A US attorney has opened an investigation looking into the release of a potentially dangerous chemical into parts of West Virginia's water supply.

After a big row led to scrapping of a 5-bedroom duplex apartment for him, a fresh search for a new house for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is expected to begin tomorrow. 

A magazine today reported that Francois Hollande routinely hops on a scooter to spend the night with an actress, a revelation that has created yet another headache for the unpopular French president. 

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama today arrived here on a three-day visit to meet the members of the Norgyeling Tibetan Settlement Camp in Gothangaon of Arjuni Morgaon tehsil in the district. 

For the first time ever, half of US Congressmen, both Democrats and Republicans, are millionaires, according to figures from a group that examines the influence of money on politics. 

In a major bureaucratic reshuffle, nine senior IAS officials serving in Delhi government were today transferred out of the city. 

A fresh controversy has erupted with another woman intern accusing a Supreme Court judge, who has since retired, of sexual harassment and demands being made for an inquiry by the apex court into it. 

Former army chief V K Singh, who didnot turn up before a Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council privileges committee yesterday, will appear before it on January 22, complying with fresh summons issued in connection with his alleged remarks against leaders from the state.

A PIL filed in the Bombay High Court has challenged the Election Commission's decision to register Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party, contending that the name is misleading and "unconstitutional".

The petition, filed by advocate Chittranjan Kumar, may come up for hearing in the next two weeks. It states that Kejriwal registered his party with Election Commission on December 3, 2012, according to provisions of Representation of People's Act.

But its name is misleading because the term 'Aam Aadmi' (common man) is associated with, and used by all political parties, it says.

The Election Commission, in February 2013, rejected his objection, the PIL says. Is the existence of any political party possible without the support of 'Aam Aadmi', it asks, adding that Congress used the term at the time of 2004 and 2009 elections and "as a guiding principle" in running the coalition government at the Centre.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today decided to confer "Sitara-e-Shujaat" -- one of Pakistan's top bravery awards -- on a 14-year-old boy who died while stopping a suicide bomber from attacking his school.        

 

"Prime Minister has advised the President to approve the conferment of 'Sitara-e-Shujaat' to shaheed Aitzaz Hasan, a student of class IX in Hangu," said a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office.        

 

It said Hasan's brave act saved the lives of hundreds of students and established a "sterling example of gallantry and patriotism". Hasan died on Monday when the bomber detonated his suicide vest after the boy prevented him from entering the school in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. There were nearly 2,000 students in the school at the time of the attack.        

 

The school is located in Ibrahimzai, a Shia-dominated area and the attack was claimed by the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a notorious extremist group.         Earlier in the day, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police recommended to Chief Minister Pervez Khattak that the boy should be posthumously honoured for his bravery.  

Prasanna Zore reports from Mumbai: Central Railway spokesperson A K Singh clarified that due to some union issue the Central Railway motormen and guards had called a flash strike.  

 

However, the strike that started at 6.35 pm was called off at 7.14 as the issues raised by the motormen and guards' union has been solved, Singh said.   Trains on both the Central and Harbour line have resumed normal operations after 7.14, he added.

 

However, Pallavi Borkar, a media executive, who is stranded at VT station for an hour said, "Trains are an hour late on central and harbour line. The train is packed with people, no place to stand."

Another press conference from Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, this time to announce that a power hotline has been established to report unscheduled power cuts and other complaints related to electricity like faulty meters. The number is 9223166166. Randomly 10,000 letters will be picked and meters scanned, says Kejriwal. 

A four-digit anti-corruption helpline has been launched -- the number is 1031. The earlier number used to be 27357169. He says so far, 11352 calls were made on this helpline. 

Action will be taken within 24 hours of making a complaint, he said and announced that an official of the assistant registrar's office was caught taking a bribe.

Arun Jaitley's blog today: The Country now awaits the BJP's big idea for governance. Read

In what is believed to be India's tit-for-tat to the US in the Devyani Khobragade episode, India as asked the US to withdraw the diplomatic immunity of its diplomat who used his tax exemption privilege to book tickets for Sangeeta Richard's family. India has asked the US Embassy in New Delhi to withdraw an officer of a rank similar to that of diplomat Devyani Khobragade.

