News Watch 31 Jul 2008

The detonators used in the blasts in Ahmedabad and in the unexploded bombs in Surat, according to markings recovered from the sites, are learnt to have been manufactured by A P Explosives (P) Ltd, a company based at Bommalramaram Village & Mandal in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh.

Saturday, 31 Jan 2009

Pakistan today said it had completed its preliminary investigation into India.s dossier on the Mumbai Terror attacks and would share its findings but there were not too many fingers crossed in New Delhi.

Wednesday, 31 Dec 2008

It is a generational shift to provide stable governance to a state that went through turmoil before elections.

Friday, 30 Jan 2009

Hours after Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said he "won't allow pub culture" in the state, one of his daughters Umadevi said "It's for women to decide if they would like to visit pubs or any other public place, and that govt, politicians or outfits like the Sri Rama Sene cannot restrict their movements".

Tuesday, 30 Dec 2008

In an election full of ironies, here's another. The BJP and PDP have gained in both seats and vote share, but in that triumph they may have done their prospects in the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May some serious damage.

Wednesday, 29 Oct 2008

Contacts at a high level are expected in the next few days between India and Sri Lanka to deliberate on the Indian concerns about the humanitarian crisis triggered by the ongoing war between the Sri Lanka forces and the LTTE. Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a conversation with The Hindu last week disclosed that he intended to send a special envoy to New Delhi, to discuss Indian concerns with officials of the Manmohan Singh government. On Saturday after Mr. Rajapaksa telephoned Dr. Singh, a press statement issued by the Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry said consequent to the discussion between the two leaders, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama invited External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee to undertake a visit to Sri Lanka at an early date. (HINDU)

Thursday, 29 Jan 2009

The US Senate was today told that India "unfortunately" had become the "sponge" that was protecting America and the western liberal world from the hate unleashed by Lashkar-e-Toiba which had emerged as second only to the Al-Qaeda in being a threat to global security.

Monday, 29 Dec 2008

The J&K elections involved every section of society in the state, and the same inclusiveness was reflected in the verdict today.

Friday, 28 Nov 2008

It's been Mumbai's longest day. As the fitful night broke into dawn, Army commandos intensified their stakeout at the Taj Mahal while NSG and marine commandos (Marcos) focused on Trident Oberoi the two luxury hotels where fidayeen fighters have taken an unknown number of guests hostage.

Wednesday, 28 Jan 2009

With Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi making it clear to the Congress high command that pressure was mounting on the DMK to pull out from the UPA Govt if there was no visible action by the Centre to intervene in Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today left for Colombo, ostensibly to express India's concern about the plight of the Tamils hit by the war in the island north.

News Watch 28 Aug 2008

As dusk fell, the generators were brought in and the floodlights lit. Bullets had stopped flying, but the killer was still holed in, the barrel of the fidayeen's Kalashnikov trained on a woman and four children, one of them a three-year-old. Two of his fellow terrorists had fallen, but the lone fidayeen was holding out, using the children as shields. Eighteen hours after it began, all three terrorists had been gunned down by soldiers of the J&K Light Infantry, who had dug in for a fight, if necessary until morning their mission get the killer-fidayeen but save the little lives. Past midnight, Jammu senior superintendent of police Manohar Singh confirmed that all three fidayeen had been killed but said the fate of the hostages was not known. One TV channel, however, said that the children were safe.

Monday, 27 Oct 2008

Raj Thackeray, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, spent a quiet night at a police lock up in a town next to this metropolis, after he was arrested Tuesday and charged with provoking hatred among communities. The situation in Mumbai and other parts of the state Wednesday morning was peaceful but tense, according to the police. MNS activists had gone on the rampage in Mumbai and in many parts of the state Tuesday after the arrest. The police had put up a strong security ring around the place where Raj Thackeray was kept, Manpada lock up and police station in Dombivili town of Thane district, with additional personnel from the Rapid Action Force and State Reserve Police Force. In order to thwart MNS activists from creating any more trouble, the police had clamped prohibitory orders in the area under the jurisdiction of the police station.(HT)

Tuesday, 27 Jan 2009

Talk about coincidence. Two terrorists, out to stage a Republic Day attack in Delhi, stopped at a tea stall to ask for directions from a man who just happened to be a police informer, related to a constable.

Saturday, 27 Dec 2008

India on Friday warned its citizens against travelling to Pakistan, in a step designed to thwart dirty tricks from Pakistan which on Wednesday had tried to blame a blast in Lahore on an alleged Indian spy.

Wednesday, 26 Nov 2008

FM P Chidambaram on Tuesday said private sector banks will be forced to cut lending rates sooner than later due to competition from public sector counterparts.

