At least 10 people, including a woman and two children, were injured in a hand grenade attack by a criminal gang in one of Karachi's oldest neighbourhoods.

Senior Congress leader Shankarsinh Vaghela today alleged that BJP and its "sister concern" VHP are behind spurt in communal violence in state. "Communal clashes have increased in Gujarat of late. BJP and its sister concern VHP are trying to flare up communal tension in the state directly or indirectly.

Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital Sanaa have shelled the president's home, shattering a ceasefire.

A Samajwadi Party leader was shot at by three motorcycle-borne youths today on NH-2 near Chhatta Tahsil, the police said.

A man having severe fever was admitted to AIIMS today amid fears that he has contracted Ebola, which the hospital authorities are yet to confirm.

Pakistan's former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry today filed Rs 20 billion defamation case against cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan for allegedly maligning the Supreme Court and accusing him of rigging in the 2013 elections.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has advised private TV channels to telecast the Republic Day event accompanied with sign language to help the differently-abled people connect meaningfully with this important 'National Day'.

Arvind Kejriwal reaches Kiran Bedi's Krishnanagar constituency in Delhi to address an election rally. He tells people that AAP will win from the constituency. "You have come here in large numbers, this will let the BJP know that from Krishnanagar AAP is winning this time with a huge margin," says Kejriwal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet projects like 'Jan Dhan Yojna', 'Maa Ganga', bullet train and 'Make in India' will form part of the 25 tableaux that will be showcased on the Rajpath this Republic Day, where US President Barack Obama would be the Chief Guest.

Another tableau that is expected to garner attention is that of Uttar Pradesh on the rule of last Nawab of Awadh Wajid Ali Shah with the underlying theme of communal harmony. Sixteen of the 29 states will be presenting their tableaux with different themes showcasing their cultures, among others at the Republic Day parade.

After a round of questioning of Shashi Tharoor, Delhi Police today made it clear that it will probe if IPL angle was related to the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.

Delhi Police Chief B S Bassi said the former Union Minister was "cooperative" during four-hour-long questioning last night. He did not rule out his further questioning.

Asked about the future course of action in the case, he said the Special Investigating Team (SIT) will analyse what Tharoor had told them and then take further action.

On whether the SIT was looking into the IPL angle, he said, "Whatever has been said about IPL will be relevant and will definitely be asked about" as the objective is to reach to the bottom of the truth.

Police sources said other than various matters that could be related to the incident, 58-year-old Tharoor was questioned about the IPL controversy.

Sunanda (52) was found dead in a five-star hotel room here on January 17 last year.

Delhi Police recently filed a case of murder in the case.

The IPL controversy broke in early 2010 when Tharoor was Minister of State for External Affairs. There were allegations that he had "misused" his office to ensure that Rs 70 crore, which was equivalent to 19 per cent equity in IPL Kochi franchise Rendezvous Sports, was paid to Sunanda. Sunanda, who was a friend and yet to become Tharoor's wife at that time, had refuted allegations of any wrongdoing.

She had also denied that she was acting as the front person to Tharoor in the Kochi IPL franchise.

Kiran Bedi, BJP, says she was hoping that Dr Harsh Vardhan would become the CM  and says she will file the nomination papers tomorrow.

The rift within the party over naming Kiran Bedi as the CM candidate for the upcoming Delhi polls is out in the open.

Supporters of Delhi BJP unit president Satish Upadhyay staged a protest outside party headquarters today, reportedly miffed with him not being named as the party's CM candidate.

The supporters also shouted slogans and said that "they will not tolerate a parachute CM'.

Upadhyay tried to calm the protesting party workers and was even reportedly heckled at the Delhi BJP office.

Bedi was named as the BJP's chief ministerial candidate yesterday night and will contest from the Krishna Nagar seat which was earlier held by Dr Harsh Vardhan, who was party's chief ministerial candidate for 2013 Assembly polls.

Clearing his stand over Bedi contesting polls, Harsh Vardhan said, It is a matter of happiness that Kiran Bedi is contesting from the area I am attached with.

Win some, lose some. Dhir Singh Bidhuri of the BJP resigns after being refused a ticket, but says he has no issues with the party. 

