A senior Vatican official has condemned as "wicked" the assisted suicide of Brittany Maynard, an American woman suffering from terminal brain cancer. Brittany Maynard, 29, died in Portland, Oregon on Saturday having announced her intention to self-administer a cocktail of fatal drugs legally provided by her doctors in the US state, where she had moved with her husband after being given six months to live in January. Anticipating a painful end to her life, she had announced her intention to end it in a video seen by millions of web users around the world that sparked a national debate in the United States over the right of the terminally ill to die with dignity at a time of their choosing. However, her decision has angered Vatican officials, who said, "It is a wicked thing because it (suicide) is saying no both to one's own life and to everything which signifies respect for our mission in this world and towards those closest to us."

Ukraine's President Poroshenko orders reinforcements to key south and eastern cities in case of new rebel offensive. 

Americans begin voting in mid-term elections which will decide who controls the Senate and pave the way for the 2016 race for the White House. At stake are all the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 36 of the 100 Senate seats and gubernatorial elections in 36 of the 50 states. These states are also having elections for the state assembly and city councils, like that of Washington, DC. The Republicans, who already control the House of Representatives, need to gain just six seats to take the Senate.

She has won an Oscar and regularly conquers the box office so how hard could winning an election be? Globe-trotting Hollywood do-gooder Angelina Jolie hints in a new interview to Vanity Fair that she's ready to enter politics. "When you work as a humanitarian, you are conscious that politics have to be considered," Jolie said about possibly trying her hand at elected or appointed office. "Because if you really want to make an extreme change, then you have a responsibility." She was quick to add: "But I honestly don't know in what role I would be more useful. I am conscious of what I do for a living, and that could make it less possible." When directly asked if she sees herself pursuing a life in politics, diplomacy, or public service, Jolie replied: "I am open."

In March 2009, in a wind-swept sliver of Iraq, a sense of uncertainty befell the southern town of Garma, home to one of the Iraq War's most notorious prisons. The sprawling detention center called Camp Bucca, which had detained some of the Iraq War's most radical jihadists along the Kuwait border, had just freed hundreds of inhabitants. Families rejoiced, anxiously awaiting their sons, brothers and fathers who had been lost to Bucca for years. But a local official fretted.

A policewoman was injured in a firing incident in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. A policewoman who was part of a team on Muharram duty, received a bullet injury in her shoulder near Jungle narh village. He said the police party was deployed in the area in connection with Tazia procession of Muharram and was returning when the incident took place. The spokesman said the cop has been hospitalised where her condition was stated to be stable.

Most of the $3 billion (Rs 18,456 crore) that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given to benefit hungry people in the world's poorest countries has been spent in the US, Britain and other rich countries, with only around 10 per cent spent in Africa, new research suggests.

Ebola patients in Sierra Leone are exposing others to the deadly disease as they are being forced to leave quarantine to search for food. Aid agencies working with the Disasters Emergency Committee are desperately trying to get food to those being monitored to stop them from leaving clinics and spreading the virus. In Sierra Leone, a government system in place to feed those in quarantine is not working properly and volunteers are "working against the clock' to provide food to 2,100 people in Kailahun and western areas of Freetown

US President Barack Obama will meet Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon on November 14, during a six-day trip through Asia. Obama will also participate in the G20 in Australia, a White House statement said, noting that further details would be forthcoming.

The Biju Janata Dal suspended Ramchandra Hansda, one of its MPs, after he was arrested for his involvement in the multi-crore chitfund scam in Odisha. Earlier in the day, Hansda was arrested by CBI officials. On his arrest, the BJD had said that  the party was not providing any protection nor shielding any tainted leader involved in the ponzi activities.

An iron gate with the notorious Nazi slogan "Arbeit Macht Frei" has been stolen from the former Dachau concentration camp in Germany, officials said.

The slogan, which translates as "Work sets you free," became emblematic of the forced labor camps of World War II in which so many inmates died.

The gate was stolen overnight from Saturday to Sunday, officials at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial said in an online statement.

Central intelligence agencies have alerted Kolkata police about the possibility of a terror attack in the city, especially in the port area, a senior official of Kolkata police said on Tuesday.

