Was Khurshid's remark aimed at wooing Azamgarh Muslims?
Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid's remark about Congress president Sonia Gandhi getting emotionally moved by Batl a House pictures might have created a furore in the Congress circles.

Maldives crisis: Nasheed is defiant, India sends envoy
Refusing to give up his political ambitions despite an arrest warrant against him, 44-year-old Nasheed kept up the heat on new President Mohamed Waheed Hassan, who was his deputy just three days ago, and demanded that he step down to pave the way for fresh elections.

Memogate: Ijaz to record testimony from London
The panel, which has been set up by the Supreme Court to investigate the scandal that has shaken Pakistan's politics, has permitted the Pakistan-American businessman to depose from the UK after his lawyer said his client was prepared to record his statement at the Pakistani mission in London.

Azad has a narrow escape in Maharashtra
Union Health Minister and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Maharashtra Congress chief Manikrao Thakre and four others on Friday escaped after a tyre of the chartered plane carrying them burst while landing at Belora airstrip in Amravati, Maharashtra.

JK education minister Peerzada Sayeed quits
Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed on Friday resigned from his post on Friday after the state crime branch submitted its report to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah confirming the use of unfair means to help Sayeed's son clear his secondary school examination in 2009.

Sonia never cried seeing Batla case pix: Khurshid
Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid found himself at the centre of a controversy on Friday over his remarks that pictures of Batla House encounter had brought tears to the eyes of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

Karnataka MP offers to partly fund PILs in Bengaluru
Member of Parliament from Karnataka Rajeev Chandrashekar has offered to bear 50 per cent of the cost of filing Public Interest Litigations for anyone with a legitimate one.

Pinarayi Vijayan re-elected CPI-M Kerala secretary
Leading the party in the state since 1998, the re-election of the 67-year-old leader again demonstrated his hold on CPI(M), which often in the past passed through grim phases of factional trend involving him and former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan.

Saudi journo detained for 'blasphemous' tweets
23-year-old Hamza Kashgari was picked up upon his arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Wednesday after he escaped from Saudi Arabia, Interpol sources said.

2003 blasts: HC upholds death sentence of 3 LeT activists
The Bombay high court on Friday upheld the death sentence of three Lashkar-e-Tayiba members, including a couple, in the 2003 twin Mumbai blasts that claimed 52 lives.

July 13 blasts: Police custody of two accused extended
A local court on Friday extended till February 18 the police custody of two alleged operatives of Indian Mujahideen, arrested for one of the three bomb blasts that rocked the metropolis on July 13 last year.

BJP ropes in Modi for Uttar Pradesh poll campaign
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who has skipped the Bharatiya Janata Party's poll campaign in Punjab and Uttarakhand, will drum up support for the party in Uttar Pradesh elections.

J & K leader Yasin Malik, two others detained in Srinagar
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik and two other leaders of the separatist outfit were detained on Friday as they tried to take out a protest rally from Maisuma locality in Srinagar triggering brief clashes with police.

BJP launches online TV channel Yuva
To catch the attention of young tech-savvy generation, Bharatiya Janata Party has launched Yuva, an internet TV channel that would telecast programmes, speeches and rallies of the party.

Porngate: Showcause noticed issued to 3 BJP MLAs
Facing opposition flak for not summarily disqualifying three former disgraced ministers over the porn row, Karnataka Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah on Friday said a showcause notice was issued to the trio to ensure principles of natural justice and fair-play.

One day we will enter free Tibet, hopes Archbishop Tutu
Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has described Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama as the "most peace loving person on the earth," who is not a "separatist," and asked China to grant Tibet autonomy.

American woman forced to go back without surrogate son
An American woman, who had come to the city to take back her surrogate son to Jamaica, had to return empty handed after running from pillar to post for the necessary travel documents of the baby.

Punjabi Taliban declares jihad in Kashmir
Despite differences almost all the militant factions agree that fighting inside Kashmir is the holiest jihad, reports Tahir Ali in Islamabad

BJP asks PM to break silence on Batla encounter
Taking exception to Law Minister Salman Khurshid raking up the Batla House encounter in Uttar Pradesh poll campaign, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to "break his silence" and clear the clouds over the "sensitive" issue.