If the immunity is not revoked, the person will be asked to leave the country, the government has warned. The government said it has reason to believe that the officer was involved in processing the Richard's family's papers.

The BJP today described the indictment of diplomat Devyani Khobragade in the United States as a "defeat" for India, saying that the criminal case against her would remain in America.

"Bringing Khobragade is our defeat not a win because a case will be on against her in the US. The US has decided. So we somehow are bringing her back. It's clear that there was no effect of India's arguments on the US," BJP leader and former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha told the media.

Nilekani confirmed that it would be the Congress party that he would be joining. "Congress has been very kind and supportive of me and my ideas," the 58-year-old said at a press conference today.

The Congress is likely to field Nilekani from Bangalore South in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

IT Czar and the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, Nandan Nilekeni, says that he is ready to contest the Lok Sabha polls. Nilekani will be contesting the polls on a Congress ticket.

He had earlier said that participatory democracy is good, but it is just not right to discuss an issue like Kashmir through an SMS poll.

He was addressing students at the Christ College in Bangalore today, when he was asked several questions by students one among which was his decision to contest the elections.

He said that ordinary citizens should join politics, and he would like to be part of this movement. "In India the biggest change can be brought about through politics and I want to be there," he said.

On the participatory democracy being practised by the Aam Admi Party, he said we need to make democracy interactive and participatory, however at the same time, he said, he did not believe that issues such as Kashmir should be discussed through an SMS poll.

Yogendra Yadav tweets that he has been misquoted in the Economic Times on the question of reservation. He says he has never supported increasing the quantum of reservation and had actually said that the criteria of affirmative action must be expanded beyond caste to include gender and economic class. 

UP CM Akhilesh Yadav holds a press conference defending the Saifai celebrations. On the defensive for the extensive criticism the celebrations have earned in the background of the tardy relief for the Muzaffarnagar riot victims, Yadav said the Saifai festival is held every year, and would have been held even if the SP was not in power.

He said the festival is organised by the people and it provides indirect employment to a lot of people.

He said why were the artistes being asked about Muzaffarnagar, when he was the CM. "Ask me, I am the CM!"

He said he was shocked by media reports that Rs 300 crore was spent on Saifai. "They should apologise for the misinformation," says Yadav. The fact is the entire state's budget for tourism is Rs 300 crore and just Rs 7 to Rs 8 crore has been spent on the Saifai Mahotsav. He said it was done to promote tourism and it is necessary.

"The media has become the judge, jury, and they set about punishing people. This is not democracy. The media house who said Rs 300 crore was spent on Saifai should apologise," he said.

On the Rs 1 crore tax break for Dedh Ishqiya, Yadav said the film promotes the Lucknow culture, the tehzeeb -- the city is so famous for. It is government policy to promote tourism, he said.

He also reiterated that the government has rehabilitated people in Muzaffarnagar, but they should return home now.

PM Dr Manmohan Singh is expected to land in Mumbai any time now. In fact after his scheduled 3 pm arrival in the city, the PM is headed for Parel at 4 pm. From there he is heading back to Sahar where he will inaugurate the swanky T2 terminal at 5 pm. Expect traffic congestion on Western Express Highway and the Dharavi-Ambedkar road. That's a heads up for those who are flying out today. Use SV Road or Linking Road.  -- Traffline Alert

A bureacratic snag will force India's Olympic athletes to wave a generic flag at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, rather than the orange, white and green. Indian athletes are fuming at their Olympic Association for its sluggish response to a corruption scandal in December of 2012 that froze India's membership in the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC gave India until February 7 to vote in new, untainted leadership, but India's Olympic Association scheduled a vote on February 9, two days after the opening ceremony. Read more

If this is the only reason you were voting for the BJP read this: The BJP is likely to drop a plan to promise sweeping tax reforms, including the scrapping or reducing of income tax, a move seen by many as a way of winning over the middle class and urban voters of the country ahead of the national election due by May.  Read more

Arvind Kejriwal confirms that social activist Medha Patkar will join AAP. The Aam Aadmi Party had contacted the noted activist asking her to join the party. Patkar, who is a convener of the National Alliance of People's Movements and leads the Narmada Bachao Andolan for the rights of the people displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Project, had responded "positively."