Dissent in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over ticket distribution spilled on to the streets a day after the party released its list of candidates with supporters of party's Delhi unit Satish Upadhyay staging protests over a denial of ticket to him.

Another group shouted slogans against Upadhyay and party MP Ramesh Bidhuri and even heckled the former.

Upadhyay's supporters were protesting at the party headquarters over denial of ticket to him.

Upadhyay's supporters raised slogans demanding a seat for him. Upadhyay was heckled outside the Delhi BJP office.

Upadhyay appealed to his supporters to calm down and focus on the elections, saying it was his decision not to contest elections. "I appeal to all my supporters to calm down and help party win Delhi elections," he said.

The Sun, Britain's top-selling newspaper, has scrapped Page 3's topless women after 44 years, delighting the legion of critics who have branded the photos of bare-breasted models sexist, offensive and anachronistic.Insiders said the decision has been taken to kill off the controversial feature quietly but that the feature would continue online. Read more

The Election Commission has issued a notice to AAP chief and the party's CM candidate, Arvind Kejriwal, on the Congress's complaint for violating the Model Code of Conduct. Kejriwal gets a notice from EC over his remarks asking voters to accept money from others but vote only for AAP. He has been told to explain his stance on this matter by 4 pm on January 22.

Kejriwal was on Sunday at the centre of a controversy when he asked voters in Delhi to take the money offered by the BJP and the Congress but "fool' them by voting for the AAP in the coming Delhi Assembly elections, drawing sharp criticism from both the parties.

"It's election time. When people from the BJP and the Congress come offering money, don't refuse, accept ... some have looted money from 2G, some have looted money from coal scam.

"And if any party does not show up, go to its office and take the amount saying we were waiting but you didn't come," Kejriwal said amid cheers from the crowd.

The former Delhi Chief Minister was speaking at a rally in West Delhi's Nawada area in support of the AAP's Uttam Nagar candidate, Naresh Balyan.

As we told you yesterday, former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi is set to join the BJP.  Trivedi, a TMC MP, says that Mamata has failed to live up to people's expectations. Modi is a great leader, the world looks up to him. This is an opportunity, not being an opportunist."

Reports says that Trivedi has been in touch with BJP president Amit Shah.

Trivedi told the TOI that he had known Narendra Modi since 1990. "I know his capabilities, his vision and sense of patriotism. So my being in touch with him is nothing new, to answer your query as to whether I am in touch with BJP."

I left the Congress because everybody is busy in attending to their individual vested interests,' says former Union minister Krishna Tirath, who joined the BJP on Monday. Read

Sensex hits all-time high of 28,829.29; Nifty breaches 8,700-mark for the first time.

Tomorrow will be a hectic day for electoral officials with several senior leaders including Congress' Ajay Maken, filing their nomination papers. Scrutiny of nominations papers would be done on January 22 while the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is January 24. The election results would be declared on February 10.

Kiran Bedi to file nomination papers tomorrow. She is the BJP's CM face for Delhi from the Krishnanagar seat.

And yes, Arvind Kejriwal will also be filing his nomination papers tomorrow, not today. His road show has delayed the process.

The Budget session of Parliament is likely from February 23. 

Yesterday, President Pranab Mukherjee in a stern message to Parliamentarians said that a joint session of Parliament was not a "practicable solution" to resolve a legislative impasse.

The President pointed out that he had "seen since 1952 till today only four times laws were passed by [a] joint session".

His observations come in the backdrop of disruptions during the winter session of Parliament and the Modi government's frequent recourse to the ordinance route.

Delhi Congress Chief Arvinder Singh Lovely's supporter standing on a transmission tower says he will get down only if Lovely contests from Gandhinagar. He has threatened to jump off the tower because Lovely is not fighting the elections.

Lovely has been told by the Congress to look after the organisation of the polls and not contest the elections.

"The party has requested Lovely, candidate from the 61 Gandhi Nagar constituency, to withdraw from the contest and look after the organisation of the elections," senior party leader P C Chacko, in-charge of party affairs in Delhi, said yesterday.

These are baseless reports: Sandeep Dikshit, Congress on reports of his joining BJP.

Arvind Kejriwal 4 CM '@Kejriwal4CM Iron Lady has transformed into I Run Lady. #WalkWithKejriwal

Sambit Patra, BJP takes up for the party's CM candidate for Delhi on her refusal to be drawn into a public debate with Arvind Kejriwal.

