Taliban suicide bomber targets Pak hospital, 25 killed
At least 25 people were killed and 50 injured on Tuesday when a Taliban bomber blew himself up at a hospital in the troubled northwest Pakistan, posing a fresh challenge to the government grappling with extremist threats.

Govt okays 15 greenhouse gas control projects
The government has approved 15 Clean Development Mechanism Projects with the potential to generate 506 million Certified Emission Reduction (CER) units which could fetch an inflow of USD 5 bn into the country by 2012.

Mastermind of Ahd blasts confesses involvement, claims police
Mufti Abu Bashir, the alleged mastermind of the serial blasts in Ahmedabad, has admitted that he was involved in the 26th July bombings that left 55 people dead, Crime Branch sources said.

Govt pulls up oil firms, orders clearing of LPG waitlist
The Government took state-run oil firms to task for reported shortages in fuel supplies in some parts of the country and asked them to clear the waitlist for new domestic cooking gas (LPG) connections in 60 days.

Valley life limps to normalcy, Jammu protesters court arrest
With separatists suspending their strike call for three days, life in Kashmir Valley, disrupted for over a week due to the agitation over "economic blockade", limped back towards normalcy on Tuesday.

Final hearing on Sobhraj case in Nepal SC on 28th Aug
Nepal's Supreme Court is expected to take up for final hearing on 28th August the case of notorious international criminal Charles Sobhraj, who has appealed against his conviction in the murder of an American tourist.

Russia agrees to transfer key technology for T-90 tanks
After months of acrimony, Russia has finally agreed to transfer key technology for the frontline T-90 tanks enabling Indian armament factories to now go ahead and produce these weapon platforms indigenously.

US talking with India to lift hurdles on Doha round: Envoy
US, which has blamed India and China for jeopardising the Doha trade talks by not opening up their markets for more imports, was holding talks with the Indian authorities in a bid to remove the hurdles, US Consul General Beth A Payne said.

BSF-BDR DG-level meeting in Dhaka from Wed
The activities of banned terror and Northeast insurgent groups operating from B’desh is likely to dominate the five-day biannual Director General- level talks between BSF and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) beginning in Dhaka on Wednesday.

GARUDs baptised in special ops at Nellis 'Red Flag' exercise
The newly raised special 'GARUD' force of Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday had its baptism on a foreign soil by carrying out specialised war manoeuvres during the famous 'Red Flag' exercise at the Nellis air base in US' Nevada desert.

Nepal, India should take up water management issue : JD-U
Nepal and India should take up the issue relating to water management jointly for the benefit of the two countries, Janata Dal (U) chief Sharad Yadav said in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service to resume on 21st Aug
The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, a symbol of peace and friendship between India and Pakistan, suspended last week due to violent protests over the Amarnath land row in Kashmir valley, will resume on 21st August.

Gandhi's grand daughter backs revival of Natal Indian Congress
Mahatma Gandhi's grand-daughter has backed the revival of Natal Indian Congress or a similar organisation on the same lines to be the "voice" of Indian origin people in South Africa.

China not concerned about India-US nuke deal: Ambassador
China has no concern over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal so long as New Delhi fulfilled relevant international obligations, according to Chinese Ambassador to India Zhang Yan.

Com Min approaches Finance panel on state levies on exports
Commerce Ministry has asked the 13th Finance Commission to evolve a scheme for reimbursing exporters the state level taxes, which add 3-12 pc to shipment costs making Indian products uncompetitive in the global market.

IOC to see net loss of Rs 5,800 cr in 2008-09
Indian Oil Corp is likely to end the fiscal with a net loss of Rs 5,800 crore because of widening losses on fuel sales, while Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum may each see losses of Rs 7,000 crore and Rs 5,500 respectively.

COAI to challenge TRAI order on Rcom interconnection by 21st Aug
The tussle between Anil Ambani group firm RCom and other GSM operators over interconnectivity is likely to get tougher in the coming days with COAI planning to move sectoral tribunal TDSAT on 21st Aug on the issue.

Govt should enhance export duty on iron ore: Assocham
A day after China enhanced export duty on coke and coking coal, two key inputs for steel making, Assocham President Sajjan Jindal sought a similar move by India on iron ore to check the prices of alloy.

