An Indian-origin doctor in South Africa has been shot dead by an unidentified gunman clad in a white 'hoodie' in KwaZulu-Natal province, police said today.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar was today unanimously elected leader of the legislature party of the BJP, which suffered an ignominious defeat in the recent state Assembly polls losing power to Congress.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar was today gheraoed by stone crushers near the district collectorate here demanding her intervention for the revival of crushing units in Bihar's Rohtas district.

The Pakistani police today claimed to have arrested a key commander of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban in the city, who was plotting to carry out attacks on naval installations and government offices.

A gang of eve-teasers, who had been stalking a 16-year-old girl for the last three months, attacked the victim's house, after her relatives lodged a police complaint against them.

After the withdrawal of troops by India and China from Depsang valley in Ladakh, troops of the two countries will meet in Nathula in Sikkim at the border personnel meeting there tomorrow.

During the meeting, the two sides will discuss the issues between them in the sector, army officials said.

The meeting is held every year at the Nathula border post between the two sides on 15 May and September 15 where Brigadier-level officers meet. On May 15, the Indian troops cross over to the other side while on September 115, Chinese troops come to Indian side.

Former UP minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh, better known as Raja Bhaiya will be questioned for the murder of DSP Ziaul Haque that took place in Kunda on March 2.

After more than a month of investigation into the triple murders, including that of Balipur village pradhan Nanhey Yadav and his brother Suresh, the central probe agency has not find any evidence of "direct or indirect" involvement of the Kunda MLA with Haque's murder.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has named former Rajasthan home minister Gulab Chand Kataria in a chargesheet in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

The state police allegedly killed underworld criminal on November 26, 2005, while he was in police custody.   

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted in the 1993 bomb blasts case, today told a TADA court that he was facing threat to life from fundamentalist groups and hence should be allowed to surrender before Yerwada jail instead of the special court in Mumbai.

Dutt filed an application before special TADA Judge G A Sanap seeking permission to surrender before the Yerwada jail in Pune instead of giving himself up before the special court in south Mumbai.

Dutt, whose conviction under the Arms Act was upheld by the Supreme Court recently, is supposed to surrender on May 16. However, the apex court had reduced to five years the six-year jail term awarded to Dutt by a designated TADA court in 2006 while ruling out his release on probation, saying the "nature" of his offence was "serious".

"The applicant (Dutt) is facing threat to life from fundamentalist groups and those with vested interests," the application said.

It further claimed that the actor wanted to avoid a situation of the past when media persons and camera persons had chased his vehicle from Mumbai to Pune last time he was taken to jail after the TADA court convicted him.

"The media vehicles had chased the applicant's vehicle for 120 kilometres in the past," the application said. Judge Sanap today asked the prosecuting agency CBI to file a reply and posted the hearing on Dutt's plea tomorrow.

Public prosecutor Deepak Salvi appeared for the Government and CBI. Dutt filed the application in the TADA court, hours after the Supreme Court refused to grant the actor additional time to surrender for undergoing the remaining 42 months jail term in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

Siddhartha Mukherjee's Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, is being developed as a six-hour documentary series for public television. Read

The winner of Pakistan's monumental election can celebrate democracy in action, but there's still a long way to go. Read

Actor Sanjay Dutt tells special TADA court that he faces a threat to his life from fundamentalist groups. That's a story, the court may not be willing to buy.
Sanjay Dutt applied to the TADA court and seeks permission to surrender before the Pune jail. The Supreme Court today refused the plea of two Bollywood producers seeking extension of time for Dutt to surrender. The plea cited that Dutt needed more time to finish shooting pending films.

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected actor Sanjay Dutt's plea, seeking review of the judgment upholding his conviction under the Arms Act and sentencing him to five years in jail in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

In all the media stories about abuse, the voices of victims are notably absent. No one wants to be defined by a horrible crime. Read one woman's personal account.

Union Minister for Food KV Thomas is serious about the Food Security bill
being stalled and is keen to try the ordinance route. Jairam Ramesh is not keen on ordinace as much as he is for his pet bill on Land Reforms.

Before the UPA2 10th anniversary function, KV Thomas and Jairam Ramesh want to feel happy over these bills. If the Special Session of Parliament is to be summoned, these ministers prefer a complete debate for three days. The point is, will the Opposition oblige?

Eight union ministers are on vacation this summer, leaving the leadership in lurch. Most of them are worried over the tiff between the government and the party. Parliamentary Affairs minister Kamal Nath who is in the Netherlands, is keen to know the inside politics between the Congress and the government.