"We have received inputs from central intelligence agencies that there might be a terror attack in Kolkata, especially in port area. We have beefed up the security in the port area and have put the entire city under security blanket,' said a senior Kolkata police officer on condition of anonymity.

According to the input, terrorists might carry out an attack in port area and may also use small boats to carry out the attack, he added.

VVS Laxman on Sachin Tendulkar's book: "We should respect his right to reveal everything, nothing wrong in mentioning honest facts in his book. He has been the pillar of Indian cricket, has a right to write about his journey. It's an honest book."

Kolkata on high alert: Intelligence agencies say Pakistani terrorists likely to attack Kolkata port between November 4 and 7. Security beefed up.

The moderate Hurriyat Conference today filed a petition before the National Human Rights Commission seeking an inquiry into yesterday's army firing incident in Kashmir's Budgam district which left two youths dead and two others injured.

"It is necessary to take up the matter and make an impartial investigation into the incident so that the guilty are brought to justice...," the Human Rights Division of the Hurriyat said in its petition to the NHRC.

Union Surface Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said there was no question of demolishing 'Ram Sethu' while implementing the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project and asserted it would be done without harming the environment.

"There is no question of demolishing 'Ram Sethu'  (mythical bridge built by Lord Rama to reach Lanka) while implementing Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project,' he told reporters after inspecting the area by air in a Coast Guard aircraft and through sea by hovercraft (pictured).

Gadkari said government was studying four or five options and its implications, including cost, as suggested in a report submitted by RITES, after government asked it to survey an alternate alignment and possibilities for constructing SSCP.

The SSCP project envisages dredging a ship channel across Palk Straits, providing a shorter navigational route for ships from east and west coasts of the country instead of circumventing Sri Lanka, has hit a block after protests over the proposed demolition of Ram Sethu.

In which, Harbhajan Singh admits to peeking into somebody's email...

Harbhajan also made another shocking claim that Chappell had written an e-mail to the BCCI about former skipper Sourav Ganguly, when India were in the midst of a Test match against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.

"Sourav was batting out there in the middle and this man was typing a critical e-mail against Sourav, sitting right there in that dressing room. He had no interest in the proceedings of the match. How did I get to know? I was sitting next to him and had a suspicion. Once he went to the washroom, I peeped into his laptop and the mail was lying open. I was stunned to see the contents," Harbhajan revealed.

"Once Sourav came back, I told him about this e-mail and he seemed unaware and equally shocked."

Read more of that here

Home minister Rajnath Singh leads the Indian delegation participating in the Interpol's plenary session in Monaco.  With him is the CBI chief Ranjit Sinha.

In a gruesome incident, a Christian couple was today thrashed and burnt alive by a group of angry Muslims in Pakistan's Punjab province for allegedly desecrating the Quran.

The horrific crime was reported from the villages of Kot Radha Kishan of Kasur district. A large number of police personnel were deployed in the villages to provide security to the minority community.

And if you think this kind of horror is restricted to a largely religiously intolerant Pakistan, remember the Graham Staines incident? Read

The families of five fishermen, who were awarded capital punishment by a Sri Lankan court last month on drug-trafficking charges, today met Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and sought immediate steps by India to bring them back home.

Gadkari assured them government would take necessary legal steps and take up their case in the court in Sri Lanka for their release.

He also informed them that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had instructed Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka to hold talks with officials concerned in the island nation to secure the release of the fishermen.

And if the Chappell vs all-of-Indian-cricket makes you feel blah, here's an inspirational read.

The story of Shibani Gharat who loves to run. In September, the 29-year-old decided to test her limits and ran 72 kilometres along the world's highest motorable path. Read

The Wall sits on the fence. Rahul Dravid on Greg Chappell, says, "I haven't even read the book how can I comment on it."

Dravid was asked to comment on Sachin Tendulkar's book, Playing it my way, where he writes that former India coach Greg Chappell wanted him ousted in favour of Tendulkar.

Earlier in the day, India's premier speedster Zaheer Khan revealed that Chappell had told him back in 2005 that he "would never play for India" till he was at the helm, and termed the period under the Australian as the "darkest phase of Indian cricket".