Rich and the dirty of UP polls phase 4
The Association for Democratic Reforms, in its report, analysed the candidates contesting the fourth phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh. Vicky Nanjappa outlines the interesting findings

Andhra: Cong red-faced as neta-liquor lobby nexus exposed
Serious trouble is brewing in the ruling Congress party against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy as a fall out of the ongoing probe by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in the alleged nexus between some ministers and the powerful liquor cartels across the state.

Age row: After SC backs govt army chief drops case
The crucial hearing on age row of Army Chief General V K Singh will be taken up today in the Supreme Court where the Centre will spell out its stand whether it was withdrawing or not its order rejecting his statutory complaint.

JD-U MLA lands in trouble again with dancing girls
Janata Dal - United Member of Legislative Assembly Shyambahadur Singh landed in a fresh controversy after TV channels on Friday aired footage which purportedly showed him dancing with girls at a marriage ceremony. The MLA from Badharia in Siwan district is seen dancing in the TV footage at a cultural programme on the night of February 8. Singh had gone to the house of one Ajay Singh at Jafra in Gopalganj district, from where they proceeded to Katalpur village.

Bal Thackeray blasts Maharashtra CM, calls him inept
Equating the Congress party to Moghul kings who have invaded Maharashtra, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on Friday heaped scorn on Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, calling him "inept". In a strong-worded editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, Thackeray ridiculed Chavan, who has been claiming that the Sena will become "inconsequential" after the Mumbai civic polls on February 16.

4 BSF officers killed in IED blast in Odisha
Four officers of the Border Security Force, including a Commanding Officer, were on Friday killed in an IED blast by suspected Maoists in Malkangiri district of Odisha. The BSF squad was targeted at around 1 pm in the Janbai area of the district, under Chitragonda police station area, 465 kms from Bhubaneswar. Odisha's jungles are a hotbed for Naxal activities as it touches the borders of two other states -- Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh -- making it a corridor for Maoists.

India sends special envoy to crisis-hit Maldives
As the crisis in Maldives deepened, India on Friday sent its special envoy to Male to assess the situation in the island where former President Mohamed Nasheed was ousted in a coup. M Ganapathi, secretary (west) in the external affairs ministry left for Male with a brief to assess the situation in the Indian Ocean atoll, which has plunged into a crisis after the ouster of Nasheed. "I have sent an envoy to Maldives to assess the situation," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.

SC asks panel to decide on CBI probe against Yeddy
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Central Empowerment Committee, which is looking into the illegal mining issue, to verify whether a Central Bureau of Investigation probe is necessary against former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and his sons. A bench comprising Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices Aftab Alam and Swatantra Kumar issued the directive based on a petition seeking a probe against them.

SPECTACULAR PHOTOS: Mount Etna erupts
Etna erupted 18 times in 2011 and Wednesday's was the second such event this year.

'Unfair to blame teachers, students are aggressive now'
Dr Lakshmi Vijayakumar, one of the well known psychiatrists in Chennai and the founder-trustee of Sneha, a voluntary centre for suicide prevention, answers some of these questions raised by the murder of a teacher by a student in Chennai.

'Pictures of Batla case brought tears to Sonia's eyes'
In an apparent bid to woo the Muslim electorate, Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid has said that pictures of the Batla House encounter case had brought tears to the eyes of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Interceptor missile successfully launched off Odisha coast
As part of its plan to deploy a two-layer ballistic missile defence system, India on Friday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile from the Integrated Test Range off Odisha coast. A surface-to-surface target missile -- a modified 'Prithvi' -- was first lifted from the launch Complex III in ITR at Chandipur, 15 km from Balasore around 10.13 am, defence sources said.

NATO supplies transported through Pak airspace: Munter
Supplies for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces in Afghanistan are being transported through Pakistani airspace though land supply routes were closed by Islamabad last year, United States Ambassador Cameron Munter has said.