Here's a bit about Rural Development minister Jairam Ramesh, who met Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The two spent one hour with him discussing the internal politics of the Congress. Rumours rife that Jairam Ramesh offered to resign from his portfolio and devote himself at the War Room to ready the AICC for the early Lok Sabha polls.

The situation in Haryana's Rohtak district continued to be tense on Tuesday with local law enforcement authorities imposing prohibitory orders under Section 144 in an attempt to get the disputed Satlok Ashram in Karontha village vacated.

The area has witnessed clashes between the police and protestors supporting Godman Rampal and his Satlok Ashram.

Scores of police personnel, besides 500 CRPF personnel, have been deployed here with the administration asking the protestors to move out of the ashram.

The police personnel are making repeated announcements appealing the Arya Samaj followers to maintain peace and voluntarily vacate the Ashram.

According to certain media reports, the authorities here are going to demolish the ashram. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has ordered magisterial inquiry into the violent clashes in Karontha in the wake of three people losing their lives and over 100 others being injured following attempts to evict a local god man from the area.

He also described the violence as unfortunate and urged villagers to maintain peace and law and order. 

Police has arrested the Chairman of Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Acharya Baldev, and others. A heavy police force has been deployed in the area to prevent further violence. 

On Sunday, three buses, 26 police-manned motorcycles and an ambulance were set on fire. 

A month after a five-year-old was allegedly gang-raped in east Delhi, a city court today asked the Delhi Police what action it has taken on a complaint seeking registration of FIR against police personnel for their purported irregularities and sought a status report by May 29.


Special Judge Narottam Kaushal passed the order on a complaint filed by RTI activist Vivek Garg seeking registration of FIR against three suspended policemen -- ACP Bani Singh Ahlawat, Inspector Dharampal Singh, Sub-inspector Mahavir Singh and also other policemen who allegedly threatened the girl's family and offered them money to hush up the matter.

Garg has sought registration of FIR against ACP Ahlawat for assaulting and causing grievous hurt by slapping a 17-year-old girl protester, who was trying to meet the rape victim at a hospital here. He was suspended after the incident.

The BJP has nominated gun-toting neta Vitthal Radadia for a ticket for the Lok Sabha bypolls. Radadia, who is from Porbander, had recently quit the Congress to join the BJP. His son Jayesh gets a ticket for the Assembly polls.

Arvind Kejriwal tweets: Chidambaram, Salman Khurshid and Sibal to grant autonomy to CBI? Some kind of a joke? All three facing serious corruption charges... Mrs Khurshid and Mrs Chidambaram also facing charges. If CBI becomes independent, all three will go to jail. Their wives will go to jail.

To contextualise this: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh constituted a group of ministers to look into the Supreme Court directives on CBI autonomy. The body will be headed by finance minister P Chidambaram. The SC had indicted the government for its interference in the agency's functioning and asked it to come up with an affidavit on steps to make the CBI autonomous. The GoM will also include V Narayanasamy, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and Manish Tewary.

Sanjay Dutt applies to the TADA court and seeks permission to surrender before the Pune jail. The Supreme Court today refused the plea of two Bollywood producers seeking extension of time for Dutt to surrender. The plea cited that Dutt needed more time to finish shooting pending films.

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected actor Sanjay Dutt's plea, seeking review of the judgment upholding his conviction under the Arms Act and sentencing him to five years in jail in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

A bench of P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan said there is no case made out for it to review its decision of March this year, when it had upheld Mr Dutt's conviction for possessing arms illegally and sentenced him to a five-year jail term.The petition of six other convicts -- Yusuf Mohsin Nulwalla, Khalil Ahmed Sayed Ali Nazir, Mohamed Dawood Yusuf Khan, Shaikh Asif Yusuf, Muzammil Umar Kadri and Mohd Ahmed Shaikh -- too were dismissed.Following Friday's verdict, Dutt has exhausted all legal options and will have to go to jail on May 15.

The Airtel broadband connection seems to be totally down in South Delhi for the last four hours. 

In West Bengal, police lathicharge students protesting the chit fund scam and the breakdown of law and order in the state. The protests are being carried out at College Square, Kolkata. Details awaited. 

The West Bengal government today hailed the Calcutta High Court order on panchayat elections as "historic." "This is a historic order of the hon'ble High Court and we are very happy," state panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee told PTI.