Friday, 26 Dec 2008

Pakistan's civilian leadership on Sunday reiterated its desire for friendly relations with India and said it would not allow the country to be used for terrorist activities.

News Watch Wednesday, 25 Sep 2008

Rethinking seems to have begun in the Congress on a pre-poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh with a section of the party fearing that it will be "advantage BJP" in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The leaders of the two parties have already had two rounds of seat-sharing talks so far but the process is not moving forward, not because of the hard bargain by them on the number of seats but their assessment of the situation. The Congress may not regain lost ground among OBCs and dalits by this alliance but could lose its support base among the middle class and the upper castes in the state which could shift to the BJP. While the SP is questioning the Congress' votes in the state and the appeal of Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the Congress is asking whether the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party can fight on three fronts the BJP, BSP and the Congress on its own and retain its numbers. There is growing realisation among the Congress that the two parties are not natural allies with a section of the party viewing that RLD chief Ajit Singh could be more useful than Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav.(AA)

Saturday, 25 Oct 2008

On Wednesday morning, India was counting down to the launch of Chandrayaan. On Friday evening, there was a countdown of quite another sort for the day's trading in stocks to come to an end. When one of the most brutal sessions ever on the bourses finally closed, battered investors were left taking stock of the damage the second-biggest single-day fall in the sensex in terms of points (1,071) and third-biggest singleday percentage loss (10.9%). The sensex closed at 8,701.07, a level last seen on November 24, 2005. Every single share in the 30-scrip index ended in negative territory, with DLF (.24%) and Ranbaxy Laboratories (.18%) the worst hit.(TOI)

Tuesday, 25 Nov 2008

In a major setback for the anti-terrorism squad, a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Monday refused to grant it custody of key accused in the Malegaon blast case.

News Watch Wednesay, 24 Sep 2008

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has stepped in to resolve the Congress-Samajwadi Party row by directing her party leaders not to poach on SP MLAs. In doing so, she sought to uphold the principles of coalition dharma that is expected to lend credibility and stability to the UPA as it gears up for the Lok Sabha polls. After their recent rapprochement, relations between the two parties had soured again, with the SP accusing the Congress of splitting its party in Madhya Pradesh, where four of its MLAs quit the ranks amid indications that they may join the Congress. Upset, the SP threatened retaliatory action in UP where the two parties are engaged in seat-sharing talks for the Lok Sabha elections in their bid to take on the BSP and BJP. Well-placed sources said Sonia intervened to prevent Congress-SP relations from sliding further. She expressly told her state leaders not to eye SP MLAs who may now not be brought into the fold.(HT)

Friday, 24 Oct 2008

Nearly a month after motorcycle bomb blasts killed six in the textile town of Malegaon, the state home department is in possession of specific clues that point to the involvement of right-wing Hindu groups in the blasts. Three suspects detained in Indore, one of whom is a young woman, have been brought to the city. ..We have good clues on the involvement of people in the Malegaon bomb blasts. Our teams are still camping in Madhya Pradesh. We are working very carefully. We are sure we are near the target and our exercise will be over in a day. If we are satisfied, we will detain them immediately,'' a top IPS official told TOI on Thursday. According to reports, the state police had initially detained five people. After a preliminary probe, two were let off. What came as a shock to investigating officials was that of the three detained, one was a woman, Pragya Singh, aged between 25 and 30 years. Singh is believed to be a former member of the Durga Vahini, the women's wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.(TOI)

Monday, 24 Nov 2008

Investigations of the Malegaon September 29 bomb blast have revealed that the arrested accused wanted to send sleeper cells to Bangladesh to avenge the "atrocities" on Hindus.

Saturday, 24 Jan 2009

By the time you read this, a crack medical team from Mumbai would have started playing a star role in Indian politics.

Wednesday, 24 Dec 2008

The US has endorsed the evidence gathered by India agencies about the complicity of Pakistan's state actors in the terrorist attack on Mumbai.

News Watch Tuesday, 23 Sep 2008

A day after the historic referendum, the Congress-led Democratic Front govt has drafted a new action plan in the event that the farmers in the 22 villages in the command area of the Hetwane dam express their opinion against Mukesh Ambani's multicrore SEZ project. ''We are awaiting the report from Raigad collector Nipun Vinayak. If the farmers have voted against the SEZ project, we will have no option but to accept the verdict. In that event, we are planning to declare the entire area a green zone. As a result, no developmental activity will be permitted on the said land,'' a senior Congress minister told TOI. Once the area is declared a green zone, the farmers will have no option except to undertake agricultural activities on their land.(TOI)

Friday, 23 Jan 2009

A day after the Barack Obama administration warned Pakistan that it would he held accountable for security along the Pak-Afghan border, Pakistan seemed to cosy up to China as its foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi flaunted its "all weather" alliance with China by saying that Islamabad had given a "blank cheque" to Beijing to negotiate on its behalf with India.