"After he was appointed the coach of the Indian team, he once came up to me and said, 'Zaheer, you will not be playing for India till I remain the coach'," Zaheer said, backing Sachin Tendulkar's revelations about the Australian during his tenure as coach in his upcoming autobiography Playing It My Way.

Read more

And if you haven't the faintest what that is all about, read this: 'Chappell suggested I should take over the captaincy from Dravid'

Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson MEA, India on the Pentagon report: "We need to focus on terrorism as an evil scourge against the whole of mankind. We have been of the view that we do not need to segment terrorists."

Delhi BJP meeting underway at the state headquarters. The strategy for the upcoming poll is being discussed.

Actor-turned-politician and BJP MP of Ahmedabad (West) constituency Paresh Rawal has once again courted controversy during a party workers meet at Vavol near Ahmedabad today.

In his address to party workers on the significance of cleanliness, he said he had observed that Hindu places of worship were the dirtiest of places of worship among all other religions.

Rawal was on a day's visit to Ahmedabad as part of a mass contact programme with party workers and office-bearers.

He was also there to take part in the Swachchhata Abhiyan in his constituency.

Those who have already joined the ISIS have the potential to create a network of similarly motivated youth, and it is from this breed of self-radicalised, semi-skilled professionals that a potential attacker is likely to emerge, warns an intelligence advisory. Read more

South African prosecutors on Tuesday filed an appeal against the sentence and conviction of star Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, who last month was sentenced to five years for the culpable homicide of his girlfriend.

"Tuesday, we announce that the NPA filed the application for leave to appeal both the conviction and sentence," the National Prosecuting Authority said in a statement.

The athlete stood trial for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he shot four times through a locked toilet door in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013. Pistorius admitted to shooting Steenkamp, 29, at his upmarket Pretoria home, but told the court that he had mistaken her for an intruder. The state sought to prove that Pistorius deliberately shot Steenkamp.

Read this while we reach for the barf bag...

Narendra Modi tweets: I appreciate the work of vivek oberoi towards creating a Swachh Bharat. #MyCleanIndia

Vivek Oberoi tweets: Feel honoured & humbled by your appreciation. Shall be committed to the cause of #swachhbharat through various means.

Harbhajan Singh backs Sachin Tendulkar's claims on former India coach Greg Chappell. Harbhajan says that whatever Sachin says is right. "Chappell was a man with double standards. I am happy that Sachin has exposed Chappell's truth. Chappell believed in divide and rule and it is good that he is now away from Indian cricket."  

BJD MP Ramchandra Hansdah, Hitesh Kumar Bagarti, ex MLA BJP & Subarna Naik, ex MLA BJD arrested by CBI SIT in Orissa chit fund scam on allegations of criminal conspiracy, cheating and diversion of funds. 

Amitabh Bachchan, no stranger to a stroke of misfortune on the sets, took to Twitter on Monday evening to scotch speculation that he had taken ill in Calcutta after a daylong shoot in the unusually harsh November sun. Bachchan, who had cycled down a Dalhousie street on the first day of shooting for Shoojit Sircar's Piku on Sunday, was parked at Alipore's Burdwan Rajbari on Monday.  Read

Hasmukh Adhia, who was Modi's Prinicipal Secretary in Gujarat for two years, will replace GS Sandhu as Financial Services Secretary.

After transferring Arvind Mayaram, the topmost bureaucrat in the Finance Ministry, the Narendra Modi government shifted another top level babu.

Financial Services Secretary Gurdial Singh Sandhu is transferred to National Authority for Chemical Weapon Convention as its chairman. Sandhu will be replaced by Hasmukh Adhia.

"We have proved AAP does what it claims, as we had delivered in 49 days. If there is any party which can make Delhi corruption-free and a world-class state, it's AAP,"  says Ashutosh. 

Now, that Delhi will hold polls, the AAP has been carpet bombing Twitter with campaign ads and statements by its leaders. Yogendra Yadav gives his taken on dissolution saying that it is the "dissolution of the assembly, dissolution of lies and deceit, dissolution of horse-trading. Hope the politics of hate too dissolves."

