BJP’s PM candidate LK Advani said that if voted to power, his top priority would be clean governance with steps to restore hope and confidence among people struggling against the economic crisis. Shekhar Iyer reports. See Special Coverage
'Don't let prejudice from past divide us' As parochial identity politics continues to play out in Mumbai and beyond, PM Manmohan Singh today reminded the nation that they would be counted by their achievements, and not their past, reports Aloke Tikku. Spl coverage
US markets plunge, S&P 500 sinks to 11-year low US stocks plunged, with the broadbased Standard & Poor's 500 Index losing 6.7 pc to close at its lowest point since 1997 and economic indicators signalling a recession.
Oil drops 8 pc to 3-1/2 yr low below $50 Oil dropped 8 per cent to below $50 a barrel on Thursday as a bearish US jobs report intensified concerns of a long and deep global recession and further crushed demand expectations.
Navy free to pursue pirates into Somalian waters A senior official said the Indian Navy had been given the permission to chase Somali pirates across the country’s maritime boundary under certain circumstances. Rahul Singh reports. Indians ahoy
Blast accused wanted to kill saffron leaders Members of Abhinav Bharat, accused in the Malegaon blast case, plotted to kill senior RSS leaders who they thought weren’t doing enough for Hindutva, show probe reports accessed exclusively by HT. The plotters
Germany to compile roll of Nazi euthanasia victims German historians have started compiling a central register of 9,000 mentally ill people murdered as part of the Nazis' euthanasia policy, most of whom were previously unidentified.
Divorced woman entitled to provision for residence: SC Divorced woman struggling to find a shelter despite getting alimony have been offered succour by the SC which has held that the maintenance given to them by their divorced husbands should include provision for residence.
PM called Advani after sadhvi remark PM Manmohan Singh called up LK Advani after the leader of the Opposition on Tuesday demanded a judicial probe into Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur’s allegation that she was tortured by the ATS, reports Shekhar Iyer.
Govt approves higher pay for CPSU officers In a bonanza to officers of Central Public Sector Undertakings, the Govt announced a hefty 50 to 300 per cent increase in pay-packages with effect from January 1, 2007.
Malegaon blast accused booked under MCOCA The Anti-Terrorism Squad today invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against the ten accused in the blast case. The law allows police to keep an accused in custody longer than in ordinary case, before the chargesheet is filed.
61 pc turnout in 2nd phase of elections Nearly 61 per cent of the 88 lakh voters exercised their right to franchise in 51 Assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh which went to polls in the second and final phase today.
Indian diplomat attacked in Nepal Head of Chancery of Embassy of India in Kathmandu, SK Joshi had a miraculous escape as 4 bricks landed on the windscreen of his vehicle. Anirban Roy reports.
Govt approves higher pay for CPSU officers In a bonanza to officers of Central Public Sector Undertakings, the Govt has announced a hefty 50 to 300 pc increase in their salaries with effect from Jan 2007.
Ganguly on BCCI's Technical Committee Barely a few weeks after retiring from international cricket, former India captain has been nominated as a member of the BCCI's Technical Committee.
Sensex falls over 450 pts on recession concerns The BSE Sensex plunges by over 450 pts to 8,316.39 pts at the midsession on panic selling by investors and funds after overseas markets fell sharply due to deepening recession fears.
CBI threatened to kill me: Purohit Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit, one of the prime accused in the Malegaon blast case, told a Pune court on Wednesday that the CBI and Haryana police had threatened to kill him in an encounter. Satyajit Joshi reports.
Rupee falls to historic depth The rupee closed at 50 per dollar for the first time on Wednesday as selling of stocks by foreign institutional investors continued amid worsening global economic conditions.
Al-Qaida No 2 insults Obama in new audio message In al-Qaida's first response to Obama's victory, al-Zawahri also called the president-elect along with secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice "house negroes."
India can be world beaters: Laxman The emergence of Ishant Sharma as strike force and the resurgence of Zaheer Khan have given India's bowling the edge and made the team potential world beaters, senior Test batsman Vangipurappu Laxman said
Somalia Islamists vow tough anti-piracy drive A hardline Islamist alliance controlling Somalia's main southern port of Kismayo today promised tough measures to protect ships and traders from marauding pirates.
Will US have first black Attorney General? Eric Holder, a veteran African- American lawyer who served in the No 2 position in Justice Department during the Clinton era, is tipped to be the next Attorney General, a post never held by a black man in the US.