News Watch 23 Aug 2008

The Centre on Thursday declared Kosi floods a "national calamity" and pledged an immediate assistance of Rs 1,000 crore and 1.25 lakh tonnes of foodgrain while moving to partner the Bihar govt in tackling the catastrophe, recognizing the severity of the crisis wreaking havoc on millions. The tag of "national calamity" announced by PM Manmohan Singh in Patna means the Bihar govt has been exempted from providing "utilization certificate" of the funds it will get now in order to receive fresh instalments of Central assistance in the future. With Kosi rampaging through thousands of villages and forcing the displacement of over a million, meeting the conditionality would have meant the difference between life and death in the marooned region where eking out a living is difficult even in normal circumstances.

News Watch Monday, 22 Sep 2008

The Ministry of Social Justice is piloting an amendment in the Constitution to add denotified tribes as a new beneficiary of reservation with the job quota ceiling raised beyond 50 percent the limit fixed by the Supreme Court to accommodate them. In a Cabinet note to the Ministry of Home Affairs this month, the Ministry has asked it to consider the proposal of the National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes to provide reservation to them by adding a new Article 342A defining the tribes as a 'Scheduled Community'. (IE)

News Watch 22 Oct 2008

Raj Thackeray, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, spent a quiet night at a police lock up in a town next to this metropolis, after he was arrested Tuesday and charged with provoking hatred among communities. The situation in Mumbai and other parts of the state Wednesday morning was peaceful but tense, according to the police. MNS activists had gone on the rampage in Mumbai and in many parts of the state Tuesday after the arrest. The police had put up a strong security ring around the place where Raj Thackeray was kept, Manpada lock up and police station in Dombivili town of Thane district, with additional personnel from the Rapid Action Force and State Reserve Police Force. In order to thwart MNS activists from creating any more trouble, the police had clamped prohibitory orders in the area under the jurisdiction of the police station.(HT)

News Watch Tuesday, 21 Oct 2008

MNS chief Raj Thackeray arrested at 3 30AM Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray was arrested at Ratnagiri in the wee hours today for Sunday's brutal attack on north Indian rail exam candidates by MNS workers. A case was registered in this connection against Raj Thackeray and his supporters at a north-west suburban police station of Kharwadi, after MNS workers attacked 13 railway board examination centres in suburban Mumbai to protest against "inadequate representation" to locals. (HT, 08 44 IST (21/10/2008)

Friday, 21 Nov 2008

The Congress may be confident about its development work in the city, but there is more than the Bahujan Samaj Party that may cause a dent in its results.

Saturday, 21 Mar 2009

As its ties with crucial allies fray, the Congress faces the risk of losing its edge over BJP in alliance-making.

Saturday, 21 Feb 2009

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who holds charge of Finance, on Friday stressed the need to protect jobs and retain employees, even if it meant a cut in compensation, in view of the impact of the global economic meltdown.

News Watch 20 Sep 2008

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has spoken his mind, again. Known to air his opinions frankly, Chatterjee minced no words in saying that development of the country was being held back by petty political disagreements, an apparent reference to the Singur issue. He was delivering the 2008 JRD Tata Memorial Lecture organised by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The Speaker was of the view that "certain sections of society were out to distract people from the path of development". "In pursuing a narrow political agenda, not only do such elements undermine the well-conceived and important schemes of development, but hurt the long-term interest of the same people whom they pretend to be helping," he added.(HT)

News Watch Monday, 20 Oct 2008

Contacts at a high level are expected in the next few days between India and Sri Lanka to deliberate on the Indian concerns about the humanitarian crisis triggered by the ongoing war between the Sri Lanka forces and the LTTE. Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a conversation with The Hindu last week disclosed that he intended to send a special envoy to New Delhi, to discuss Indian concerns with officials of the Manmohan Singh government. On Saturday after Mr. Rajapaksa telephoned Dr. Singh, a press statement issued by the Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry said consequent to the discussion between the two leaders, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama invited External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee to undertake a visit to Sri Lanka at an early date. (HINDU)

Thursday, 20 Nov 2008

It has been a fight between two national parties the Congress and the BJP in the last three elections.

