Just In: BJP President Rajnath Singh names Vasundhara Raje as head of Rajasthan unit. Gulab Chand Kataria to be Leader of Opposition in assembly

Coming out in support of Kashmir's only all-girls rock band which faced online threats, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today promised a police probe and hoped that the talented teenagers would not let themselves be silenced by a "handful of morons".

The girls, vocalist-guitarist Noma Nazir (16), drummer Farah Deeba and Guitarist Aneeka Khalid (both 15), who defied convention to form the rock band "Pragaash" (darkness to light) which came to limelight in December last year, are now faced with a challenge of online threats and abuses.

Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh will meet party leaders in Rajasthan today in an effort to sort out the crisis in its state unit. Sources tell NDTV that the BJP may declare former chief minister Vasundhara Raje as the face of the party in the upcoming elections in the state.

The BJP may also declare Raje or one of her loyalists as the president of its state unit.

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Actor-director Kamal Haasan has started a second round of talks with Muslim groups and government officials seeking to end the ban on his movie 'Vishwaroopam'. Sources tell NDTV that efforts are on to arrive at a consensus today.

Yesterday, Kamal's brother Chandra, a co-producer in the film, held discussions with protesting groups and representatives of the government. However, the failed to arrive at a consensus.

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam workers are expected to leave Chennai for Patna on February 6, according to our correspondent in New Delhi.

On February 8, the party workers will protest against the visit of  Sri Lankan President Rajapakshe to Bihar. MDMK leader Viako is expected to lead the protest. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, an old friend of Vaiko, has warned him of a possible arrest.  

Rajapakshe is expected to visit Bodh Gaya, the site where Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment. 

Unhappy with the Padma honours not being awarded to the Carnatic musicians Union Minister for Shipping G K Vasan recently wrote a detailed letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

Many south indian musicians, who deserved the Padma Bhushan, were left out despite recommendations from the Tamil Nadu government and an approval from the experts committee. Quotas were kept in mind when it came to the trade and industry category, but  musicians were totally ignored, the letter reportedly said.

Women groups on Saturday urged President Pranab Mukherjee not to sign the ordinance of Criminal Law amendments passed by the Cabinet on Friday, reports CNN-IBN.

Human rights lawyer Vrinda Grover said, "The ordinance is complete betrayal of the people's faith."

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The Congress has been busy wooing eight BJP Lok Sabha members of Parliament and sources tell our correspondent in New Delhi that the negotiations are near completion. At all appropriate time five BJP MPs from Karnataka and three from Bihar will step down.  

A special fast-track court today framed charges against five men accused of brutally gang-raping and murdering a medical student in Delhi last month. Their trial will begin on Tuesday.

The accused, Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, Vinay, Pawan and Akshay have been booked under 13 sections of the Indian Penal Code including murder, gang-rape, sodomy, kidnapping, destruction of evidence and dacoity.

Reports our correspondent from New Delhi:  The Prime Minister's Office is upset with the negative reporting on UID and has a tip off on the Union minister who leaked the discussion held in the Cabinet.

On Thursday, a large section of the media reported how the ministerial panel was confused over Aadhar, as UID is known.  

The PMO wants to sent out a strong message to the council of ministers that they should not indulge in such negative practices. While the PMO has warned the Congress ministers, it is aware that a cabinet minister belonging to an ally of the UPA is behind leaking to the media what happened at the meet.

Prime Minister Manmonhan Singh is likely to take up this matter on February 7 in a Cabinet meet and convey his displeasure.

On February 7, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit the Maha Kumbh in Allahabad. The Gujarat police and NSG guards have identified a sport where Modi is expected to take the holy dip, reports our correspondent from New Delhi.  

 The manager of a resort in Madhya Pradesh's Bandhavgarh tiger reserve has reportedly confessed that he raped a South Korean student holidaying there, reports NDTV.
 
The manager, Deepak Vishwakarma, told the police that he raped the 23-year-old student on January 14. The student, who is in India on tourist visa was on a visit to the national park, has alleged that her drink had been spiked following which she was raped.

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In his first visit after being elevated as Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi would tour his constituency of Amethi for two days during which he would also interact with party cadres.

District Magistrate Vidya Bhushan today confirmed the two day visit of the local MP and said he would arrive here on February 5.

Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali cancels his performance in Mumbai. He called off his visit after objections from local parties.

Ali was to perform a tribute to Jagjit Singh at Shanmukhananda Hall on his 72nd birth anniversary on February 8.

Tension between India and Pakistan grew after two soldiers were killed along the Line of Control. Following this there have been instances of Pakistani sportspersons having had to return home or avoid playing in Mumbai.