Patra says, "A new game has begun, the "Twitter-Twitter" game, now Arvind Kejriwal wants Kiran-ji to unblock him on Twitter? AAP stands for 3D's Drama, Dharna & Debate, we also stand for 3D's Development, Democracy & Delivery. AAP is "All About Publicity" not Aam AadmiParty. This debate is nothing but a gimmick for cheap publicity."

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has commended India's Lieutenant General Iqbal Singh Singha on the completion of his assignment as force commander of the UN mission in the Golan, acknowledging his "dedicated leadership" during an attack by Al-Qaeda-linked armed groups last year.

Singha completed his assignment on January 2 as Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).

He will be succeeded by Nepalese Major General Purna Chandra Thapa, 54, who studied Philosophy at the University of Madras and graduated from the National Defence College in New Delhi.

Stepping up attack on BJP, Arvind Kejriwal today called the party a "machine of lies" and said people of Delhi will script history by electing AAP in the upcoming Assembly polls.

The Aam Aadmi Party leader made the remarks during a road show, attended by boisterous party volunteers and supporters, ahead of filing his nomination papers from the New Delhi constituency.

"Delhiites will script history by giving AAP the single largest majority as they want to convert those 49-days of good governance into five years... BJP is a machine of lies and rumours," Kejriwal said, standing atop an open roof vehicle at Mandir Marg.

Earlier, he started the road show by visiting Valmiki Mandir off Mandir Marg. During the road show, the AAP convener will also speak on on issues raised during the party's Delhi Dialogue series including unauthorised colonies, women's security and Jan Lokpal, a party spokesperson said.

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal begins a seven-km roadshow after which he will file his nomination papers for the Delhi assembly elections scheduled for next month.

Kejriwal tweeted: On my way to file nomination. Accompanied by parents, kids and hundreds of friends. Being a govt servant, my wife can't join. Poor she!

The AAP chief will file his nomination papers for the New Delhi constituency after a roadshow from Valmiki Sadan.

Yesterday, Kejriwal had tweeted an appeal asking the people of Delhi to accompany him on the roadshow.

"You created history in the last assembly elections, time to rewrite it. Your enthusiasm tells me that AAP will gain majority," the AAP leader said to his supporters gathered at Valmiki Colony.

Valmiki colony in Kejriwal's New Delhi constituency is the same location from where Narendra Modi kicked off his Swachh Bharat Campaign.

The roadshow is to begin at Valmiki Colony and conclude at Jantar Mantar after which Kerjiwal would go to Jamnagar House to file his nomination.

Pope Francis has said that good Catholics do not have to breed "like rabbits", defending the Church's stance on artificial contraception and appealing to the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics to practise responsible parenting.

Speaking to journalists on his flight back from the Philippines, the pope said that he once asked a mother of seven children who was pregnant with her eighth if she wanted to "leave behind seven young orphans".

"She said, 'I trust in God.' But God gave us the means to be responsible," the pope said.

"Some think, and excuse the term, that to be good Catholics, they must be like rabbits." Francis said creating new life was "part of the sacrament of marriage" and in Manila strongly defended his predecessor Paul VI's outlawing of artificial contraception for Catholics in 1968.

Following the church's teachings did not mean "Christians should have children one after the other", he said.

His comments came at the end of a trip to the Philippines, the Catholic Church's Asian stronghold, which last year passed a family planning law after a 15-year battle by the Church to block state-sanctioned contraception. The law allows the government to begin distributing free contraceptives to millions of poor Filipinos.

SC grants bail to Karnataka mining baron G Janardhana Reddy, who has been in jail for four years in corruption case.

Alright, so here's a damp squib and so much for election debates. BJP's CM candidate for Delhi, while agreeing to a debate with AAP chief and Delhi CM candidate Arvind Kejriwal, says she will only debate with him in the Assembly and the time for other debates is over.

Kejriwal has invited the former IPS officer for a public debate, after congratulating her for being nominated as Bharatiya Janata Party's chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls.

"Congrats for being nominated as BJP's CM candidate. I invite you for a public debate moderated by a neutral person and telecast by all," Kejriwal tweeted.