Crude falls for fourth day on reports of storm missing US Gulf
Crude oil fell for a fourth day in New York on forecasts that Tropical Storm Fay will miss rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for about a fifth of US production.

BARC should determine TV ratings, says broadcast regulator
Broadcast regulator TRAI asked industry body Broadcast Audience Research Council to function as a self-regulatory organisation for measuring and rating broadcasters, while discounting the need for govt intervention.

Markets remain down for 5th day, Sensex loses 102 pts
The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Tuesday shed nearly 102 points extending the losses to the fifth straight session with consumer durables and IT stocks taking a hit while auto and metal counters remained under selling pressure amid weak trends in Asian bourses.

Law Min's views to be sought on SEZ vacant land issue
The Commerce Ministry will seek opinion of the Law Ministry to define 'vacant land' on which a developer can build an SEZ that can avail of tax incentives for its units.

DoT refutes COAI charge; spectrum allotted in orderly manner
Refuting GSM players' allegation that policy of dual technology has eaten into their quota of additional spectrum, the govt asserted that the air waves have been allocated in an orderly manner and the needs of existing players have been addressed ahead of others.

Economy to grow by 9.4 pc despite gloomy expectations: CMIE
Amidst projections of lower economic growth, the CMIE has said the country would grow at a robust rate of over nine precent in the current fiscal.

Equity, debt fund post positive returns in July: Crisil
All equity and debt mutual funds posted positive returns in the month of July except gilt funds amid a bounce-back in the market, credit rating agency Crisil says.

FDI in Q1 FY 2009 exceeds that in entire 2005-06: RBI
India is fast catching up with China in the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as capital inflows through this route has crossed 10 billion dollars in the first quarter of this fiscal.

RBI to review roadmap for liberalisation of foreign banks
RBI would undertake a "wholesome review regarding the road map" to liberalise norms for foreign banks in the country, its Deputy Governor V Leeladhar said.

Musharraf may go for Mecca pilgrimage, lawmakers for trial
Pervez Musharraf spent his first day out of office on Tuesday in an army bungalow mulling his future amid reports that he would soon be travelling to Mecca to perform pilgrimage even as demands were made in the National Assembly that he should be put to trial.

Russia closes borders with Georgia
Russia has closed its borders with Georgia and Azerbaijan for the nationals and carriers of countries which are not members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a body of former Soviet republics.

Sri Lankan military says 21 rebels killed
Scattered battles between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka's embattled northern region killed 21 rebels, the military said on Tuesday.

Anti-Thaksin protesters march on British embassy in Bangkok
Thousands of protesters clad in bright yellow marched through central Bangkok to the British embassy on Tuesday to demand the extradition of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Pakistan army chief in Kabul after Musharraf quits
Pakistan's army chief rushed to neighbouring Afghanistan for meetings on Tuesday, the day after Pakistani President Musharraf announced his resignation, Afghan officials said.

Thailand says border tensions eased as Cambodia talks open
Tensions over an ancient Khmer temple have eased following the withdrawal of most soldiers from the ruins, the Thai foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday as new border talks opened with Cambodia.

Mush resignation will not lead to power vacuum in Pak: Rice
Displaying faith in the democratically elected government of Pakistan, the US has rejected suggestions that the ouster of former President and key US ally Pervez Musharraf will a lead to a power vacuum in the country.

18 killed in latest Chinese mine accident
Eighteen of 25 miners trapped in a coal mine after an explosion have died and the fate of the rest is unknown.

Ex-president barred from leaving Taiwan
Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian has been barred from leaving the island and his office raided on money-laundering allegations implicating him and his family.

A woman may be next Pakistan President, says Zardari
Pakistan's next president might be a woman though a decision in this regard will be made after evolving consensus in the ruling coalition, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said and ruled himself out as a contender for the top post.

43 dead in attack on Algerian police school
A suicide attack on an Algerian police school at Issers, 60 kilometres east of Algiers killed 43 people and injured 38 while civilians as well as police officers were among the victims and a major security operation was under way there.

Bolt moves closer to sprint double, equal Carl Lewis' feat
The world's fastest man Usain Bolt of Jamaica moved a step closer to achieving a rare sprint double in the Olympics winning his semifinal heat in the men's 200m and set up a showdown with American Shawn Crawford for the gold.

