress partymen after he slapped Banerjee, who is also the president of the Trinamool Youth Congress, at a rally at Chandipur in East Midnapore district on Sunday.

The Delhi High Court today pulled up the Election Commission in New Delhi asking what action it has taken on the allegation about the presence of a large number of bogus voters in various assembly constituencies of the national capital.

"What is the cause of it? Obviously someone is not doing their job properly. Last year, my photograph was also wrong," Justice Vibhu Bakhru said while directing the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi to file an affidavit "indicating the cause of error".

"We all are interested in knowing it (about duplication of voter ID card), nothing more than this and nothing less. That's all we want," the court said, adding if it is happening, then it is a "matter of great concern". It has listed the matter for further hearing on January 13.

Indonesian searchers today said they may have found what could be the tail of the crashed AirAsia flight QZ8501, the section where the crucial black boxes are located, even as calmer waters led to the recovery of three more bodies of people on board the ill-fated plane.

"We found what has a high probability of being the tail of the plane," Yayan Sofyan, the captain of an Indonesian patrol vessel, said.

However, the Indonesian search and rescue agency is yet to confirm the discovery. Flight recorders are very crucial for solving the mystery of the crash of the Airbus 320-200 on December 28 in the Java Sea while flying from Surabaya to Singapore.

NITI Aayog has a unique innovative framework to facilitate states to participate in policy making which would help India to become a formidable economic power, said former IIM Director Bakul Dholakia. Read

Kathua Deputy commissioner says Pakistan has started shelling in all the border villages and that more than 5,000 people living in 57 villages on the Indian side are in danger. Because of the heavy mortar shells rescue operations have been hampered.

Ex-officio members of NITI Aayog are: Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Suresh Prabhu and Radha Mohan Singh.

Special invitees are: Nitin Gadkari, Thawar Chand Gehlot and Smriti Zubin Irani.

Renowned pro-growth economist Arvind Panagariya will be the first vice-chairman of the newly announced NITI Aayog, which has replaced the Planning Commission.

The vice-chairman would be of Cabinet rank. The new body -- the National Institution for Transforming India Aayog -- will be headed by the prime minister, and comprise a vice-chairperson, besides full-time and part-time members. Bibek Debroy and V K Saraswat are full-time members

The Aayog will have a governing council, comprising all chief ministers and lieutenant governors, and will work towards fostering co-operative
federalism for providing a national agenda to the Centre and states.

Panagariya, mentored by trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati, is one of the main brains behind the recent labour reforms in Rajasthan. He was vice-chairman of Rajasthan chief minister's economic advisory council.

The Aayog has been mandated to serve as a policy think-tank for the central as well as state governments and has Prime Minister as its Chairperson. Unlike its predecessor, NITI Aayog will have all Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors on its Governing Council in the spirit of cooperative federalism.

Besides, it will also have Regional Councils, which would be formed to address specific issues and contingencies impacting more than one state or a region.

Arvind Panagariya appointed Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, PMO sources says. The Modi government has replaced the erstwhile Planning Commission with the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog on January 1.

The Aayog has been mandated to serve as a policy think-tank for the central as well as state governments and has Prime Minister as its Chairperson. 

An attempt to murder charge has been filed against the man who slapped West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's nephew. The unidentified man got on the dais during Abhishek Banerjee's address and lunged forward to slap him. TMC leader Derek O'Brien, said that it could be the handiwork of an outsider and that they are still looking into it. "Someone wanted to come on stage to click a photo with him, may be he was slapped on that pretext," he said.

Pic: TMC's Abhishek Banerjee was addressing the crowds when a man climbed on the stage and slapped him.

The name of the BSF jawan killed in fresh firing by Pakistan Rangers at 40 posts in Samba and Hiranagar sectors of international border is Devinder Singh. The Kathua DC says the situation is very serious. "Pakistani shells have landed 3 to 4 km inside Indian territory," the Kathua DC says.

After surging to over 1-month highs, the Sensex today ended with a loss of 46 points and Nifty inched 17 points down in their first drop in seven sessions on profit-selling in bluechips like HDFC, Infosys and Airtel amid weak global cues. The day began on a positive note with both the benchmark indices crossing key resistance levels. The BSE Sensex hit 28,064.49 and the NSE Nifty strengthened to 8,445.60.

Another BSF jawan has been killed in fresh cross-border firing across the international border by Pakistan in Samba and Kathua.

So far, three army jawans and a woman were killed while 11 people were injured as Pakistani troops targeted villages and security posts at various places in J&K since the weekend, which triggered migration of hundreds of people from some border areas.