Kejriwal further requested Bedi to unblock him from her Twitter account.

Ramesh Srivats tweets: Ah! So the Delhi election is Kiran Bedi vs Arvind Kejriwal. Cop vs Cough.

There's some good news for wildlife lovers. The number of tigers in India has seen a sharp rise to 2,226 tigers from just over 1,400 seven years ago, the environment ministry announced on Tuesday.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said, "India is now home to 70 per cent of the world's tigers. We have witnessed an increase of 30 per cent in tiger population since the last tiger estimation in 2010. We are also ready to give them to other countries in the world.'

As per the report, Karnataka has the most number of tigers at 406 while Uttarakhand has 340 tigers, Tamil Nadu has 229, Madhya Pradesh has 208, Maharashtra has 190 and the Sundarbans in Bengal has 76 tigers.  From an estimated 100,000 tigers at the beginning of the 20th century, India saw the numbers dropping to 1,411 in 2008.

AAP CM candidate Arvind Kejriwal offers prayers at the Valmiki Temple in Delhi before filing his nomination this morning.  A sworn atheist and an established non-conformist, Kejriwal had turned religious after his spectacular win in the Delhi polls in 2013.

Former J-K CM Omar Abdullah watches the battle for Delhi from the sidelines and tweets: "I believe declaration of CM/PM candidates before election should be mandatory & at least one or two debates between the candidates."

Hahaha! Arvind Kejriwal tweets: @thekiranbedi Kiranji, i used to follow u on twitter. Now, u have blocked me on twitter. Kindly unblock me.

An unspecified Delhi-Agra road will be sanitized and secured as an emergency backup for US President Barack Obama's visit to the Taj Mahal, in the event of his jet failing to take off due to bad weather or any other reason.

However, this emergency measure will kick in only an hour or so ahead of his scheduled departure by air.

The highway will then be closed to normal traffic and security personnel will line up the highway to bar access to the highway well before Obama's convoy hits the gravel.  Read more

Also read: Will New Delhi, Agra shut down partially for Obama visit?

Bharatiya Janata Party's chief ministerial candidate for Delhi, Kiran Bedi, on Tuesday said that she accepts the challenge for a public debate put forth by Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal.

"I accept the challenge, will do it in the assembly. Arvind Kejriwal has only been debating, I believe in delivering," said Bedi.

She further said that she had blocked Kejriwal from her Twitter account after he had called himself an anarchist.

Meanwhile, the AAP chief congratulated Bedi and further requested her to unblock him from her Twitter account.

"I want to congratulate Kiran Bedi and appeal her that a debate on basis of issues will be a good tradition for democracy. At least now she should unblock me from Twitter," said Kejriwal.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal invited the former IPS officer for a public debate. "Congrats for being nominated as BJP's CM candidate. I invite you for a public debate moderated by a neutral person and telecast by all," Kejriwal tweeted.

Both Kejriwal and Bedi were part of the anti-corruption movement led by activist Anna Hazare before the AAP chief decided to form his own political party.

And another piece on Rajni Kothari: "It is not often that an academician has potentially something to offer for well over half a century. In the realm of political analysis, longevity is even rarer. It will therefore be a fitting tribute to Rajni Kothari if we note how his rather forgotten but oft-quoted political analysis resonates with our contemporary political moment -- and how, by taking it forward, the enterprise called Indian politics could be better grasped."  Read 

"Where did he teach you? I mean in school or college, or where?' The question came from my son, curious about this old gentleman we would meet at the gate of our housing complex. I had told him that I touched his feet because he was my teacher. His question was a natural follow-up.

"My mind wandered to my undergraduate days. I had found an untouched Hindi translation of Rajni Kothari's book, Politics in India, in the library of my college, Khalsa College, Sri Ganganagar.

"Despite its tough prose, made worse by a heavy Sanskritic translation, the book was a breath of fresh air. I didn't quite understand the complex argument. But somehow, the book taught me to think about politics in a radically new way. It also made me decide to study politics."