Friday, 20 Feb 2009

It was an anguished Somnath Chatterjee, the Lok Sabha Speaker, who told MPs in the House on Thursday, "You do not deserve one paisa of the public money,"

Saturday, 20 Dec 2008

A day after Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari told the BBC there was no "real evidence" that the Mumbai attackers came from is country, former premier Nawaz Sharif said he had "personally checked" that surviving terrorist Ajmal Ameer Kasab belonged to Faridkot village in Pakistani Punjab.

News Watch 19 Sep 2008

Congress and BJP in election mode have inspired Jammu-based National Conference (NC) and People's Democratic Party (PDP) leaders also to gear up for polls, notwithstanding the stand of their leaderships vis-a-vis Assembly polls. Although given their innate regional political compulsions in the post-agitation changed scenario, they have just started ambling along the already charged up rank-and-file of the Congress and BJP. The election activities, which have gained momentum in the Jammu units of national parties, have unnerved the leaders of NC and PDP from Jammu. If they don't catch up these national parties, they would lose their grip in different constituencies in Jammu region where they had started making inroads during the last six years. Caught in this dilemma they are, however, treading the path very cautiously. During the Jammu agitation, the NC and PDP leaders had to face the wrath of people for their "anti-Jammu stance".(AA)

Wednesday, 19 Nov 2008

Finance minister P.Chidambaram on Tuesday called on sectors like housing, automobiles, hotels and airlines to cut prices to boost demand and beat the slowdown.

Friday, 19 Dec 2008

Within three weeks of the Mumbai Terror attacks, Parliament late on Thursday night gave its nod to the setting up of a National Investigation Agency (NIA) with the Rajya Sabha passing the NIA Bill.

News Watch 18 Sep 2008

With fears over the political cost of terror attacks rising, the Congress leadership is taking a hard look at the possibility of shifting home minister Shivraj Patil and bringing in a softer version of Pota. The proposed anti-terror law is expected to contain several safeguards, like a shorter period of detention than Pota, while the provision for making confessions admissible in a court of law is being debated. There is a possibility that the govt may introduce it through an ordinance. Patil, who has so far survived the clamour for his removal in the wake of several terror attacks, looks to be in the danger zone as Congress leadership needs to be seen to be taking "strong" measures to fend off the soft-on-terror charge hurled at it by the Opposition. It is being felt that halfway measures will simply not do; sources dismissed speculation about creating the post of a minister of state in charge of internal security. The matter came up for discussion during the meeting between Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and PM Manmohan Singh on Wednesday. (TOI)

Tuesday, 18 Nov 2008

New Delhi External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is all set to visit Kathmandu between November 24 and 26

Wednesday, 18 Mar 2009

The Congress on Tuesday described the seat-sharing arrangement for Bihar proposed jointly by allies, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP) as "unacceptable" but maintained that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was still intact.

Thursday, 18 Dec 2008

Arming the law enforcement agencies with new anti-terror measures, the Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed two Bills the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2008 and the other one to set up a National Investigation Agency.

News Watch 17 Sep 2008

In a bid to quicken the process of Congressional nod for the nuclear deal with India, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has met two key Democrats and powerful players Nancy Pelosi and Howard Berman and discussed how they could help in Congress ratifying the 123 agreement before the end of the session on September 26. Ms. Rice met Ms. Pelosi, the powerful Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the two discussed the process of considering the 123 accord once it is submitted to for ratification, Ms. Pelosi's spokesman Nadeam Elshami said. (HINDU)

Monday, 17 Nov 2008

The arrests in the Malegaon blast probe has led Bajrang Dal leaders to urge Delhi's Hindus to vote for the BJP in the November 29 assembly elections.

Saturday, 17 Jan 2009

A day after external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee asked Pakistan to communicate with India through "existing diplomatic channels" rather than the media, Pakistan formally conveyed to India the steps it claimed to have taken to investigate the Mumbai attacks, including the setting up of a probe panel and arrests of Jamaat-ud-Dawa activists.

Wednesday, 17 Dec 2008

The vote share of the Congress in Delhi dropped by almost 8% in the recent assembly elections compared to those held in 2003.

News Watch 16 Sep 2008

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has questioned the manner in which the BJP-led Karnataka govt has tackled the attacks on members of the Christian community, its places of worship and institutions in the state. With the state govt headed by Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa unable to contain the growing violence, an NCM team left for Karnataka on Monday to assess the situation for itself. "The state govt has been caught napping else the violence would not have spread to more areas," NCM chairman Mohammed Shafi Qureshi told this newspaper. Noting that the violence has spread, he said the police has not been able to check violence. He added, "the question is how has the govt tackled the problem".(AA)

Friday, 16 Jan 2009

Pakistan Said on Thursday that five training camps of the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), accused of being behind the Mumbai attacks, had been shut down and 124 people associated with its sister organisation, the Jamaat-udDawah (JuD), arrested.