While, AAP's Ashutosh responds to BJP's refusal to put a face to its CM candidate. Ashutosh says, "You only project candidate when you are confident of your win, BJP has realized they will lose in Delhi polls."

AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal is the party's CM candidate.  BJP has said the lotus (the party's symbol) is its face in the polls. 

In a blunt assessment of terrorist safe havens in Pakistan, the Pentagon has told the US Congress that the country is using militant groups as proxies to counter the superior Indian military.

"Afghan-and Indian-focused militants continue to operate from Pakistan territory to the detriment of Afghan and regional stability. Pakistan uses these proxy forces to hedge against the loss of influence in Afghanistan and to counter India's superior military,' the Pentagon told the Congress in its latest six-monthly report on the current situation in Afghanistan.

"These relationships run counter to Pakistan's public commitment to support Afghan-led reconciliation. Such groups continue to act as the primary irritant in Afghan-Pakistan bilateral relations,' the Pentagon said in the report running into more than 100 pages. 

For Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, requests for interviews would be nothing new. But this time, the interview seeker was an 11-year-old neighbor, who made the request - and got turned away by the security guards. Drishti Harchandrai is a student of Class V at Mumbai's JB Petit School. She lives in Malabar Hill, near the Sahyadri guest house, where the Chief Minister is currently staying. Read more

In a move which could embarrass the Uttar Pradesh government, state Transport minister Durga Prasad Yadav has embarked on a week-long study tour to Brazil with family in tow.

The minister left for the tour, meant for studying the transport system in Brazil with focus on infrastructure and IT, with the intention of adopting the best practices in UP, on Saturday with his son, daughter-in-law, private secretary and few other officials and wife of one of the officials, a transport department official said.

The tour sponsored by the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU), a body with country's all state road transport corporations as its members, was originally meant for just three persons (from UP State Road Transport Corporation) but somehow the numbers were raised and VIPs were included in the list, he said.

And now comes Ashutosh Gowariker with Everest, a show with a potentially decent storyline and characters but one that is produced so tackily, it hurts.

Everest is unwatchably bad right from the get-go, a badly acted and awfully scripted show that hurts more than a daily soap simply because it pretends to be better than that.

It's not, writes Raja Sen. Read

Congress today took a dig at Lt Governor Najeeb Jung for his recommendation to the President for dissolution of the Delhi Assembly, saying it is "better late than never".

"There is a saying in Farsi 'der aaye, durust aaye' (better late than never). This should have happened long back, but the LG in his wisdom, on the advice of the BJP, tried to prolong it.

"Wisdom descended upon the LG only after the intervention of the Supreme Court", party General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed, who is in charge of party affairs in Delhi, said, when asked about the development.

Ending the eight-month-long political uncertainty, Jung today recommended to the President dissolution of the Delhi Assembly as major players BJP, AAP and Congress have expressed "inability" to form government and preferred holding of polls.

The report by Jung paved the way for holding of fresh polls in the capital which is under President's Rule since February after the AAP government quit after ruling for 49 days.

"No lack of leadership in Delhi,at the right time right decision will be taken, will fight polls under collective leadership," says Upadhyay.

The BJP has not fielded any names for a CM candidate in Delhi, says the party's Delhi president Satish Upadhyay.

He says that the BJP believes in collective leadership. "The way we fought in Haryana and Maharashtra -- that's the way we will fight polls in Delhi too. Will give a good government and good governance to the people of Delhi. This is our commitment," he says.

Just in: Cabinet recommends dissolution of the Delhi assembly. In effect the meeting of the Delhi cabinet at 7RCR, presided over by the PM, has ratified Lt governor Najeeb Jung's report to the President that all parties want polls in Delhi. President Pranab Mukherjee gave his OK for the dissolution of the Delhi assembly earlier in the day.

Cabinet meet at 7 RCR ends. The Union Cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the report of Lt governor Najeeb Jung on Delhi's political situation. Jung sent the report after discussions with leaders of BJP, AAP and Congress yesterday. 

A British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran after trying to watch a volleyball match is on a hunger strike, refusing food or liquids, her brother told AFP yesterday.

Ghoncheh Ghavami, a 25-year-old law graduate from London, is protesting against a judicial delay in making her one-year prison sentence official, her brother said.