Earlier in the day, Kiran Bedi, who had shared the dais with Arvind Kejriwal and Medha Patkar during Anna Hazare's Lokpal movement, said her vote lay with Narendra Modi.

Amid clamour in Congress to declare Rahul Gandhi its Prime Ministerial candidate, party leader Digvijay Singh today appeared advocating caution, noting that in a parliamentary system it is the elected members of Parliament and Assemblies who choose their leader.

"I have been consistently saying that we are a parliamentary democracy and here it is not a contest between key personalities. It's a contest between policies, ideologies and programmes of parties," Singh told reporters.

He said that under this system, whichever party comes with a majority, the leader there is chosen by newly elected members of Parliament and Assemblies at the end of the day. "And then he becomes Prime Minister or Chief Minister.... That is the age-old practice....However, party President Sonia Gandhi has given an indication on December 8....If Congress party wants to declare (the PM candidate), it is okay," he said. Singh also said that in a parliamentary democracy, there is the Prime Minister and a 'shadow' Prime Minister.

"The shadow Prime Minister is obviously Sushma Swaraj as the Leader of the Opposition," he said, dismissing the "debate about Rahul Gandhi versus Narendra Modi, Modi versus Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul versus Modi versus Kejriwal" as something only linked to TRP readings of electronic media.

US intelligence experts were worried that Osama bin Laden would be reincarnated in an "immortal' form: as a virtual avatar, controlled by a network of al-Qaeda jihadis in cyberspace.

A confidential white paper from 2008, released by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) this week revealed concerns among members of the US intelligence and security community about the potential use of virtual worlds by extremists and terrorists. Read more

Mahesh Bhatt tells NDTV he's failed as a father by letting Alia dance at Saifai Sharmila Tagore says stars must be aware of news, read papers.

Ailing actress Suchita Sen continues to remain critical hardly showing any signs of improvement, doctors attending on her said today.

The 82-year-old actress, suffering from a respiratory tract infection, continues to be critical and is not properly responding to medicines leaving the doctors worried about fluid accumulation in her lungs.

A medical bulletin issued by Belle Vue Clinic where she is hospitalised since December 23 said her dependence and demand of oxygen still remains high but her cardiac condition continues to be stable.

"She could tolerate the prescribed diet well and she looks brighter today. The supportive therapy like nebulisation, intermittent non-invasive ventilation and physiotherapy continues as before," it said.

Had the Government of Uttar Pradesh not been 'secular' it would have been censured in our newspapers on a daily basis for the inhumane manner in which it continues to treat the victims of the Muzaffarnagar riots.  Read

Edwin Lutyens' architecture was the first to successfully fuse east and west. Is India really about to bulldoze his work? William Dalrymple's argument on why Delhi's Lutyens' bungalows should be saved. Read

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal holding a press conference on the launch of the party's national membership drive. Kejriwal says the party is starting a campaign called the Main Bhi Aam Admi Hoon drive and is looking at recruiting 1 crore members by January 26. He said those willing to join can do so by sending a text message or giving a missed call.

Arvind Kejriwal has said that he is not upset Kiran Bedi supporting Narendra Modi and the BJP over him and the Aam Aadmi Party.

Bedi, who shared the stage with Kejriwal during the Anna Hazare Jan Lokpal movement said yesterday, "For me it's India First! Stable, Well Governed, Administered, Accountable and Inclusive.As a an independent voter,my vote is for NaMo (sic)."

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday said former Army chief Gen V K Singh and Anna Hazare's aide Kiran Bedi should be invited to join the party, a day after the former IPS officer endorsed party's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

"We should invite Kiran Bedi & Gen Singh to join BJP,' Swamy tweeted. Bedi, who had on Thursday endorsed the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, on Friday again praised Modi.

"I am looking for somebody, who could lead this country or a party, which can provide stability. My support to Modi is for strong united and stable government,' she said.

She also sought to dispel the view that the agitation of India Against Corruption was against both Congress and BJP saying, "No, it was not against BJP. This is a wrong impression. It was only against the scams of the Congress. BJP was not in the government. 

Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh had a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath on the hindrances faced by his ministry during election campaigns.

Ramesh said that the model code of conduct comes in the way of developmental projects thereby hindering sanctions for roads in interior areas of many states.