Tuesday, 16 Dec 2008

Unrolling its roadmap towards revamping internal security after the Mumbai attacks exposed its glaring gaps, the Cabinet today cleared the setting up of a federal agency for Terror crime, the inclusion of more stringent provisions against terror accused and the extension of cover of the Central Industrial Security Force to sensitive installations in the private sector.

News Watch 15 Sep 2008

L K Advani on Sunday offered broadly two messages to the BJP national executive a trenchant criticism of the Manmohan Singh govt as being paralysed in the face of terrorism by "fear of losing vote banks" and an urgent call to the party faithful to get into a "must-win" mode by shelving internal divisions. Advani's concluding address to the BJP executive was focussed equally on both the weaknesses of the Congress-led UPA and on the need for his own party to be fighting fit for an arduous election. The govt had become a "curse for the people" and it was now up to BJP to present a cohesive picture, he said. To start with, he indicated that incumbent BJP chief ministers would be projected in the forthcoming assembly polls.(TOI)

Saturday, 15 Nov 2008

India on Friday became only the fourth country in the world to place its signature on the moon as Chandrayaan-1 finally accomplished its designated task, landing the "moon impact probe (MIP)", with the tricolour painted on either side, on the lunar surface. The spacecraft released the MIP at 8.31 pm IST in response to a command from Isro's Spacecraft Control Centre (SCC) at the Isro Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (Istrack) in Bengaluru. Istrack confirmed it received its first signal from the MIP immediately after it "crash-landed" on the moon's surface. "We are the fourth country to have our national flag on the moon," said Dr. Ranganath R. Navalgund, director, Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad.

Thursday, 15 Jan 2009

The rhetorical battle between India and Pakistan is now fairly joined. After Pakistan PM Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday that what India had given was "not evidence" but "information", he riled foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee as well.

Monday, 15 Dec 2008

Over three-fourths of terrorist attacks investigated in the UK had al-Qaida and Pakistan links, British PM Gordon Brown said during a whistle stop tour of India and Pakistan on Sunday.

Friday, 14 Nov 2008

PM Manmohan Singh on Thursday urged Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to "ensure at all costs" the safety and welfare of Tamils.

Saturday, 14 Feb 2009

Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had lots of self-congratulatory statements to make in his interim Budget for 2009-10, and naturally so, with just two months to go for general elections.

News Watch 13 Sep 2008

PM Manmohan Singh on Friday sought a status report on the flood situation and rescue operations in flood-hit Bihar from the National Executive Committee amid contradictory reports emanating from the state. Addressing an urgent meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority on Bihar floods here, the PM said, "I am told that all marooned persons have been rescued, though there are stray reports to the contrary...we need clarity on this and the National Executive Committee should give me full report within the next couple of days." The National Executive Committee is part of the NDMA which helps the authority in working out relief and rescue plans for disaster-hit areas. A host of Union ministers who attended the meeting made suggestions including coordination of relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction at the highest level, plugging of breach of Kosi river embankment at Kusha on priority basis, providing free foodgrains to flood victims and complete loan waiver for affected persons. (HINDU)

Friday, 13 Mar 2009

A new entity on Delhi's political map, North-East parliamentary constituency includes nine assembly segments of former East Delhi and Timarpur of the erstwhile Sadar Bazar LS seat.

Tuesday, 13 Jan 2009

On a day the Samajwadi Party (SP) once again dared the Congress by releasing a list of five more candidates for the Lok Sabha polls from UP, the Congress put up a brave face and tried to play it cool.

Friday, 13 Feb 2009

Faced with unrelenting international pressure and incontrovertible evidence put together by India and US's FBI, Pakistan on Thursday, 79 days after the Mumbai attacks, was forced to acknowledge that the heinous strikes were plotted from its soil.

News Watch 12 Sep 2008

President Bush approved, signed, and rushed the updated US-India civilian nuclear agreement with the required documentation to Congress on Wednesday evening, showing the kind of urgency and speed that makes it almost certain that the deal will have final legislative clearance in the next fortnight.

Wednesday, 12 Nov 2008

Smt. Margaret Alva, General Secretary, AICC was asked to meet the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Party to explain her utterances made before the media on 6th November, 2008.

Monday, 12 Jan 2009

Contrary to Pakistan PM Yousaf Raza Gilani's contention, India is yet to get any response to its dossier, foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Sunday while maintaining his tough stance on Pakistan.