While the firing and shelling continued, home minister Rajnath Singh regretted that Pakistan is repeatedly targeting border areas of India despite being offered a hand of friendship.

"Some 20 years ago, a friend from Mumbai and I were discussing how women were treated in our cities. We both agreed that women were most unsafe in New Delhi, where the hostility to them took both verbal and physical forms. In Kolkata, Chennai, and Ahmedabad, women were rarely abused or attacked in public, so long as they conformed to certain roles. They had to dress and act demurely, in keeping with what was recognised as Bengali or Tamil or Gujarati culture."

Read Ramchandra Guha's piece in the Hindustan Times.

Protests outside the Indian Express, Delhi, office over journalist Praveen Swami's piece questioning whether the Pakistani "terror" boat did indeed have terrorists on board.

Swami's report on January 2 says, that "new evidence has begun to emerge that those on board might have been small-time liquor and diesel smugglers, ferrying bootleg cargo from the port of Gwadar to other fishing boats which were to have carried it into Karachi's Keti Bandar harbour. There is also a suggestion of use of disproportionate force since the fishing boat did not have an engine capable of outrunning Indian interceptors."

Following the report, the opposition has questioned the government on the issue and has demanded that the probe report be made public. 

Read the full report here.

A Delhi court today took cognisance of the charge sheet filed against the driver of the US-based cab service provider, Uber, for allegedly raping a 27-year-old woman executive in December last year.

The court also extended the judicial custody of arrested accused Shiv Kumar Yadav, 32, till Wednesday.

Badminton ace Saina Nehwal is "upset" that her quest to know the reason behind the rejection of her nomination for Padma Bhushan snowballed into a big controversy, saying that she never demanded for the prestigious award and would respect the decision of the Sports Ministry.

"I didn't really like the way media put it that I have demanded the award. Who am I to demand for the award. I am nobody. I am s sportsperson. I play for my country. I just wanted to know why my name was not considered. I just wanted the eligible players' name to be considered. That's all. Finally what the penal decides is what I am going to respect," said Saina. "My work is just to play for my country and win as many medals as possible. Rest, I don't know why I was simply put into this controversy and Sushil (Kumar) is a great friend and people have made it really big. I am really upset about it. This is not the right way to put it."

Of Mahatma Gandhi's few possessions, his watches were the most beloved. Read

Kashmir BJP leaders tell party president Amit Shah that they are not keen on a tie-up with the PDP. The BJP says it is not keen to form government in Jammu and Kashmir if it comes at a cost of compromising on core principles.

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav however confirmed that the party is in talks with the PDP.  "The PDP has taken an intiative and talks are still on" Madhav said.

Guess who got to bond with Hollywood hottie Richard Gere?

The Pretty Woman actor was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's latest celebrity visitor and met the PM today. Gere is also chairman of Gere Foundation and Global Envoy of International Buddhist Confederation.

Details of the nature of their meeting is as yet undisclosed.

The CPM and CPI are holding their annual meetings in March and April. For the first time, the CPM has outsourced the drafting of its political resolution to JNU professors.

A crucial point which the CPM is watching closely is the Yadav parivar configuration. The CPM is worried that a JDU-RLD unification will help the BJP in the long run.

The Supreme Court today denied bail to self-styled 'godman' Asaram, who had applied for bail on medical grounds.

The top court granted two weeks' time to Asaram's lawyers to look into the report submitted by the medical board consisting of AIIMS doctors.

72-year-old Asaram had applied for bail in the Supreme Court by submitting a medical report by a Jodhpur hospital, which recommended a surgery, stating that he was suffering from trigeminal neuralgia. Trigeminal neuralgia causes severe pain in the face or the forehead of the patient afflicted with it.

The court then sought a fresh medical report from a medical board of AIIMS, rejecting his bail plea. He was taken to AIIMS for a checkup on Thursday.

Outgoing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today questioned BJP's reported negotiations with PDP, which wants revocation of AFSPA, saying the ruling party at the Centre had accused him of compromising national security whenever he raised the issue.

"So when I raised AFSPA I was accused of playing politics with Nat Sec (national security). BJP negotiates Govt (government) formation with @jkpdp using AFSPA & that's OK??" Omar wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Omar also criticized Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for its "assertion" that a coalition with BJP is necessary for getting the special assistance of Rs 44,000 crore submitted by his government for the flood-affected people of the state.

"We are being told by the @jkpdp that the tie up with BJP is necessary for the 44,000 Cr flood relief. Shouldn't a state just get its due?" Omar said.

A man was arrested for throwing a shoe at the Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi during his weekly janata durbar on Monday in Patna. Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Jitendra Rana said that an youth was arrested for creating trouble at the durbar of the chief minister.