He is expected to depute senior offiicials of the Ministry of Rural Development to give the details of road projects in six states.

In other news: Girls' choir to sing at on 25 January as Canterbury Cathedral takes steps towards gender equality. Read

Kiran Bedi says she will vote for NaMo? Surprising. As ex-IGP of Tihar, she had so many alumni of that esteemed institution to choose from, tweets Ramesh Srivats.

When Bismillah Khan plays the shehnai and NG Jog the violin, the violin does not become the shehnai nor the shehnai the violin.

Thus, when the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress stand on the same side of secularism against the BJP's communalism, it does not make the AAP the Congress or the Congress the AAP. Much like any jugalbandi, sometimes the two instruments are in consonance; at other times, they are contrapuntal. Read

Kiran Bedi was reportedly ready to join the BJP if she was made CM candidate for Delhi. Her stand on Modi is (a) unsurprising (b) her right, tweets Shiv Aroor.

The cartoon on the Hindu on the increasing number of people signing up for AAP. 

The benchmark BSE Sensex moved up by 125 points in late morning trade today on a rise in IT stocks as Infosys increased its revenue growth guidance for the year ending March 31, 2014.

The BSE-30 share index Sensex resumed higher at 20,760.72 and hovered in a range of 20,843.38 and 20,625.17 before quoting 20,838.71 points at 1030 hours. It showed a gain of 125.34 points or 0.61 per cent.

A 14-year-old boy is being hailed as a hero in Pakistan for tackling a suicide bomber -- dying at the main gate of his school and saving schoolmates gathered for their morning assembly.

Ninth-grader Aitazaz Hassan Bangash was on his way to the Ibrahimzai School on Monday in the Hangu district of northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when the bomber, dressed in a school uniform, asked him where the school was, the teen's cousin told CNN.

Aitazaz and his cousin, Musadiq Ali Bangash, became suspicious, Musadiq said.

Read the full story here.

The Uttar Pradesh government has reportedly decided that Arvind Kejriwal will be given the highest level Z Plus security cover in the state, but the Delhi Chief Minister maintains that he doesn't need it.

Kejriwal, the new chief minister of Delhi, resides in the Kaushambi area of Ghaziabad in UP. Two days ago, his Aam Aadmi Party's office, located a kilometre away from his home, was vandalised, allegedly by a group of 50-60 men who said they were members of the 'Hindu Raksha Dal'.

Read more

Also read: The duplex apartments that Kejri okayed and then turned down.

It's hard to recall a more depressing month in recent memory than November, 2013.

The judgment in the Aarushi Talwar murder case and the sudden destruction of Tehelka because of rape charges against its editor have together overwhelmed us with difficult questions about the prevalence of law and order in this country, the efficacy of our criminal justice system, the state of women's rights, the safety of the workplace for professional women, and widespread corruption in the media.

Read the opinion piece on the Telegraph.

Uttam Khobragade saying Devyani was fighting to save India's sovereignty is like saying Arindam Chaudhuri is working to save India's economy, tweets Shiv Aroor.

Also read: Devyani is composed, cheerful and happy, says her father.

Even a communal riot cannot stop some politicians from making merry. Nearly 15,000 of the victims of the recent riots in Muzaffarnagar are still sheltered in relief camps.

The government seems to have done little to inspire their confidence that it is safe to go back home. But Akhilesh Yadav, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, sees no reason why the plight of these people should stand in the way of a government-sponsored festival of song and dance.
Read more

Bollywood actors and Dalit activists from Maharashtra's rural hinterland may have little in common for much of the year.

But with election season approaching, they're joining the state's newest political outfit - AAP.

The impact of Arvind Kejriwal's impressive Delhi show can be felt in the small towns of Akola, Buldhana and Jalgaon, with AAP gaining 5 lakh members across the state over the last 10 days. Read more

Actor Salman Khan, pilloried for performing at the Saifai Mahotsav in Uttar Pradesh where thousands of people in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar are struggling to survive, has found an unlikely ally in Shah Rukh Khan.

"I wouldn't take a moral high ground on it," Shah Rukh Khan said at an event on Thursday evening.

"I have performed earlier, not knowing the situation in the area... I have seen on news what's happening and I can understand the media's point of view but it's unfair to nitpick on Bollywood for everything. We are performers and that's our job."