Pak SC turns down Gilani's appeal against indictment
In a major blow to beleaguered Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the supreme court on Friday rejected his appeal, asking him to appear before it on February 13 to frame contempt charges for not reopening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Bus mishap kills 19 near Jammu
A road accident in the hilly Doda district claimed 19 lives and left one critically injured on Friday morning.

Now money from robberies, extortion used to fund terror
Homegrown terror outfits are using money from petty crimes such as robberies, and extortion to fund its activities making it difficult for investigators to track their financial trail. Vicky Nanjappa reports

Sheela Bhatt: Samajwadi Party likely winner in phase one
It is, now, more or less certain that in the ongoing election the SP is emerging as the main challenger to Mayawati's power in Lucknow. The combination of an experienced Mulayam Singh Yadav and his young, untested son Akhilesh Yadav is working, reports Sheela Bhatt from Lucknow

'Crisis in Maldives a WARNING for Muslim nations'
Ousted Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed has said he will be approaching the country's Supreme Court for justice following a coup, which he claims was engineered by then Vice President Dr Mohammed Waheed Hassan.

How 'Arab Awakening' has transformed the Muslim world
The 'Arab Awakening' will fundamentally alter the notion that Islam is incompatible with democratic capitalism, writes Shahid Javed Burki

The long arm of Pakistan's ISI
Pakistan's premier intelligence agency -- Inter Services Intelligence -- continues to face the ire of national and international human rights and media rights groups as the Judicial Commission investigating the May 2011 assassination of a senior Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad has recommend that the ISI must deflate its larger-than-life image, focus on its mandated job and evolve a transparent policy in its relationship with the media. Amir Mir reports.

Former DMK minister's houses raided over assets case
Vigilance officials on Friday conducted raids at premises belonging to former Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam minister K R Periyakaruppan across Tamil Nadu in connection with a disproportionate assets case. The raids by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption are going in Chennai and Sivaganga districts, DVAC sources said. Periyakaruppan is a former Hindu religious and charitable endowments minister.

Pakistan army running 'reign of terror' in Baluchistan
In view of the seriousness of the law and order situation in Baluchistan, prominent human rights activists have told United States lawmakers that it is the Pakistan Army and its spy agency that is running a "reign of terror" inside the restive province.

Discovered: Mystery lake, Nazi archives in Antarctica
Russian scientists claim to have achieved a major breakthrough by drilling into Antarctic lake buried under the ice for 20 million years, a feat which could offer a glimpse of unique life forms.

9 Pakistanis, B'deshis jailed for London terror plot
Nine British-Asians of Pakistani and Bangladeshi-origin were on Thursday jailed for plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange and to organise a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.

Joseph Lelyveld: 'Haven't written on Gandhi's sex life'
Journalist and Mahatma Gandhi biographer Joseph Lelyveld talks about how the father of our nation struggled with India as much as he struggled for it.

EC issues notice to BSP gen secy for violation of conduct code
The Election Commission on Thursday charged Bahujan Samaj Party general secretary Satish Misra of violating the election model code of conduct.

Village head shot dead in Kashmir
A village sarpanch was gunned down by terrorists in south Kashmir Koimoh village of Kulgam district late Thursday evening.

Pak's support for terror in India could lead to N-exchange: US
Support to terrorist activities inside India by elements in Pakistan's military and its spy agency could lead to confrontation between the two neighbours which has the potential to rapidly escalate into a nuclear exchange, a top American commander on Thursday warned.

Chennai: Class 9 boy stabs science teacher to death
In a shocking incident, a ninth standard student on Thursday stabbed his teacher to death inside the classroom after she allegedly made some remarks against students who did not fare well in studies

9 charred to death in Onida factory fire in Dehradun
Nine employees, including an assistant general manager, were charred to death when a major fire broke out in the factory of Onida, an electronics manufacturing company, at Mandawali in Manglaur area of Haridwar district, the police on Thursday said.

MUST SEE: President's regal garden in full bloom!
The historic Mughal Gardens, with its lush green stretch and colourful blossoms, will be thrown open to public from Friday for the month-long annual festival christened as 'Rashtrapati Bhavan Udyanotsav'.