The man was identified as Amritosh Kumar, a resident of Chhapra district. The man told the police that he was fed up and angry as his grievances were not heard despite visiting the durbar several times.

And if you want to know, the shoe missed Manjhi.

MI Khan/Rediff.com

OK, so here we go. The Sports Ministry will recommend ace badminton player SainaNehwal for the Padma Bhushan.

The Indian shuttler had lambasted the Sports Ministry on Saturday for its refusal to consider her for the country's third highest civilian honour alongside wrestler Sushil Kumar.

Olympic bronze medallist Saina, who was bestowed the Khel Ratna and Padma Shri in 2010 and also received the Arjuna award in 2009, said she was "sad" that the sports ministry felt two-time Olympic medallist Sushil deserves it more than her.

That's the man who threw shoes at Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi today during the Janata Durbar.

Zee Media Corporation Ltd has sought capital market regulator Sebi's approval to raise upto Rs 200 crore through rights issue. In a rights issue, shares are issued to existing investors as per their holding at a pre-determined price and ratio.

Leading bourse BSE will conduct live trading on Thursday and Friday, from its disaster recovery site in Hyderabad to check the robustness of its systems. The exchange will hold live trading session from disaster recovery site in the currency derivatives, equity derivatives besides equity and securities lending & borrowing mechanism segment, BSE had said in a notice on December 29 last year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi always makes it a point to ask about the well-being of the families of his ministerial colleagues. On seeing Arun Jaitley and  Venkaiah Naidu, the PM is believed to have asked them to take their medicines regularly and exercise. The PM told Jaitley to alter his pre-surgery clothes (mostly pyjama kurtas) to his current size. Jaitley lost around 15 kilos after he underwent a gastric bypass surgery in October.
But the PM is tough taskmaster as well  -- he insists his ministers study the cabinet notes and files before they arrive at Cabinet meetings.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval while reviewing the Security of President Obama has told the Delhi Police Commissioner to map the number of ragpickers in the capital. The aim is to educate the ragpickers about possible bombs in garbage. The Delhi police is now visiting slum dwellers to call a meeting and familiarise them with Obama's visit.

The President of India has never traveled in a visiting dignitary's car during the Republic Day parade, but given the heightened security threat to Obama White House officials are not ready to put the Indian government's emblem (the Lion Capital) on Obama's car. Confusion prevails in South Block.

Will President Pranab Mukherjee ride with US President Barack Obama on Republic Day?

Security agencies in India and the US are in a tizzy over which country will step back and compromise on protocol on January 26.

The problem is this: As the Republic Day chief guest, protocol demands that Obama travel with the President in his car for the Republic Day parade.

But the US Secret service insists that Obama's security will be compromised if he ditches his official car -- a bulletproof behemoth -- known as the Beast (Read this).

Obama is scheduled to receive the guard of honour from the Indian Armed forces at Rajpath.

US security officials working with President Pranab's office have offered a compromise. Obama will travel with Pranab Mukherjee from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to Rajpath which is customary, but while returning to the President's estate, Pranab Mukherjee will ride with Obama in the US President's car.

The MEA and the NSA will seek both the Presidents approval for this. 

India's choice of the man of the year was inevitable, where the elite, the crowd and the media converged on one choice: Narendra Modi. What is missing is the need for a critique of a different kind -- to demystify him. Read

A Few Good Men and the Angry Sea: 2004 Tsunami, the IAF Story, is the incredible story of survival, guts, and indomitable spirit of the air warriors in rebuilding the strategically important Car Nicobar air base, says Nitin Gokhale. Read more

Family members of those who died on board the AirAsia flight has said that they were presented with a draft letter from the airlines outlining details of preliminary compensation.

CNN reports that families are entitled to about $24,000 for each family member who was on the plane. While some families signed the letter, others requested revisions to the wording.

This compensation money is for any "financial hardships" during this period of the search, and in the letters AirAsia stressed that it was not a confirmation that their family members were deceased.

Muslim tycoon appointed to head university denies he's being paid back for supporting Modi. Read

The saffrons have done it again.They have once again showed utter contempt towards the legacy of legendary Tipu Sultan, one of those rare kings who was martyred on the battlefield, while fighting the British at the historic battle at Srirangpatnam and whose martyrdom fighting the colonials preceded the historic revolt of the 1857 by around 50 years. Not very many people even know that he had even sacrificed his children while fighting them. Read more

Chitresh Das, a mesmerizing Kolkata-born performer of Kathak and a great educator in the form throughout the Bay Area and the United States, died of an aortic dissection Sunday in Marin County. He was 70.  Read more

Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasneem Aslam on the suspect terror boat: "The incident has happened, so Pakistan doesn't want International probe.., it's for India to decide how it wants to probe the incident. The boat did not belong to Pakistan."

