BBC: Ukrainian MPs have voted to oust President Yanukovych and hold early presidential elections on 25 May. The vote came barely an hour after Mr Yanukovych said in a televised address that he would not resign. Protesters have walked unchallenged into the president's office and residential compounds.

 

The opposition is in effective control of the capital Kiev, with Mr Yanukovych now in the eastern city of Kharkiv, near the Russian border.

BJP is likely to come out with its first list of Lok Sabha candidates on February 27 when the party's top leadership discusses the possible candidates at a meeting of the Central Election Committee in New Delhi.  

 

"First election comm(ittee) meeting is on 27th February," BJP leader Arun Jaitley said on twitter, adding that "hopefully that day" the party will come out with its first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.    

 

Senior party leaders, including L K Advani, Rajnath Singh, Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Murli Manohar Joshi besides others, who are part of the panel, will meet in New Delhi to discuss and finalise the party's list of candidates.   

 

Sources said the party will finalise the seats for its top leaders and some seats where the candidates are strong and there is no dispute on them.

Exuding confidence that the BJD will retain power for a fourth consecutive term in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said his party alone could provide a stable government in the state.       

 

"The political scenario in Odisha indicates that the BJD alone can form the government in the state," Patnaik said at a public meeting in Phulbani during his whirlwind tour of Kandhamal district.        

 

Opposition Congress and BJP "are known as synonym to instability" and BJD alone could provide a stable government in the state, he said.        

 

Stating that the people had extended their "wonderful" support to the BJD in the past, Patnaik hoped they would again do so in the ensuing elections as well to help BJD carry out all-round development of the state, including Kandhamal.

The Aam Aadmi Party's office in suburban Andheri in Mumbai was today allegedly vandalised by a group of 20-25 people, with the party claiming that the attack was the handiwork of the Nationalist Congress Party.

After the BJP opened tea stalls to hard sell Narendra Modi's image of a leader rising from a humble background, the RJD too has done the the same, in the name of party chief Lalu Prasad, claiming that he was the"real" tea seller.        

Vishwa Hindu Parishad convenor Ashok Singhal said today that unless conversions were stopped immediately, the day would not be far off when Hindus would be reduced to a minority in India.        

In keeping with party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's plan of holding 'primaries' for the selection of the Lok Sabha candidates for some seats, the All-India Congress Committee today announced the opening of the exercise for the New Delhi parliamentary constituency.        

A Delhi court today dismissed the bail plea of BSP MP Dhananjay Singh, who along with his wife Jagriti Singh was charge-sheeted in connection with the murder of their maid, saying he can influence the witnesses.       

With the JD-U and the BJP launching separate agitations to protest the Centre's denial of special category status to Bihar like Seemandhra, the BJP today said if Chief Minister Nitish Kumar supported its 'rail roko' stir on February 28, it would also join his March 2 statewide bandh.        

As China made strong diplomatic protests over US President Barack Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama, the Chinese media today said the event turned out to be an embarrassment for Beijing, with its warning making little difference.        

Finance Minister P Chidambaram arrived in Sydney today to attend the two-day G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors, during which he is expected to press for expeditious reforms in the IMF, among other things.    

Facebook has reportedly announced that it would no longer change the privacy settings of a deceased person's account on the site.   

Without directly naming Congress President Sonia Gandhi, BJP leader Arun Jaitley stated, "I hope the leader who makes comment like zeher ki kheti (farming poison) and maut ke saudagar (merchants of death) against the opposition, also listens to Rahul".

"Rahul Gandhi is a very late entrant in the anti-corruption crusaders bandwagon," senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley stated at a press conference on Saturday.

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said the "people will judge us on the role we played in the opposition, and as the ruling government in several states, in the Lok Sabha polls".

"I was pained at the disruptions in the 15th Lok Sabha, but those triggered by the Opposition were necessary to make the government accountable," Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said on Saturday.

Odisha Tourism and Culture Minister Maheshwar Mohanty was today operated upon and the bullet lodged in his ribs removed after he was shot at by assailants in his constituency Puri .        

Vikram Singh, the highest-ranking Indian-American at the Pentagon, is joining an eminent US think-tank after serving the Obama administration in various positions for over five years.        

The United States is "not targeting" Indian companies, but has a strict quality control regime for all products being imported into America, the head of the US Food and Drug Administration said today.        

From a correspondent in Delhi: The SPG was on tenterhooks on the last day of Parliament as Gursharan Kaur, wife of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was inside the House to watch the proceedings.

Jairam Ramesh is all set to write a book titled Bifurcation boom for Seemandhra, where he will highlight the role played by Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu in creating the new state.

From a correspondent in Delhi:  BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu and From a correspondent in Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel managed to reach a deal on Telangana after Jairam Ramesh, a member of the GoM on Telangana, proposed several projects, including three airports, to appease Seemandhra.    

From a correspondent in Delhi: Former army chief General V K Singh is expected to join the BJP soon.   

A correspondent in Delhi reports: The Election Commission will declare the schedule for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls once the communique of President Pranab Mukherjee -- appending his consent to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill -- makes it an Act.   

A correspondent in Delhi reports: Dr Manmohan Singh was seen laughing for two entire minutes!   

A correspondent in Delhi: Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad had some words of praise for Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj -- during Question Hour on the last day of the 15th Lok Sabha -- over the eradication of polio from India.   

'Acclaimed novelist' Chetan Bhagat explains the dilemma that Indian voters will face when the Lok Sabha polls come knocking on our doors. 

"Personality is very important in defusing bombs. Lots of trained people reach bomb sites and lose courage. You need to be very calm and bold," believes Shafqat Malik, the chief of Pakistan Army's Bomb Disposal Unit.

Historian Ramachandra Guha remembers Verrier Elwin, a British priest who lived in and worked for tribal India, and wrote uncommonly well, about his experiences .

On Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's death anniversary today, it is important to remember his version of Islam, one that was much more accommodative than the contemporary rigid and combative Islam.

Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani may be embarking on his most ambitious venture yet: Joining Indian politics.

A study by McKinsey Global Institute has urged the Indian government to spend more in the fields of sanitation, health and water.

US President Barack Obama spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the telephone about the deal reached between the Ukrainian government and the opposition and agreed that it should be implemented quickly.        

US President Barack Obama today offered "strong support" for Tibetans' human rights as he met the region's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, defying China which lodged a diplomatic protest stating that bilateral ties had been seriously damaged by it.

Obama, during the meeting, extended support to the Dalai Lama's "Middle Way" approach of neither assimilation nor independence for Tibetans in China. "The President reiterated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural, and linguistic traditions and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People's Republic of China," the White House said after the meeting.

The meeting took place in the Map Room of the White House -- Obama's residence -- and not in his Oval Office, where the President usually holds talks with visiting dignitaries. Obama commended the 78-year-old Dalai Lama's commitment to peace and non-violence.

"The President stressed that he encourages direct dialogue to resolve long-standing differences and that a dialogue that produces results would be positive for China and Tibetans," the White House said in a statement.