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court today rejected the State Election Commission (SEC) order for 800 companies of central forces to man the panchayat polls, and directed that the election be held in three phases and the process be completed by July 15. The minister said the state government would now finalise the panchayat poll schedule as per the court's order.

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday rejected the West Bengal State Election Commission's demand for 800 companies of central forces for security during the panchayat elections.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Arun Mishra, also said that the election date has to be notified by the state in consultation with the SEC.

The elections should be held in three phases, and the entire process should be completed by July 1, the bench said.The term of the current self-governing bodies runs out on June 10.

Mamata Banerjee's Trinamul Congress government has been locked in a battle with the election commission headed by Mira Pande over a range of issues.The government did not feel the need to requisition central forces, and had wanted the elections to be held in two phases, at most.

It had also said it has the right to decide the election dates. The dispute landed in the courts.

A Bangladeshi teen buried for 16 days under the rubble of a garment factory where she worked spoke for the first time Monday about her harrowing struggle to survive.

Nineteen-year-old Reshma vowed to never again work in the country's garment industry, where she was earning the equivalent of $60 a month.Reshma spoke at a news conference as she was steadily recovering at a military hospital in Dhaka. Rescue workers saved her Friday. Read

A woman whose identity has not been revealed was ejected from a plane when she disrupted other passengers by singing Whitney's popular song 'I Will Always Love You' nonstop in a flight from Los Angeles to New York.

An American Airlines plane had to make an emergency landing in Kansas City after a passenger did not stop singing "I Will Always Love You", which was written and performed by Dolly Parton and re-recorded by Whitney Houston. A federal air Marshall who was on the plane arrested her, reported Aceshowbiz.

"The woman was being disruptive and was removed from the plane for interfering with the flight crew," said Kansas City International Airport spokesman Joe McBride.

Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e- Insaf is set to form government in the militancy-hit Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province with the backing of the Jamaat-e-Islami while the PML-N and several smaller parties are expected to form a coalition in the restive Balochistan province.

The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf emerged the single largest party in Khyber-Pakhtunkwa by bagging 35 of the 99 directly elected seats '" far short of a simple majority.

The Jamaat-e-Islami, which won seven seats, announced last night it would back Imran Khan's party's efforts to from government in the province affected by years of Taliban violence. The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf named senior leader Pervez Khattak as its choice for the post of Chief Minister of the crucial province.

The slump in gold prices in mid-April sparked hopes that India would be able to narrow its current account deficit, as less would be spent on buying gold. But those hopes appear misdirected as the fall in prices to a two-year low prompted a buying spree.  Read

A project, spearheaded by India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation to make water flow in the Saraswati, a sacred river that dried up around 4,000 years ago, has stalled and prospects of getting it moving again appear bleak. ONGC, a state run oil company, began drilling in 2005 near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, in order to revive the river with the hope of eventually bringing a new water source to parts of Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Read

ATM Heist: How to Protect Your Card. Read

Just in: The Haldibari express train has derailed in Birbhum, West Bengal. The train derailed between Nalhati and Chatra. No casualties reported so far, but three coaches have derailed.

The results of the Pakistan elections are in -- but how did a former exile win the vote? By promising airports to people who can't afford bicycles, says novelist Mohammed Hanif. A superlative read.

In his first interview to an Indian newspaper after winning the general elections, Pakistan's Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif, 62, reached out to India on Monday, promising that he would not allow his country to export terror. Sharif also pitched for enhanced trade ties.

In a bold move, Nawaz Sharif says mistrust with India needs to be tackled he assured India he would rein in the jehadi elements. Excerpts from a telephonic interview from Lahore, in which he also accepted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's invitation to visit India. Excerpts from the exclusive interview to the Hindustan Times. Read

Air India to start operations of grounded Dreamliner planes on domestic routes from tomorrow, international circuit from May 22, says civil aviation minister Ajit Singh. Air India has six Dreamliners and has ordered 21 more, reports Reuters. Air India estimates cost savings of Rs 2,000 crore in 2013-14, says the Civil Aviation Minister.

The planes have been grounded worldwide since January following incidents of overheating in the batteries providing auxiliary power.

Boeing has since worked to develop new battery housings to prevent a repeat of the incidents.

Air India will start a Dreamliner domestic flight on Wednesday and will start international flights on May 22, Singh told reporters, adding that all six of its Dreamliners would be ready for flying by the end of the month.

Air India would also acquire eight more Dreamliners by December, he added.