Sunday, 12 Feb 2009

On his first day of meetings with the Pakistani leadership here, U.S. Special Representative Richard C. Holbrooke heard that Pakistan would be better able to combat terrorism and militancy in its north-western frontier regions with "a calm" eastern front, and the need for resolving the Kashmir issue for peace in the region.

Friday, 12 Dec 2008

Outrage over the November 26 terror attack in Mumbai that left at least 164 people dead and over 300 injured, brought India's feuding political classes together in Parliament on Thursday.

News Watch 11 Sep 2008

In a bid to quicken the process of Congressional nod for the nuclear deal with India, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has met two key Democrats and powerful players Nancy Pelosi and Howard Berman and discussed how they could help in Congress ratifying the 123 agreement before the end of the session on September 26. Ms. Rice met Ms. Pelosi, the powerful Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the two discussed the process of considering the 123 accord once it is submitted to for ratification, Ms. Pelosi's spokesman Nadeam Elshami said. (HINDU)

Wednesday, 11 Feb 2009

On his first day of meetings with the Pakistani leadership here, U.S. Special Representative Richard C. Holbrooke heard that Pakistan would be better able to combat terrorism and militancy in its north-western frontier regions with "a calm" eastern front, and the need for resolving the Kashmir issue for peace in the region.

Thursday, 11 Dec 2008

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and PM Manmohan Singh on Wednesday discussed the feasibility of a minor shuffle of Cabinet berths amid signs of their being eager to have a politician like former Kartnataka chief minister S M Krishana as a full-scale finance minister.

News Watch 10 Sep 2008

UP police has identified 34 sitting judges, including one in the Supreme Court, as among those allegedly involved in the embezzlement of provident funds of class III and IV employees of Ghaziabad court. This development, which extends the crisis of credibility facing institutions to the judiciary as well, could provide the jolt for it to consider whether to persist with the immunity that judges enjoy at present. Besides an apex court judge, those under the scanner include eight in the Allahabad high court, one each in Uttarakhand and Calcutta HCs and 23 lower court judges. The preliminary finding of the police chief of Ghaziabad forced the Supreme Court to recognise the necessity of handing over the embarrassing matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a "transparent and fair probe". (TOI)

Monday, 10 Nov 2008

Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan has cracked the whip in the Rs 23-crore Ghaziabad PF scam allegedly involving 34 judges from all three tiers of judiciary.

Saturday, 10 Jan 2009

The Bombay high court's effort to make Mumbaikars' voice heard on tackling terrorism in the aftermath of the audacious 26/11 attack has not gone down well with the Ashok Chavan Govt, which on Friday challenged it saying, multiplicity of committees would lead only to more meetings.

Tuesday, 10 Feb 2009

Dragging its feet on a response to the Mumbai Terror attack dossier, Pakistan today said it needs more information from India to complete its investigation before giving a reply.

News Watch 09 Sep 2008

The Election Commission of India on Monday convened a meeting of national parties and State recognised parties of J&K to discuss issues relating to the forthcoming Assembly election and obtained their views separately. The State is under Governor's rule and the election is to be held before January 9, 2009. The meeting presided over by Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami was attended by representatives of seven national political parties the Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (M), Nationalist Congress Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal and three State parties the National Conference, National Panthers Party and People's Democratic Party. Highly placed sources in the Commission told that in the next stage discussions would be held with the Union Home Secretary, who would be apprised of the views of the parties. A decision on holding the election would be taken thereafter. (HINDU)

Monday, 09 Mar 2009

The Manmohan Singh govt was most reluctant to host former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf during his visit to India.

Friday, 09 Jan 2009

Congress stalwart, external affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said that Rahul Gandhi may soon take over as the country's PM, giving fresh fillip to speculation about the party's timeframe for the young party general secretary's elevation to the top job.

News Watch 08 Sep 2008

Across 1,000 villages, there are no rotting corpses in hospital corridors, no stench from bloated blue skin, no bandaged and bloodied children, no wailing relatives. No mass funerals. And across the country, no candlelight vigils, no prayers at school assemblies, no outpouring of compassion. Some work is also getting done on the side ahead of national elections taxpayer-paid relief camps run by the Steel Authority of India Limited decorated with banners carrying the election symbol of minister Ram Vilas Paswan. What a neat, convenient tragedy it has been.(HT)