Pakistan foreign office rejected India's 'bomb' boat theory on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Indian authorities are on the lookout for a second suspected terror vessel near its maritime border with Pakistan after the explosion of a suspicious Pakistani boat off the Gujarat coast on Thursday.

The youth who slapped Mamata Banerjee's nephew has been identified as Debashis Acharya, 25, a third-year BTech student of an engineering college in Durgapur.

"He is good in studies but has a whimsical nature. When he came home during Diwali, he told us that he wanted to leave studies and go to Haridwar. He left home soon after and since then we have not heard from him," said Debashis's father Deshbandhu Acharya, 50, an electrical goods supplier.

While being taken to the hospital, the youth gained consciousness briefly but appeared disoriented.  Read more here.

The Delhi airport is on high alert after intelligence agencies warned that a possible hijack attempt might be made on an Air India flight bound for Afghanistan.

The threat perception is based on messages that surfaced earlier, indicating that both Islamic State militants and the Taliban may choose to target India.

Security agencies have indicated that an Air India flight to Kabul could be targeted as it is the national carrier and senior officials travel on it to Afghanistan.

BSF retaliates to Pakistan firing along the border at Samba. The border between India and Pakistan continues to remain tense. Fresh firing was reported this morning in the Kathura sector along the Line of Control. Pakistani Rangers targeted multiple Border Security Force posts prompting Indian forces to retaliate. Heavy shelling along the LoC has killed three people and injured 10 since Friday night. Among the dead are two army jawans and a woman.   

Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has told NDTV that his ministry would examine the possibility of recommending ace badminton player Saina Nehwal for the Padma Bhushan award for 2015.

"Saina is one of the greatest badminton players and she has made every Indian proud. My ministry will definitely examine the possibility of sending her name for the awards," Sonowal told NDTV.

The minister, however, took on the Badminton Association of India for what he termed as "not sending the nomination well on time."

"The staff at my bungalow received a packet that had a letter recommending Saina's name, only yesterday. Even my private secretary received an email from Badminton Association yesterday," the minister told NDTV.

The Badminton Association of India's letter, however, was dated August 9, 2014.

Criticising authorities over handling of commuter rage and breakdown of suburban train services last week, the Shiv Sena today mocked the Centre's promise of "achche din" and asked where are the good days assured to the people.

"It is true that there were protests (on Friday) and they had turned violent. But neither the police nor the authorities are willing to probe what led the people to turn violent," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said.

"If similar incidents, that had taken place during the Congress rule, continue abated, who exactly is experiencing 'achche din' (days of good governance)?" it sought to know. "Those (political parties) who thought that law should be taken into one's own hands when they were not in power, have their government now. If these protests were a result of people's frustration towards administration, we need to ensure it doesn't become a cause of law and order breakdown," the Sena, which is part pf the ruling BJP-led alliance at the Centre and Maharashtra, said.

The benchmark BSE Sensex reclaimed 28,000-level for the first time since December 9 and the NSE Nifty shot up by 22 points to trade above 8,400-mark in opening trade today on sustained fund inflows.

Rising for the seventh straight session, the 30-share index went past 28,000 mark after over three weeks by rising 122.45 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 28,010.35.

The gauge had gained almost 680 points in the past six sessions. All the sectoral indices, led by capital goods, metal and auto, were trading in positive zone with gains up to 1.18 per cent. On similar lines, the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 22.00 points, or 0.26 per cent, to trade above the 8,400-level at 8,417.45.

The Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah will be meeting Jammu and Kashmir party leaders today to discuss government formation in the state.

According to reports, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav will meet the members one on one and take their feedback. Earlier, the BJP had stated that any attempt to form a government in the Jammu and Kashmir without its inclusion will be a travesty of the mandate given by the people of the state.

The J-K elections threw up a hung verdict, with the PDP emerging as the single-largest party in with 28 seats. The BJP won 25 seats, with the National Conference and Congress winning 15 and 12 seats respectively.

Business Standard reports: Aamir Khan and the team of PK have started 2015 with a bang, with the film collection ouching Rs 300 crore yesterday.

It marks a new high for Bollywood as the highest earning (domestic) movie ever. The exact collection for Sunday was not available.

The average occupancy in cinemas yesterday was about 60 per cent.

UTV Motion Pictures has, thus, both the top-grossing films of 2014, with Kick being the second-highest revenue earner at Rs 233 crore.

A 32-year-old software engineer allegedly committed suicide after critically injuring his wife at a high-end apartment in Dwarka last morning.