The musical journey of Kashmir's only all-girl rock band has come to an end. Following online threats, the band has stopped 'live' performances. 

Pope Benedict XVI has nominated Cardinal Mar Besalios Cleemis from India in two important panels, including the Pontifical Council for inter-religious dialogue, of the Vatican.   

Cardinal Cleemis, head of Kerala-based Syro MalankaraCatholic Church, was also made a member of the Council for Eastern Congregations which oversees the affairs of those hierarchies in the Catholic-fold that follows eastern traditions including Syro Malankara and Syro Malabar churches.

Terrorists attacked an army camp in northwestern Pakistan with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades before dawn on Saturday, killing six members of the security forces, officials said.

The attack followed a suicide bombing at a Shiite Muslim mosque elsewhere in the north-west on Friday that killed 23 people and wounded more than 50, police said. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks.

"We need to check misutilisation of funds and corruption in MNREGA," Congress chief Sonia Gandh said today. "It can play a big role in fulfilling our dreams of a second green revolution. There is a need to remove bottle-necks in participation of women in MNREGA scheme."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that MNREGA had brought momentum in the financial inclusion of our rural population. "Bank accounts opened under MNREGA will help in implementing direct benefits transfer scheme to our rural population," he added.

The government yesterday brought in an ordinance to introduce stricter penalties for crimes against women, including death in extreme cases. However, it ignored the Justice JS Verma commission's recommendations on criminalising marital rape and reviewing controversial sections of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, reports NDTV.

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As many as 60 students have been forced to withdraw from Harvard University after cheating on a final exam last year in what has become the largest academic scandal to hit the Ivy League school in recent memory, according to Reuters.

Michael Smith, Harvard's dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences, sent an email on Friday saying that more than half of the students who faced the school's Administrative Board have been suspended for a time.

Roughly 125 undergraduates were involved in the scandal, which came to light at the end of the spring semester after a professor noticed similarities on a take-home exam that showed students worked together, even though they were instructed to work alone.

United States Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan has announced his retirement, bringing to a close a turbulent period for the law enforcement agency that included White House gate-crashers during the state dinner hosted for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Director of the US Secret Service since May 2006, Sullivan served in the agency for nearly 30 years. As head of the US Secret Service he had to testify before the US Congress because of the White House gatecrash during the November 2009 State Dinner for Singh.

Sullivan will step down on February 22 after almost three decades with the agency that protects the president and other officials, secret service spokesman Brian Leary said.

A special fast-track court is today likely to frame charges against five men accused of gang-raping and murdering a student in Delhi last month.

The prosecution has asked for the suspects to be charged for murder, gang-rape, robbery and conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code.

John Kerry, the veteran American politician and 2004 presidential candidate, has been sworn in as the United States secretary of state, replacing Hillary Clinton.

"I was very honoured to be sworn in and very anxious to get to work," Kerry told media with his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, by his side, after being sworn in by the Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.

"So I will be reporting Monday morning at 9 o'clock," he told the awaiting media at the Capitol on Friday. Besides his wife, he was joined by daughter Vanessa, brother Cameron, and his Senate staff, who presented him with a gift: the seat he say during his 28 years of service in the Senate.

After first round of talks between producers of Vishwaroopam and protesting groups yesterday failed to show results, actor-director Kamal Haasan is likely to join talks today seeking to end the ban on the movie, reports NDTV.

Kamal, who was in Mumbai for the release of the Hindi version of the film, is returning to Chennai today.

His brother Chandra, who also co-produced the film, met leaders of Muslim groups and government officials all through yesterday.

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Protesters denouncing Egypt's Islamist president hurled stones and firebombs through the gates of his palace gates today, clashing with security forces who fired tear gas and water cannons, as more than a week of political violence came to Mohammed Mursi's symbolic doorstep for the first time.

The US described as a 'terrorist attack' the blast outside its highly-fortified Embassy in Turkey today that claimed two lives and injured three others. The White House strongly condemned the suicide attack, saying it was 'clearly an act of terror', while outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Clinton spoke with her Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on the incident.

Asking China to address the grievances of the Tibetan community, the US today said it wants to see 'tragic acts of self-immolation to come to an end' in the Himalayan region.

Two British hitmen who stabbed to death an innocent schoolboy by mistake in what the prosecution described as an act of 'staggering incompetence' were found guilty of murder today.

The statement of Dr Dinesh Kumar was today recorded at a special CBI court here today in the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case. Dr Kumar of Maulana Azad Medical College told the court about the syllabus of Bachelor of Dental Surgery course.