AAP's Yogendra Yadav on eminent political scientist, writer Rajni Kothari, who passed away yesterday. Read

An eminent scientist and educationist recalls the various facets of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, as empathetic listener, concerned politician, and a keen observer of science. Read

The S&P BSE Sensex surged by nearly 174 points, while the broader CNX Nifty reclaimed the 8,600-mark after over six weeks in late morning trade today on across-the-board buying by participants amid positive Asian cues.

Firm buying was witnessed in metal, realty, banking, power, oil and gas and IT sector stocks apart from MidCap and SmallCap shares.

Investor sentiments remained upbeat with the Apex bank's surprise rate cut last week coupled with encouraging Q3 earnings amid persistent FII inflows.

Authorities say a passenger jet at John F Kennedy Airport was given the all clear following a bomb threat. 

Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi on Tuesday said things will be analysed and accordingly further necessary action will be taken in connection with Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar's murder case. 

At least 1 labourer has died and 3 other are injured in a blast at a chemical factory in Bharuch, Gujarat. 

'Birdman' director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is to receive a special award from the body behind Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival. 

Slipping from over two-month high, the rupee shed 6 paise to 61.77 a dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market as the US currency strengthened overseas.

This is what Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal tweeted this morning. 

Public sector bank employee unions have deferred their four-day strike that was to begin from Wednesday.

A unit of 24 sniffer dogs that are part of the security wing of US President Barack Obama will be housed in the fortified Five-Star Shangri La Hotel. Authorities have booked 24 rooms for these canines and their handlers. 

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal will file his nomination for the upcoming Delhi Assembly Elections today. 

An Argentine prosecutor was found dead just hours before giving what was expected to be damning testimony against President Cristina Kirchner, in what appears to have been a suicide, officials said. 

Singapore will deploy planners in the next few months to support the multi-national coalition against the dreaded Islamic State terrorist group, the country's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen has said. 

Tens of thousands of people have rallied at a state-sponsored protest in Russia's Muslim North Caucasus region of Chechnya against the publication of Prophet Muhammad cartoons in the wake of attacks in France."

Yemen's Shia Houthi rebels have surrounded the prime minister's residence in the centre of the capital Sanaa, officials have said.

South African ex-Deputy President Jacob Zuma said he showered after sex with an HIV-positive woman, thinking this would reduce his risk of being infected.

Dozens of people have been killed or wounded as fighting escalates along the front line in eastern Ukraine and the battle for Donetsk airport continues.

In May 2014, I was absolutely clear that I preferred to have Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister. UPA deserved to be punished and Arvind Kejriwal was not ready for a national role.

It was 3:30 in the morning when Robert Alan Black was escorted into Khalifa jail.An American in Abu Dhabi, he found himself frightened even though the other prisoners were sleeping. 

Prime Minister David Cameron defends a letter signed by ministers urging Muslim leaders to explain how Islam 'can be part of British identity'.

Syria has started destroying what was remained of its chemical weapons production and storage facilities.

Pope Francis is denouncing what he calls the 'ideological colonisation' of families and the developing world, where he says progressive, Western ideas about birth control and gay rights are increasingly being imposed by groups, institutions or individual nations -- often as a condition for development aid.

A Pakistani policeman escorting a polio vaccination team was today shot at by unidentified gunmen here, the first such attack this year in the country struggling to contain the crippling disease.

A woman whose son came back to Britain after fighting in Syria says returning fighters need more support.

Eminent cartoonist RK Laxman is in a critical condition in a hospital, where he was admitted on Saturday, according to media sources. 

Miss Lebanon Saly Greige is distancing herself from a photo of her and Miss Israel Doron Matalon that's causing an online uproar.

Non-communicable diseases are estimated to have accounted for 60 per cent of the deaths in India in 2014, according to a WHO report released today.

Just in: The BJP has declared names of 62 candidates of the total of 70 seats for Delhi assembly polls. All sitting MLAs have been renominated. 

Kiran Bedi named BJPs' Delhi CM candidate
Kejriwal, Bedi in tough battle for Delhi CM: Poll
Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani new censor board chief, 9 more members named
Gujarat-based engineer, trapped in Iran for 13 months, returns
Sunanda case: Tharoor questioned by cops
Battalion commander, 17 other NDFB-S militants nabbed in Assam
All Assam ministers quit, CM Gogoi to reshuffle ministry
Defence Minister Parrikar commissions 4 Coast Guard ships - 20:01 IST