Saturday, 08 Nov 2008

New Delhi In a step to avoid a "parallel investigation", Delhi High Court today declined to order a judicial enquiry into the September 19 Batla House police encounter in Jamia Nagar saying the National Human Right Commission (NHRC) is already probing into the incident. "If the court intervenes, then the NHRC act will turn out to be waste. It will be a parallel probe if the court also orders judicial enquiry," said a bench led by Chief Justice A P Shah. The court was responding to a submission by advocate Prashant Bhushan that the NHRC had only the power to recommend action while the court could pass "binding" orders. (IE)

Friday, 07 Nov 2008

Lieutenant-Colonel Shrikant Purohit, the first serving officer of the Indian Army to be arrested in connection with a terror bomb attack, has confessed to being the mastermind of the Malegaon blast. The 37-year-old officer reportedly told police he had mapped the conspiracy and provided the explosive for the September 29 .revenge' attack which killed six people. It is learnt that Purohit, who was arrested on November 5, admitted to supplying the deadly RDX and weapons to members of Abhinav Bharat, a radical Hindu outfit. Sources said the Mumbai's Anti-Terrorism Squad was planning to question another serving army officer in this connection whose name cropped up during Purohit's interrogation. However, the confessional statement given to the police is not admissible in court. Sources said Purohit was conclusively cornered after he was confronted with telephone records that showed his links with another accused, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyaya. "I am the mastermind of the blast. I arranged for the RDX and weapons but I can't understand how the weapons reached Abhinav Bharat members,'' sources quoted Purohit as telling police. Abhinav Bharat is a Hindu extremist group which wanted to avenge terror attacks by Islamist groups. Several members of the group had links with other saffron outfits.(TOI)

Saturday, 07 Mar 2009

There was a spectacle outside and drama inside. A last ditch effort to halt the auction of five of Gandhi.s personal items by the Indian govt and a dodgy collector who owned them failed.

Wednesday, 07 Jan 2009

Mere information, and not credible evidence, had been provided by India to Pakistan on the Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistani foreign secretary Salman Bashir claimed on Tuesday as PM Manmohan Singh said that 26/11 "must" have had the support of Pakistan's "official agencies".

News Watch 06 Sep 2008

On a day when India waited with fingers crossed for a waiver, it was Austria and Ireland that stood between India and global nuclear commerce. The second day of an extraordinary NSG plenary in Vienna was yet to bridge the divide between India's supporters and opposers as a decision eluded the 45-nation nuclear cartel. At the time of going to press, there was still no decision from the group, despite heavy pressure being brought on recalcitrant govts by the US leadership. During a day marked by frequent adjournments, the Austrians and Irish remained the last men standing, demanding more conditions from India. India, however, has nothing left to concede. As the negotiations go down to the wire, it has left the last mile to the Americans.(TOI)

Thursday, 06 Nov 2008

Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, was elected the 44th President of the United States Tuesday, breaking the ultimate racial barrier to become the first African American to claim his country's highest office. A nation founded by slave-owners and seared by civil war and generations of racial strife delivered a smashing electoral college victory to the 47-year-old first-term Senator from Illinois, who forged a broad, multiracial, multiethnic coalition. His victory was a leap in the march toward equality When Obama was born, people with his skin colour could not even vote in parts of America, and many were killed for trying. "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," Obama told more than 240,000 celebrants gathered along Chicago's waterfront. Many had tears streaking their faces. (IE)

News Watch 05 Sep 2008

India's nuclear waiver is close to being clinched, and indications are the deal may be completed by Friday. After the first day's talks in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the objections are much fewer and many more countries have come around to having India inside the nuclear tent. Diplomats were tightlipped, but sources said it may be possible to channel the objections into a tough chairman's statement that could be attached to the actual waiver document. More countries are coming out with understanding of India's energy needs. Part of the whittling down of the objections has been due to the huge effort mounted by the US and other supplier countries on the naysayers in the NSG. Part of it is due to the very real threat that India may walk out from a less-than-complete waiver. The pressure has been relentless on the smaller countries, many of whom have been quietly supported by biggies like China.(TOI)

Wednesday, 05 Nov 2008

From SEA to shining sea, Americans lined up across the country on Tuesday to vote for change. Some came ' two or three hours before the polling booths opened in their neighbourhood. All knew they were participating in history. Most expected to ensure that a black man ascended to the White House. A minority hoped to give the United States its first female vice-president. The polls all point to Barack Obama, 47, becoming the first member of an ethnic minority and person of African descent to hold the world's most powerful job. Obama has been the candidate of change, relentlessly campaigning he will end business as usual in US politics.

Friday 05 Dec 2008

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria on Thursday said there are indications that the Israeli hostages at Nariman House were tortured by the terrorists and some of them died due to strangulation.

