Modi to visit Vaishno Devi shrine Wednesday
Before launching his party's election campaign in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will pay obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine Wednesday. Special security teams comprising personnel from Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir police Monday carried out a security drill at the hilltop shrine in Reasi district of Jammu region. Sources in the state security told IANS Tuesday Modi would arrive in a special private plane at the Udhampur airfield of...

Hunt for Malaysian airliner at recovery, probe phase
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott Tuesday said the search operation for the missing Malaysian airliner has now moved to the recovery and investigative phase. The Malaysian authorities had announced Monday that the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean with no chance of any survivors. "I have today been in further contact with Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia to offer him Australia's continuing help, support and cooperation in what has now moved from a search...

India reach 87-1 chasing 407 on a dramatic third day
Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara guided India to 87 for one to leave the first Test against New Zealand at Eden Park delicately poised at the end of a tumultuous third day after their bowlers had given them a faint sniff of victory. India had been bowled out for 202 before lunch, but not asked to follow-on before their bowlers dismissed New Zealand for 105 in their second innings in Saturday's final session, giving India's batsmen a victory target of 407. Tim Southee...

Congress slams AAP for comment against governor
 The Congress Friday attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after one of its leaders accused Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung of working as a Congress agent. Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely said the AAP leaders and ministers have no right to defame people who hold constitutional posts. "By questioning those holding constitutional posts, the AAP is showing its mentality. Today you have criticised the lt. governor, tomorrow you'll attack the president. This has...

Telangana bill could make it through Parliament with BJP support
Prospects of the Telangana bill, cleared by the Union Cabinet on Friday, looked brighter with an influential section of BJP veering around to the view that it might be smart politics to facilitate passage of the legislation. The Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Bill incorporates a concession to Seemandhra with 130 villages in Bhadrachalam district being set aside for the construction of a separate Polavaram irrigation project. The lengthy Cabinet meeting saw ministers from Seemandhra...

CPM PB does not agree with VS’ letter
The CPM Politburo has distanced itself from the letter that V S Achuthanandan wrote to Ommen Chandy backing a demand for CBI inquiry into the conspiracy behind the murder of TP Chandrasekharan. Following a meeting, the politburo said that the move by the opposition leader in Kerala was a wrong one and added that it does not agree with the stance of the party. The party also rejected VS' demand for a high-level probe into the matter. The CPM's official stance is that a CBI...

ICC board passes controversial reform plans
The ICC today approved its radical reform plans aimed at bringing about improved governance, a move that will give India significant control over revenue and power structure of the world’s governing body. Despite strong resentment from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa, the controversial proposals related to the restructuring of the ICC was passed at the Executive Board meeting after gaining the support of eight of the ICC’s 10 full members with Sri Lanka and Pakistan...

Both factions of Malankara church observe protest day
The two warring factions of Malankara church-- Jacobites and Orthodox today observed protest day in their respective parishes. The Orthodox faction read out pastoral letters in their parishes today, protesting against government's 'inaction' in taking proper steps in preventing the Jacobite faction from entering the disputed Thrikkunnathu church yesterday and offering worship. Yesterday, Catholicos Baselious Thomas I of the Jacobite faction had along with five...

After Walmart, Amazon lobbies in US for Indian FDI
After supermarket giant Walmart, it is online retail major Amazon which has begun lobbying with the US lawmakers to seek their support for facilitating its "foreign direct investment in India".   According to lobby disclosure reports filed with the US Senate, Amazon.com and its group entities including Amazon Corporate LLC have been lobbying on various issues since at least year 2000. However, it was only in the last quarter, ended December 31, 2013, when its...

TP murder: Rema to begin hunger strike
K K Rema, wife of late T P Chandrashekharan, will begin her hunger strike on Monday in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram. Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) has announced that the strike would continue until  the state government order CBI probe in TP murder case. RMP said that opposition leader V S Achuthanandan is likely to pay a visit. K K Rema said that V S Achuthanandan should have joined the strike. K K Madhavan, Rema's father, and RMP leaders...