"She's been on hunger strike from Saturday," Iman Ghavami said in a phone interview. "She's not eating any solid foods and she's not drinking any liquids."

Ghavami said that his sister was "frustrated" at her detention without an official sentence.

"The case is in limbo. The investigation is over and the case is closed and the verdict is decided," he said. "I don't understand why they don't want to issue the verdict when they have made the decision. It's quite concerning for us. They have no legal basis to have her detained."

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah says he has spoken to the Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley regarding yesterday's incident where army firing resulted in two deaths. "Such killings have no place in an otherwise improving security environment where militancy incidents are at record low level. These deaths have served to vitiate the poll atmosphere already strained by the post flood reconstruction challenge that people face.

"Arun Jaitley has assured a time bound transparent inquiry in to the incident to ensure action follows if wrongdoing is established," he said.

The Army has ordered an inquiry into the killing of two youths by its soldiers in a firing incident in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district.

"Army regrets the loss of lives and has ordered an inquiry into the circumstance leading to the incident. Anyone found guilty will be severely dealt with," a statement issued by the Army said.

Two youths identity as Faisal Yusuf Bhat and Mehrajuddin Dar were killed, while two others --Shaker Bhat and Zahid Naqash -- were injured on Monday evening when soldiers of 53 Rashtriya Rifles opened fire on the Maruti car they were travelling in at Chattergam village in Badgam district, 20 km from Srinagar.

The Army said the driver of the car did not stop at a mobile vehicle check post after he was signalled to do so.

A group of young women and men have had enough of moral policing in Kerala.On Sunday, November 2 they plan to meet at Kochi's Marine Drive and stage a somewhat unique protest that involves... kissing. 

Read Abhishek Mande's report on Rediff.com.

After Sachin Tendulkar claimed in his book that Greg Chappell, the former India coach, wanted to have the little master as the captain of the team, the surprised Australian has completely denied such claims.

Read more

Shiv Sena today urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to step up offensive against the Karnataka government's decision to change Belgaum's name to Belagavi, to protect the interests of the Marathi-speaking people.

"Devendra Fadnavis has sworn to protect the Marathi speaking people. It is now his duty to safeguard the interest of Marathi 'manoos' wherever they reside, in or outside the state. This is why he (Fadnavis) should stand up and protest the decision taken by the (Karnataka) government," the Sena said in an edit in party mouthpiece Saamana.

Uddhav Thackeray had on Sunday said that the Karnataka government had hurt the sentiments of Marathi-speaking people by changing Belgaum's name to Belagavi.

Pic: The Maharashtra CM visited the Ganesh Mandir Tekdi in Nagpur.

In Sri Lanka, encroachment by Indian trawlers, joint ventures with East Asian vessels and the recent EU ban on seafood exports have a common impact: they cripple small-scale fishers. Read

Hours of debates and many news column inches have accompanied the completion of a hundred days of the new government in office. Save moderate voices, the general impression emerging out of this noise has been one of disappointment at the promised achhe din not having dawned overnight. Read

In a bid to restore communal harmony in Trilokpuri, the Hindus have offered to lead the Muharram procession on Tuesday.

The volunteers of the 'Aman committee', working for communal harmony in the area, have come forward with the idea after a discussion with senior officers of the Delhi Police. Read

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen and her family met spiritual leader Dalai Lama.

Bundchen, 34, shared a photo on Instagram of the meeting, reported Aceshowbiz.

In the photo, Bundchen's 4-year-old son can be seen standing in front of His Holiness who bowed and cupped the boy's face. She stands behind her young son as she carries her 23-month-old daughter.

"What an inspiring and kind man... Grateful for this magical moment #dalailama #wisdom #gratitude," she captioned the picture. 

The Union Cabinet meeting, to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to discuss the report of Lt governor Najeeb Jung on Delhi's political situation.

Jung sent the report after discussions with leaders of BJP, AAP and Congress yesterday.

No party has shown interest in forming a government in the national capital in the present circumstances.

After the meetings, Jung sent a report to the President recommending dissolution of the Assembly.