News Watch 04 Sep 2008

Tide turns in shocked Singur, own supporters tell Mamata to stop. (IE)

Tuesday, 04 Nov 2008

The govt on Monday urged the captains of industry not to cut jobs in light of the economic slowdown to which industry seems to have agreed but has entered a caveat it would not retrench people if the crisis did not become any worse but, at the same, it was not likely to hire more people. At a special meeting with top corporate leaders, including Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani, ICICI boss K V Kamath, Airtel chief Sunil Mittal, Essar chief Shashi Ruia, DLF head K P Singh, Videocon's Rajkumar Dhoot and Ficci president Rajeev Chandrashekhar, PM Manmohan Singh announced that a six-member committee was being set up to daily monitor the financial crisis.(TOI)

Wednesday, 04 Feb 2009

As India awaits Pakistan's response on its terror dossier, the Pakistan interior minister on Tuesday said the Mumbai attacks were planned outside Pakistan and that the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) final report will be handed over to India in a week.

Thursday, 04 Dec 2008

The Congress asked CM Vilasrao Deshmukh to resign on Wednesday night After three days of indecision, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi gave Deshmukh marching orders after discussions with senior party leaders A.K. Antony and Ahmed Patel.

Monday, 03 Nov 2008

In a scathing comment that echoed opposition BJP's taunts of the "country's weakest PM ever", Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh said on Sunday that Manmohan Singh's authority did not run among his own partymen. Amar Singh, whose party is an ally of the ruling UPA, told a TV channel, "I have great regard for PM Manmohan Singh. Yet, there are several events in the Congress that happen without the knowledge of the PM, to the extent that his own partymen do not regard his words or listen to his writ." Referring to Congress spokesperson Satyavrat Chaturvedi's refusal to apologize for calling the SP leader a "madcap", Amar Singh said, "I brought up the issue before the PM, who in turn asked Chaturvedi to talk to me. But neither has Chaturvedi called me up to apologize nor has he withdrawn his statement." While the PM is widely seen as a moving force behind the SP-Congress alliance which helped him win the trust vote after the Left's withdrawal of support, the partnership came in the backdrop of years of animosity and name-calling. (TOI)

Saturday, 03 Jan 2009

In less than a month since the United Progressive Alliance Govt announced a Rs 32,000 crore booster dose for the slowing economy, it came out with a more comprehensive and detailed stimulus package valued at over $50 billion or Rs 2,00,000 crore.

Wednesday, 03 Dec 2008

Hardening its stance in the wake of the Mumbai attack, India on Tuesday said it would not rule out the military option in dealing with the continued terror threat emanating from Pakistan.

News Watch 02 Sep 2008

Cong, SP agree to joint campaign in UP.

Friday, 02 Jan 2009

At least six people were killed and 50 injured on Thursday in separate bombings in Guwahati, police said, blaming the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) for the attacks.

Monday, 02 Feb 2009

The Govt has taken a dim view of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswami's report to the President recommending the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla especially its timing, barely weeks before the notification of general election highly placed sources have told 'The Indian Express'.

Tuesday, 02 Dec 2008

Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh did his best to hold on to his post on Monday but seems to have failed. Despite massive lobbying by his backers, Deshmukh appeared on his way out.

News Watch 01 Sep 2008

Jammu agitation ends, State Govt-Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti sign pact.

Saturday, 01 Nov 2008

The arrest of a former Army Major in connection with the Malegaon blast and the suspected linkages of a serving officer with the accused was discussed by the top Army brass at the ongoing Commanders conference here. At the conference, chaired by Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor it began yesterday and will end tomorrow sources said the top brass are of the opinion that the case is a "one-off aberration." And that although there is no evidence yet of involvement of serving officers in the Terror attack, the matter should be taken seriously. Top officers, who attended the conference, said that while the Army's secular nature is beyond doubt, the incident is an indicator that could help "nip any emerging trouble in the bud." And weed out the odd "bad egg." (IE)

Thursday, 01 Jan 2009

While the first signs of Pakistan moving forward on the Mumbai investigation emerged on Wednesday in the form of media reports confirming the role of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, India was clear that any concrete result could only be expected when US investigators obtain access to Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah the two Lashkar kingpins that FBI wants to interrogate at the earliest.

Monday, 1 Dec 2008

Following a charged CWC meeting on Saturday night, the first head rolled on Sunday home minister Shivraj Patil's.

News Watch 01 Aug 2008

The UPA, jubilant with a miniscule dip in inflation figures last week, was bracing for the worst on Thursday with the price rise index swinging up again, hitting 11.98% for the week ended July 19. With the next three weeks of rain critical to dampen food prices, the govt was left staring at an economic and political dark hole it could find difficult to escape.