TP murder case: Decision on CBI probe after reviewing legal advice
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said that the govt has received legal advise for a CBI probe into the conspiracy angle into the TP murder case. He told media here Sunday that the government will decide only after reviewing the advice given by the Director General of Prosecutions. The home minister had earlier said a final decision would be taken only after getting the legal advise. It is learnt that the prosecution director general has given the go ahead and has stated there would...

India warns against unilateral interventions such as in Libya and Syria
Warning against direct or indirect unilateral interventions such as in Libya and Syria, India asserted the need to strengthen processes of multilateral consultation to manage conflicts and reduce regional tensions. "Unilateral (sometimes covert) interventions, as in Libya or Syria, have led to unexpected and dangerous outcomes," said National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon while addressing the Munich Security Conference on Global Power and Regional Stability here...

SC refuses to stay spectrum auction
The Supreme Court on Sunday refused to interfere with the order of telecom tribunal dismissing the pleas of Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Loop and Idea for a stay on spectrum auction which is starting Monday and extension of their licenses by another 10 years. However, in an extraordinary urgent hearing on Sunday, a bench comprising justices A.R. Dave and S.A. Bobde admitted the appeals filed by Airtel and Vodafone challenging the January 31 order of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and...

'Jai Ho' box office collections at Rs 60.68 crore
Salman Khan starrer 'Jai Ho' could manage only Rs 17.55 crore in the opening day box office collections, making it the no 11 among of the top opening day grossers. On the opening weekend front, Jai ho's Saturday box office collections was Rs 16.68 crore, while the Sunday figure was estimated to be better Rs 26.25 crore, taking the figure to Rs 60.68 crore for the first three days. According to industry expert Taran Adarsh, “No one can read the audience's mind. What...

Focus on developing 'rural-urban' clusters: Jairam Ramesh
Recognising that the creation of infrastructure in emerging 'rural-urban' clusters remains a “major challenge”, the Rural Development Ministry is hoping that its revamped project for developing amenities in such areas will yield results soon, similar to the flagship scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Currently, there are around 3,900 such clusters in the country which do not fall either in rural or urban category. Union Minister...

AAP MLA Vinod Kumar Binny ends hunger strike on Anna Hazare's suggestion
New Delhi: Barely hours after sitting on a hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar, expelled Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Vinod Kumar Binny called off the protest on Monday giving 'more time' to Kejriwal government in Delhi to fulfill its promises. A deadline of 10 days was given by the rebel AAP MLA to the Kejriwal government reportedly on the suggestion of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. Binny told PTI that Anna Hazare and Lt Guv Najeeb Jung suggested that "some days...

Flies in Ranbaxy's sample storage room in Punjab plant, says FDA report
US health regulator Food and Drug Administration has found as many as eight lapses in Ranbaxy's Toansa plant in Punjab which was recently banned by the US drug inspectors from making products for the American market. "Our inspection of QC Analytical and Microbiological laboratories found the facility to be in significant disrepair. Laboratories windows within the instrumentation (eg: HPCL) rooms were found to be un-closeable," a report released by the FDA inspection teams...

Strong India, Japan can do wonders, says Japanese PM Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe became the first Japanese Prime Minister to be the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations and marvel at India's military might showcased at the event. A regular consultation between the national security secretariat of Japan and India's national security advisor was the big announcement of the two-day visit. "A strong India and a strong Japan can come together and I think we can do wonders," Mr Abe said. Though no major defence deals were...

Tata Motors' Managing Director Karl Slym dies in Bangkok
Tata Motors' Managing Director Karl Slym today died in Bangkok where he had gone to attend a board meeting of the company's Thailand arm. "The company shares the grief of Karl Slym's wife and family at their irreparable loss," Tata Motors said in a statement. Slym, 51, joined Tata Motors in 2012, and was providing leadership to the company through a challenging market environment. According to the company spokesperson, Slym seems to have fallen from a...

India showcases military might, cultural diversity at 65th Republic Day parade
India's military might, its multi-hued cultural heritage and the nation's achievements in various fields were on display today at Rajpath, the ceremonial boulevard in the heart of Delhi, as the nation celebrated its 65th Republic Day amid tight security. (See pics) Marching down from Raisina Hills in central Delhi to the historic Mughal monument of Red Fort, the parade showcased India's 'unity in diversity' and defence capabilities as thousands of spectators cheered...