A video which appears to show a Syrian rebel taking a bite from the heart of a dead soldier has brought strong condemnation.US-based Human Rights Watch identified the rebel as Abu Sakkar, a well-known insurgent from the city of Homs, and said his actions were a war crime.

The main Syrian opposition coalition said he would be put on trial.The video, which cannot be independently authenticated, seems to show him cutting out the heart. Read more

Prime minister-to-be Nawaz Sharif says former national cricket captain, defeated in the polls, needs to 'show the sportsman's spirit'. Read

Over 1,00,000 children, below the age of 11 months, die of diarrhoea annually in India which is the second leading killer of young children globally, after pneumonia. India accounts for the highest number of diarrhoeal deaths, a latest study has suggested. Also on the Hindu, read.

Investment in a scheme that guarantees rural employment with minimum wages should be seen as complementary and not alternative to development activities. Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh's piece for the Hindu. Read

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh constitutes a group of ministers to look into the Supreme Court directives on CBI autonomy. The body will be headed by finance minister P Chidambaram. The SC had indicted the government for its interference in the agency's functioning and asked it to come up with an affidavit on steps to make the CBI autonomous. The GoM will also include V Narayanasamy, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and Manish Tewary.

Calcutta High Court rejects West Bengal State Election Commission's demand for 800 companies of central force for holding panchayat poll.

Noted scholar Ashghar Ali Engineer passes away. Engineer was an Indian reformist-writer and activist. Internationally known for his work on liberation theology in Islam, he led the Progressive Dawoodi Bohra movement. The focus of his work is on (and action against) communalism and communal and ethnic violence in India and South Asia. 

Angelina Jolie on her decision to have a double mastectomy: The Hollywood actress writes for the New York Times. Read

And some good news: Inflation has declined sharply to 4.89 per cent in April from 5.96 per cent in the previous month.

A young girl, picked up by the police along with her boyfriend allegedly in an inebriated condition, was slapped by a woman in plainclothes inside a police station here, prompting her to hit back.

The incident happened last night in Sahibabad Police Station area of Ghaziabad after the girl and boy were booked by police under section 294 of IPC (obscene songs).

"Police have misbehaved with me and that is why I reacted. If a person is abused repeatedly then that person has right to object and right to argue also. If they call me a prostitute, then one should argue. I am not a prostitute and nobody has the right to speak to me like that," the girl retorted.

TV footage showed a woman in plain clothes slapping the unidentified girl following which she hit back and was caught hold of by other policemen present.

SHO Ramnath Yadav said that the duo, who were from Delhi, were found near Vikram Enclave creating nuisance and police was informed about it. "When brought to the police station, the girl spoke in filthy language. The girl and the boy were subjected to medical test which confirmed that they had consumed alcohol," he said, adding that they were booked under Section 294 of IPC which was a bailable offence. 

The search for transport department officials who helped the owner of the bus used in Nirbhaya gang rape, seems to have hit a dead end. The owner Dinesh Yadav, from Noida, was illegally running the chartered bus on Delhi roads, which was used on the fateful night to offer a lift to Nirbhaya and her friend. According to the crime branch, the transport department has mysteriously wiped out all the details on the bus available with them.

"Every time our sleuths go to the transport office, we are told that they cannot help us as they have not preserved the records. They say the bus was registered more than 10 year ago and all the files have been destroyed," said a senior investigating officer.   Read more here

Meanwhile, WB government-run Nandan complex has refused to screen Kagojer Nouka or The Paper Boat, which metaphorically means an object that doesn't stay afloat for a long time. The film is based on the Saradha Scam. 

Update on the Saradha scam: Many households in Calcutta have a domestic help or a driver who has lost money by investing in Saradha schemes -- a common thread that has spun a perception that the poor are the sole victims of the sham company. But Sudipta Sen's promise of high returns had blurred the divide between the haves and the have-nots as well as the educated and the uneducated. Read

This is what the BBC has on Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie's double mastectomy.  has undergone a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer.The 37-year-old mother of six has explained her reasons for having the surgery in the New York Times. Read

At 75, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit is raring to go for a fourth term in the assembly elections this year. In a wide-ranging interview with the TOI, she explains why she deserves another mandate and her vision for the capital, the anti-Sikh riots, corruption ...  Read

Actress Angelina Jolie announced in a New York Times op-ed article on Tuesday that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy after learning she carries the BRCA1 gene, which sharply increases her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

"My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman," Jolie wrote. "Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy."