A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com meets the shattered families of the five Tamil fishermen sentenced to death by a Sri Lankan court for alleged drug smuggling. Read

President Pranab Mukherjee gives his nod for the dissolution of the Delhi assembly. Union cabinet meeting at 1 pm to ratify the decision. Decks cleared for fresh polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in favour of polls in Delhi and the RSS has also conveyed its view that the party should not form government adopting any "unfair means".

Currently BJP, along with ally Akali Dal's lone MLA, has 29 legislators and would have required support of five more MLAs to form a government and prove majority in the 67-member Assembly.

BJP had emerged as the single largest party in the December Assembly polls winning 31 seats but fell four seats short of a simple majority. It had refused to form government then, saying it will not resort to any "unfair means" to take over the reins.

AAP had formed the government in Delhi with the support of Congress.

The government led by Kejriwal had resigned on February 14 after the party's pet project, the Janlokpal Bill, could not be passed due to opposition from BJP and Congress. President's Rule was imposed on February 17.

With Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung sending a report to the President confirming that all key parties have "expressed their inability to form the government" in Delhi, the capital is headed for fresh polls.

The Union Cabinet is likely to meet at 1 pm to take a call on dissolution the assembly in Delhi.

The capital has been under President's Rule since February this year, when Arvind Kejriwal resigned as chief minister.

In a blunt assessment of terrorist safe havens in Pakistan, the Pentagon has told the US Congress that the country is using militant groups as proxies to counter the superior Indian military.   

"Afghan-and Indian-focused militants continue to operate from the Pakistan territory to the detriment of Afghan and regional stability. Pakistan uses these proxy forces to hedge against the loss of influence in Afghanistan and to counter India's superior military," the Pentagon told the Congress in its latest six-monthly report on the current situation in Afghanistan.   

"These relationships run counter to Pakistan's public commitment to support Afghan-led reconciliation. Such groups continue to act as the primary irritant in Afghan-Pakistan bilateral relations," the Pentagon said in the report running into more than 100 pages.

NDTV reports: Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has set the ball rolling for fresh elections in Delhi by recommending to the President that the assembly elected in December last year be dissolved.

Once the assembly is dissolved, the Election Commission has to schedule elections within six months. The commission enrolls new voters in January and publishes revised rolls by the second week of that month and elections are likely after that, sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah reportedly favour fresh elections in February next.

Read the full report here

Brushing aside India's concern, China defended its submarines making port calls in Colombo, saying there is "nothing unusual" as it is an international common practice for warships to stop for refuelling at ports abroad.

"It is nothing unusual for the naval vessel to dock at Colombo port," official media here quoted the Chinese defence ministry as saying. "It is an international common practice for navy submarines to stop for refuelling and crew refreshment at an overseas port," an official from the defence ministry has been quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.

NDTV reports: In West Bengal, a Trinamool Congress MLA from Burdwan has made a sensational statement that leaders of the party were extorting money from businessmen in the district.

Speaking at an internal party meeting at Manteshwar, legislator Tapan Chatterjee said Trinamool leaders are sending envelopes to businessmen with a note inside stating how much they should pay.

"Some of our TMC leaders are engaged in extorting money from different businessman of our area, they are sending envelope with a note stating the amount to be send to them by the businessman," said Chatterjee.

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has reportedly been inducted into the three-member selection committee which will select the Chief Information Commissioner.

As per file notings, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who heads the panel, has nominated Defence Minister Arun Jaitely, besides Kharge, to the committee.

The decision to include Kharge has reportedly been taken on the advice of the law ministry as there was lack of clarity on the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.

Hours before the crucial US mid -term polls, Congressman Ami Bera's re-election campaign got a shot in the arm with First Lady Michelle Obama appealing to voters in California seat, where the Indian-American is locked in a tight contest, to vote for him.

Bera is the only Indian-American in the current Congress and third ever person from the community to be elected to the US House of Representatives. He was elected from California's seventh Congressional district with a thin margin in the 2012 general elections.

49-year-old Bera is facing a tough competition from Republican Doug Ose, a businessman who served three terms in Congress through 2005.

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Like father, like son: Vasan quits Congress, to float new party in TN

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