Yogeshwar Dutt loses wrestling quarters
Another Olympic medal slipped out of India's hands when Yogeshwar Dutt squandered lead in the third and final round to lose the wrestling quarterfinal tie of the 60kg free style category against Kenichi Yumoto of Japan in Beijing on Tuesday.

Rain intervenes after English seam restricts Scots
England's seam attack limited Scotland to 156 for 9 in a one-day international in Edinburgh but rain forced the match to be abandoned with England 10 for 0 in reply.

Anju fails to qualify, wrestler misses medal, paddler wins
Success continued to elude India in the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday with India's best bet in athletics Anju Bobby George failing to qualifying for long jump finals and wreslter missed out on a medal losing in the quarterfinal.

AFL to play two exhibition matches in India next year
The Australian Football League (AFL) is all set to foray into Indian market by playing two exhibition matches in early next year apart from scheduled Collingwood-West Coast game in South Africa.

Sehwag leaves for home
Indian opener Virender Sehwag left for New Delhi on Tuesday after an ankle injury forced him to withdraw from the ongoing one-day series against Sri Lanka.

Nadal takes Federer's number one ranking
Spain's Rafael Nadal has replaced Roger Federer as the new world number one and Serbia's Ana Ivanovic toppled compatriot Jelena Jankovic at the top of the ATP rankings released on Monday.

BJP demands white paper on fake currency circulation
The BJP on Tuesday asked the Centre to publish a white paper on circulation of fake currency in the country in the wake of a government panel estimating it at Rs 1,69,000 crore.

Flood situation worsens in Bihar, Nitish reviews situation
The flood situation in Bihar worsened on Tuesday with most major rivers in spate following heavy rains in their catchment areas over the past few days.

Assam CM briefs Patil on state's situation
Assam CM Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday briefed Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil about the situation arising out of the recent sectarian violence in some districts of the state where army had to be deployed to bring things under control.

Jharkhand political activity to shift to Delhi
With Jharkhand Governor asking Chief Minister Madhu Koda to prove his majority within a week, the scene of political activities is likely to shift to the national capital soon.

Flood-hit Punjab limping back to normal
The flood-hit areas of Punjab on Tuesday heaved a sigh of relief with Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers flowing much below the danger mark even as the army continued to evacuate affected villagers to safer places.

SC to hear pleas against SEZs on 26th Aug
The Supreme Court will hear on 26th August the petitions from all over the country challenging setting up of special economic zones on agriculture land.

Orissa criticises slashing of food grain quota by Centre
Demanding an additional allocation of foodgrains for Orissa, CM Naveen Patnaik said the Centre's act of reducing the state's foodgrain quota had hit the poor coupled with the price rise of essential commodities.

Govt-Trinamool Congress talks on Singur on Wed
The WBengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday invited the Trinamool Congress for talks with the state government on the Singur impasse at the secretariat on Wednesday.

Army alerted over reports of terrorists spillover to HP
Alerted by intelligence reports over a possible spillover of terrorist activities into Himachal Pradesh, army has mounted a strict vigil along Chamba district and certain areas along J&K-HP border.

UP govt justifies Noida firing; opposition stages walkout
The entire opposition in the Uttar Pradesh assembly on Tuesday staged a walkout as the state government justified the last week's police firing on agitating farmers in Greater Noida.

SC all set to introduce system for audio-recording hearings
A new experiment is in the offing in the Supreme Court which will soon have a system in place to audio-record hearings of important cases.

Raje expects early arrest of accused in serial blasts
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has said that police has got strong leads from Gujarat on the Jaipur serial bomb blasts that claimed 68 lives on 13th March.

DRDO seeks help from MNNIT Allahabad to build missiles
As the nation resolves to achieve new milestones in 62nd year of its Independence, a move is afoot to build strong, heat-resistant, light-weight missiles which will add to Indias military might.

Centre seeks extension of stay on tribunal order on SIMI ban
The Centre has urged the apex court to extend its stay on a tribunal's order lifting the ban imposed on Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) charged with indulging in terrorist activities, including the recent Ahmedabad and Bangalore blasts.