Jolie's mother Marcheline Bertrand died of breast cancer in 2007 at the age of 56. -- CNN.COM

Sanjay Dutt wanted to more time to surrender as he wanted to complete the shooting of seven films - worth Rs 278 crore -- including big-budget projects such as filmmaker Raju Hirani's Peekay, Karan Johar's Unglee, Apoorva Lakhia's Zanjeer. 

In another judgment, the Supreme Court has refused the plea of Bollywood producers seeking extension of time for Sanjay Dutt to surrender. The plea cited that Dutt needed more time to finish shooting pending films.

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected actor Sanjay Dutt's plea, seeking review of the judgment upholding his conviction under the Arms Act and sentencing him to five years in jail in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

A bench of P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan said there is no case made out for it to review its decision of March this year, when it had upheld Mr Dutt's conviction for possessing arms illegally and sentenced him to a five-year jail term.The petition of six other convicts -- Yusuf Mohsin Nulwalla, Khalil Ahmed Sayed Ali Nazir, Mohamed Dawood Yusuf Khan, Shaikh Asif Yusuf, Muzammil Umar Kadri and Mohd Ahmed Shaikh -- too were dismissed.Following Friday's verdict, Dutt has exhausted all legal options and will have to go to jail on May 15.

The Supreme Court has directed the de-sealing of three stands in Chennai's Chepauk stadium for today's IPL match.

The Supreme Court today heard the plea of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association for de-sealing of three stands in Chennai's M A Chidambaram Stadium ahead of the IPL match. A bench of justices B S Chauhan and Dipak Misra agreed to give an urgent hearing to the Association's plea in view of the IPL match and posted the matter for tomorrow.

TNCA has challenged Chennai Corporation's action of sealing three stands --I, J and K on the ground that they had been constructed without prior permission from the authorities concerned.

Seeking de-sealing of three stands, TNCA submitted that the three sealed stands were part of renovation work going on in the stadium and six stands have already been allowed by the Corporation.

It also submitted that stands be de-sealed as the tickets have already been sold for tomorrow's IPL match to be played in the stadium, which has this year already conducted seven IPL matches without any hitch.

On Sunday, the Chennai Corporation sealed the three stands in the stadium, saying they were yet to get planning permission and building approval. The sealing came after the Supreme Court stayed the February 6 order of the Madras High Court.

The high court had set aside orders of the Tamil Nadu Housing and Urban Development Department, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, the Chennai Corporation and the Additional Commissioner of Police, in 2011 and 2012 which restrained TNCA from using the reconstructed stands in the
stadium.

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association assures SC the three stands with 12,000 seats will not be used in any other match without its permission.

Nawaz Sharif's decision to invite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a "positive sign", the United States has said and expressed its willingness to work with the new government in Pakistan.

"We have seen those comments. I don't want to analyze it too much, but to say that it is a positive step and we look forward to working with the new government as it's formed," State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters at her maiden news conference in her current position.

Psaki was responding to questions on the invitation by Sharif to Singh to attend his swearing in ceremony. Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry called the new elected leader of Pakistan to congratulate him on his electoral success.

The government has finally started taking small steps to change procurement policy but what is required is to free it from the inefficient public sector. Read

While Nawaz Sharif has won the election decisively, he faces the challenge of reaching out beyond his main base in Punjab to the rest of Pakistan. Read

In an interview to Karan Thapar days before the elections in Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, who is poised to become the Prime Minister after his party's victory, spoke on a range of issues. Excerpts.

"A man and woman, if left alone, will always go for sexual intercourse." This is what a Kancheepuram judge said while awarding life imprisonment to a murder accused last year. The judge's loose comments have drawn the ire of the Madras high court, which not only acquitted the accused but also decried the judge for arriving at "judicial conclusions purely based on surmises and conjunctures." More

The Gujarat government has reportedly kept on hold its decision to file an appeal against former minister Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi in the Naroda Patia massacre case of the post-Godhra riots in 2002. The Gujarat government had earlier sanctioned an appeal by the SIT seeking death for Kodnani and Bajrangi in the case. The state government is likely to consult the attorney general before filing an appeal. Read

A special CBI court in Ghaziabad will today record the statements of dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in connection with the murder case of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj.  

 

This comes a day after the Supreme Court refused to entertain Talwars' petition seeking to summon 14 witnesses in the case. The Talwar couple approached the apex court challenging the order of the special CBI court rejecting their plea of calling 14 new witnesses, including ADG (Law and Order) and then CBI joint director Arun Kumar to record their statements.  