65th Republic Day celebrations
Colourful images of India’s cultural heritage, manoeuvres by fighter aircraft,  military prowess and march past by armed forces were on majestic display at Rajpath on Sunday as the nation celebrated its 65th Republic Day amid tight security. Marching down from the seat of power at Raisina Hills to Red Fort, the parade showcased India’s ‘unity in diversity’ and defence capability Here are the highlights of the Republic Day parade at Rajpath: 11.40...

Somnath Bharti accuses Delhi commission for Women of being politically motivated
As the furore over Delhi Law Minister's alleged role in midnight raid refuses to die down, the Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Barkha Singh will today meet Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung seeking a First Information Report (FIR) against the minister. Barkha Singh said yesterday that she had written to the Lieutenant Governor regarding the same. Barkha Singh's expected visit to the Lieutenant Governor's office today follows a chaotic day of confrontation between...

Jaya replaces AIADMK candidate for RS polls; expels him
AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today replaced one of her party candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls and even expelled him from the party for "anti-party activities and going against its principles." Jayalalithaa replaced N Chinnadurai with A K Selvaraj, who is the party's organising secretary.In a statement, Jayalalithaa announced the expulsion of Chinnadurai for "indulging in anti-party activities and going against its principles bringing...

Padma awards for 6 Keralites
Poet Vishnu Narayanan Namboothiri, scientist Madhavan Chandradhanan, gynecologist Dr Subhadra Nayar, danseuse Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, actor Vidya Balan and squash player Deepika Pallikkal are the Keralites honoured with the Padma awards. The President has given his approval for the list. The Home Ministry would be taking the final call on this, which would be announced soon. Actor Kamal Hassan would be honoured with Padmabhushan. He has previously been awarded with the...

A budget of hope and concern
Finance Minister K M Mani’s record 12th budget stands apart for two reasons: Its emphasis on the agricultural sector and the boost for entrepreneurial aspirations of the youth. The budget, which has included many projects, offered freebies and a hike in welfare pension programme with an eye on Lok Sabha polls, also doesn’t turn a blind eye towards the State’s alarming financial position. The last budget’s estimated revenue increase hasn’t happened and the...

India-New Zealand third ODI ends in tie
India kept the five-match ODI series alive after a dramatic tie in the third game against New Zealand at the Eden Park here on Saturday. New Zealand, who have an unassailable 2-0 lead, were once again poised to win, but late heroics from Ravindra Jadeja (66 not out off 45 balls) saved India's blushes and gave them a chance to tie the series. India, who once again opted to field, saw New Zealand making 314 all out with Martin Guptill top scoring (111). India, who needed 18...

Kejriwal says Constitution does not stop CM from protesting
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who faced flak for his protest in the heart of the capital, today said the Constitution does not prevent the chief minister from holding a dharna. "I read the Constitution, couldn't find anywhere that a chief minister cannot hold 'dharna'," he said on criticism to his two-day dharna outside Rail Bhavan. He also charged that "the media was aligned with one party or the other and was doing negative stories on...

US military releases new instructions to Sikhs on religious garb
Washington: In a major decision that might have a far reaching impact on Sikhs joining the US military, the Pentagon has issued new instructions relaxing norms to allow troops to wear jewellery and apparel to comply with their religious requirements. However, given the new instructions still stresses on wearing protective equipment like helmets, the relaxations in the norms might still not be enough for letting the Sikhs community to join the American armed forces in large numbers, a...

Will consider PM's post if party MPs select me after polls: Rahul
AMETHI: Amidst clamour among congress workers that he should be named theprime ministerial candidate Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said he would definitely consider it if the party comes to power and the elected representatives select him for the post. "In Congress, elected MPs select the PM. After elections if our party comes to power and the MPs select me then I will definitely consider it," Rahul told reporters on the second and last day of his two-day tour to his parliamentary...

Not returning to Samajwadi Party, says Amar Singh
Former Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh has dismissed speculations about his return to the party fold. Pointing out that he will never "again fall in the Samajwadi trap", the leader also announced late Wednesday that he would be distributing blankets to the riot victims at relief camps in Muzaffarnagar on his birthday Jan 27.     Taking on the SP leadership, which he...