Amit Bachchan and Shivani got married in November last year and neighbours told police that they had a strained relationship fraught with frequent quarrels.

On Saturday night, Amit returned home after a party and an argument broke out between the couple, police said. Amit hit Shivani at head with some sharp-edged object.

Shivani, who works in a private company in Gurgaon, suffered severe head injuries. Later, Amit hanged himself from the ceiling fan using the cable which later broke and the body fell down, police said.

Addressing the media about Pakistan boat, which exploded off the Gujarat Coast on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said, "I think they were suspected terrorists, as they committed suicide. A normal boat even carrying drugs can surrender. The Coast Guard has done the right job at the right time based on intelligence inputs. The route taken by the boat was not normal, even the smugglers normally take the busy route so that they can mingle with other boats." 

"The boat was laden with explosives and could have damaged the Coast Guard," he added.

The Coast Guard intercepted the suspicious Pakistani vessel with explosives along the maritime border off Gujarat coast but before the security officials could board the boat, it was set on fire by its occupants setting off explosions and it finally sank.

Parrikar also said that there was another Pakistani boat, but in international waters

The incident took place almost 365 kms off Gujarat's Porbandar coast and once again highlights the maritime threats faced by India. All the four people on board the boat are believed to have died in the explosion and subsequent sinking of the vessel.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has reportedly made a surprise visit to Baghdad for talks on helping Iraq in its fight against the Islamic State terrorist group.

According to ABC news, Abbott met his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi to discuss Australian involvement in the fight against against the militant outfit. Stressing on the Australia's commitment in the fight against the Jihadist group, he said.

"We are determined to deepen our cooperation with the government and the people of Iraq in the weeks and months to come, not because we are a country which goes forward, seeking foreign fights, but because where our vital national interests are threatened, where universal values are at stake, Australia should be a strong partner."

Australia is part of the US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against IS in Iraq and has deployed special forces troops to assist in training the Iraqi army.

To enhance security cover in Gujarat's coastal region, 173 marine commandos have been deployed at 20 police stations along the state's coastline, after the recent Pakistani boat incident.   

"After the incident of Pakistani boats being chased by Coast Guard in Indian waters, we have ordered 173 of our trained marine commandos to take positions at 20 marine police stations situated on state coastline," Deputy Superintendent of Police B J Ninama of the marine police said. These commandos have been asked to keep a watch on each and every boat going into the sea and returning ashore.

Apart from vehicles, these commandos were also given boats to patrol the sea near the shore. The commandos were also asked to inform the Coast Guard as well as security officials of the Gujarat police in case they find any suspicious boat in the sea, Ninama said.

The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency apprehended 12 Indian fishermen and seized their two boats near the International Maritime Boundary on Sunday afternoon, a Porbandar-based NGO claimed.

The incident comes close on the heels of the Indian Coast Guard intercepting a Pakistani fishing boat off the coast of Gujarat. The boat, which was said to be carrying explosives, was intercepted on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1 around 365-km off the Porbandar coast, before it exploded and caught fire and sunk with four crew members on board.

"The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency apprehended 12 Indian fishermen alongwith two boats off the Gujarat coast in the Arabian sea this afternoon," co-ordinator of Porbandar- based NGO 'Sagar Bharati', Jivan Jungi said.

The border between India and Pakistan continues to remain tense. Fresh firing was reported this morning in the Kathura sector along the Line of Control.

Pakistani Rangers targeted multiple Border Security Force posts prompting Indian forces to retaliate.

Heavy shelling along the LoC has killed three people and injured 10 since Friday night. Among the dead are two army jawans.       

The government has taken "serious note" of complaints against an Indian company, involved in alleged mistreatment of 77 Indian labourers in Sri Lanka, and directed its mission in Colombo to make immediate arrangements for their return.

The government also is contemplating strict action against the erring company, according to government sources.

"External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is also the Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, has taken serious note of the issue and has spoken to Indian High Commissioner Yash Sinha in Colombo and directed him to make immediate arrangements for their return," the sources said today.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said, "It is a labour-related issue. Our mission has already taken up the matter with the company and we are working on a solution and hopeful of a resolution by tomorrow." He was replying to a question on whether the Indians were being held hostage in Sri Lanka.

Get your vote on: Delhi polls likely to be held by mid-February

Mamata's nephew slapped at rally

Planes existed in ancient India: Claim made at Science Congress

We die a little every day, say villagers living near Indo-Pak border

Was AirAsia at fault? Crashed plane did not get weather reports

'Tie-up with BJP might put PDP's future in Kashmir in danger'

Yesterday's live commentary