 

The trial court had on May 6 dismissed their petition for summoning 14 additional witnesses, including ADG (Law and Order) and the then CBI Joint Director Arun Kumar.   The statement of CBI investigating officer AGL Kaul, the last prosecution witness, has already been recorded.

A US Marine officer will be court martialed for his alleged role in the scandal sparked by a 2011 video that showed American soldiers urinating on the corpse of Taliban fighter.        

 

Captain James V Clement will be tried at a special court-martial for his alleged misconduct during a counter-insurgency operation in the vicinity of Sandala, Musa Qala District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on or about July 27, 2011, the US Marine Corps said in a statement.        

 

"Clement will be tried for dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentlemen for failing to stop the misconduct of junior Marines," the statement said adding that the date of the court-martial has not been determined and will be announced later.        

 

The charges against Clement were referred to a special court-martial on May 10, 2013 by Lieutenant General Richard Mills, the Commanding General of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, who commanded the Marine forces in southwest Afghanistan in 2010.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is unlikely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Nawaz Sharif, his newly-elected counterpart in Pakistan, TV reports suggest.

 

The PML-N chief had invited Dr Singh to attend his swearing-in ceremony after his party recorded a thumping victory in the recently held general elections in Pakistan.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has telephoned Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif to congratulate him on his party's success in general elections.   Cameron, who took time out of an official US tour to telephone Sharif, agreed to work with him to strengthen bilateral relationship.        

 

"The Prime Minister spoke to Nawaz Sharif earlier today to congratulate him on his party's success in the recent Pakistani elections. They agreed that the strong bond between the UK and Pakistan was a huge asset and that they would work together to strengthen the relationship further," a Downing Street spokesperson said in London.        

 

"The Prime Minister welcomed Nawaz Sharif's commitment to prioritise economic reforms. The two leaders also agreed on their shared commitment to the trilateral process and its importance in achieving peace in Afghanistan and the wider region," he added.

The BSE benchmark Sensex today rose by over 66 points in early trade on selective buying by funds, amid an improving trend on other Asian bourses.         The 30-share barometer gained 66.27 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 19,757.94, with IT, PSUs, healthcare and oil and gas sector stocks leading the recovery. The index had lost over 430 points in yesterday's session.        

 

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 15.35 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 5,995.80. Brokers said emergence of buying by funds in select stocks amid a better trend in the Asian region mainly influenced the trading sentiment.        

 

Meanwhile, in Asia, Japan's Nikkei up by 0.09 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.03 per cent in early trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.18 per cent lower in previous session.  

A special CBI court in Hyderabad has summoned Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy and 12 others accused in the Jagan Mohan Reddy disproportionate assets case and has asked them to appear before it on June 7. But the minister's party, the Congress, continues backs her and the two other ministers named by the CBI in the case.

 

Sabita Indra Reddy is the accused number four in the latest chargesheet filed by the CBI in the case. The other two ministers accused by the CBI are Mopidevi Venkatramana and Dharmana Prasad Rao. While Mr Venkatramana resigned soon after his name came up and was arrested in May last year, the other two reportedly offered to resign, but were advised and persuaded by the Chief Minister and party colleagues to stay put.

 

Speaking to NDTV last week, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy defended the ministers and said, "They acted according to procedure. Whether they benefitted personally, they have to explain in court." He also added that the state government's a permission was needed to prosecute the ministers.

 

Read the full report on NDTV

BBC: A teenager is suspected in the shooting of 19 people at a New Orleans Mother's Day parade on Sunday, police say. Akein Scott, 19, has been identified by a number of people as the gunman, said police superintendent Ronal Serpas. Three victims of the attack remained in a critical condition on Monday, although they were expected to survive.

 

New Orleans' understaffed police force is trying to overcome decades of community mistrust to tackle a high rate of gun crime. Ten men, seven women, a 10-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were wounded by gunfire in Sunday afternoon's incident, according to police.

 

The people chose to be on the side of the young innocent children shot instead of on the side of a coward' It is unclear what prompted the shooting in the city's 7th Ward at a busy second-line parade - an impromptu community procession in which people dance down the street behind an official parade.

 

Image: CCTV footage 'shows the New Orleans parade shooter' Courtesy: BBC

No rift at the top, Dr Singh to remain PM till 2014: Cong

The 4 Congressmen eyeing Bansal's Chandigarh seat

Govt unveils campaign to showcase UPA's 'achievements'

China intrusion: Government is misleading people! 

Why Dr Manmohan Singh won't go in a hurry