The two actors had a public falling out in 2008 and have barely spoken since then. More of that here.

Tuesday's attack on the Aam Aadmi Party headquarters, attributed to a fringe Hindu right-wing group, is the clearest sign yet that the AAP is being viewed as a political phenomenon to watch out for in the upcoming general election.

Indeed, it seems no more than an excuse that the vandalism was in response to AAP member Prashant Bhushan's comments on Kashmir.  Read more

Love him or hate him, but don't expect Arvind Kejriwal to play matchmaker. Delhi's new chief minister has promised "on the spot' roadside justice to citizens but thrown up his hands when it comes to matters of the heart.

"The other day a girl came to me saying that her boyfriend is not ready to marry her. Even if a chief minister wants, he cannot do anything about it,' Kejriwal said.  Read more

Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may be winning a growing legion of supporters but one of his former associates, IPS officer Kiran Bedi, has openly endorsed Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.

"For me it's India First! Stable, Well Governed, Administered, Accountable and Inclusive. As a an independent voter, my vote is for NaMo (sic)," tweeted Ms Bedi, who once campaigned alongside Mr Kejriwal for Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement.

"Any one of us who wants a scam free country cannot vote back Congress! India needs stability and experienced hands to provide for all!(sic)," Ms Bedi added in her tweets late on Thursday night. -- NDTV

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said today a Syrian peace conference planned for later this month will fail if Tehran, Damascus's main regional ally, does not participated, media reported. 

An Indian diplomat accused of lying about how much she paid her housekeeper has been indicted in New York City.

Former prime minister Ariel Sharon's condition deteriorated dramatically on Thursday and he was hanging onto to life at press time.Sheba Medical Center downgraded Sharon's status to very critical. 

Afghanistan says it will release scores of Taliban fighters from jails, despite American objections that the men pose a security threat.

The Coast Guard says rescuers have called off the search for a sailor who has been missing since a Navy helicopter with five crew members aboard crashed in the ocean off the Virginia coast. 

Former President of Cuba Fidel Castro made a rare public appearance to attend the opening of an art studio in Cuba's capital on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports.Cuban newspapers, broadcasts and websites all publicized a photo Thursday of  Castro at the event. 

Khobragade: I will show my immunity to the court. The court will see thatI have diplomatic immunity. Only then will I leave the US.

New Yorkers living around the rebuilt World Trade Centre are fighting what they call the "fortresslike" security planned for their neighbourhood saying the USD 40 million barrier would block them in. Residents have sued the New York Police Department, the city and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the trade centre.

Endorsing the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, former IPS officer and Anna Hazare's key aide Kiran Bedi today said Narendra Modi can provide stable, accountable and inclusive government. 

Iraqi security forces backed by tanks battled militants today in Anbar province, where fighting has displaced thousands and sparked warnings of rights abuses and a worsening humanitarian crisis. 

An 18-year-old girl was allegedly abducted, confined and raped repeatedly for two days by a local goon in North-East Delhi's Seelampur area, police said today. 

A local court today convicted directors of 19 companies whose promoters include wife and sons, family members and relatives of B Ramalinga Raju, founder of Satyam Computer Services Limited, for allegedly evading income tax. 

A snow avalanche hit Macchil sector of Kashmir today killing an army jawan, a defence spokesman said. "A snow avalanche struck in the general area of Macchil this evening. One soldier was killed in the incident," the spokesman said.

Iran and world powers met today to discuss how to implement a landmark deal aimed at containing Tehran's nuclear drive, less than two weeks before the agreement is due to take effect. 

In a second incident of man-animal conflict in the district, a person was killed in a tiger attack on Thursday. The unfortunate incident occurred at Kolara Gate, one of the entry gates of the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), here.

Jan Lokpal by first week of February: Arvind Kejriwal
AAP's anti-graft helpline swamped with 4,500 calls in 7 hours!
Chargesheet filed against Asaram in rape case
PM should resign after govt's admission in SC on coal gate
US releases pics of civilian deaths during Lankan civil war
Cong rubbishes opinion poll putting Rahul at #3 place for PM
Yeddyurappa formally rejoins BJP
US mum on G-visa granting diplomatic immunity to Devyani