Tests show 109 took drugs, may get off lightly Nearly 92 per cent of the men picked up from last month’s Juhu rave tested positive for drugs, medical reports that reached the police on Wednesday showed. Megha Sood reports.
TV industry workers' strike called off In the backdrop of the dispute between TV workers and the producers, producers and broadcasters have reached a consensus, following which the strike was called off.
Another ship with Indians hijacked A cargo ship laden with 35,000 tonnes of wheat and manned by 25 crew members, including some Indians, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden late yesterday night, a shipping union official said. See the map
Hindu man saved me from gangrape: Nun The nun, who was allegedly raped during communal violence in Kandhamal, has told the Crime Branch of Orissa police that after the sexual assault she was saved by a local Hindu man from being gangraped.
'RSS, Bajrang Dal are not terrorist groups' The British Govt has said neither the RSS nor the Bajrang Dal are terrorist organisations and their members are not banned from entering Britain.
'Somali pirates hijack another vessel' A cargo vessel operated by an Iranian firm has been hijacked off the Somali coast, the US Navy confirmed, in the latest seizure by pirates.
Obama picks Holder for Attorney-General US President-Elect Barack Obama has selected Eric Holder,a former high-ranking Clinton administration aide, as the first African-American Attorney General.
Job market could take a hit: Oscar As the demand-supply gap widens, the country might have to see lay-offs, Union Minister for Labour and Employment Oscar Fernandes has said, reports Prasad Nichenametla.
Govt says lay-offs could be a reality Planning Commission Dy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia says the number of jobs in the country will not go down even if the economy grows at 7% or less, but contraction of jobs is possible in some sectors.
1984 anti-Sikh riots 'wrong', says Rahul Gandhi Long after his father justified the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi says the violence against Sikhs in the aftermath of his grandmom's assassination was "wrong".
US Colonel lampoons Indian Air Force In an uncorroborated video, a US Air Force official had claimed that IAF’s most potent Su-30 MKI fighters were nothing great, and even training and tactics of the IAF were not up to the mark.
Govt re-imposes 5% import duty on steel The government slapped a five per cent import duty on specified iron and steel items to protect the domestic industry from cheaper imports, especially from China where inventories are building up.
Advani speaks up for sadhvi, seeks probe The senior BJP leader ends his silence on the arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, demanding a judicial probe into her allegation that she was tortured by Maharashtra ATS, reports Shekhar Iyer. Changing stand on Pragya
Natwar Singh expelled from BSP Four months after he joined UP's ruling party, former External Affairs minister K Natwar Singh was today expelled by BSP for indulging in anti-party activities.
ICC ODI rankings: India moves to third Resounding success in first two ODI matches against England has propelled India to the third spot, while Yuvraj Singh's consecutive centuries has catapulted him among the top-10 in the latest ICC ODI rankings. See table.
Tibet's independence push will fail: China China has warned that any attempt to separate Tibet from its control will fail. The warning comes just before the conclave of exiled Tibetan leaders in Dharamshala.
Yahoo chief Yang to step down Yahoo Inc co-founder Jerry Yang is stepping down as CEO, ending a rocky reign marked by his refusal to sell the company to Microsoft Corp for $47.5 billion - more than triple Yahoo's current market value.
VHP opposes move to rebuild churches The Vishwa Hindu Parishad said it was opposed to the move by the Orissa Govt to rebuild churches that were damaged during the communal violence in the Kandhamal district.
Probe Indian students' death in US A Hindu group in New York has approached the top American intelligence agency asking it to look into the killing of Indian students and professionals in the US.
Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang to step down Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo! will step down as the chief executive of the internet giant, ending a 17-month long turbulent tenure which saw him rejecting a takeover bid from Microsoft.
FM asks India Inc to cut prices, not production FM P Chidambaram has asked the Indian industry to cut prices and maintain production levels in a bid to address demand slowdown, while exuding confidence that the economy will bounce back next year.
Govt to take steps to stimulate economy: FM Finance Minister P Chidambaram says the Govt will take steps to stimulate the economy and the rupee would strengthen again once capital starts flowing in.
Phelps wins 3 Golden Goggle Awards Michael Phelps' record-setting performance at the Beijing Olympics earned him three Golden Goggle Awards at USA Swimming's annual banquet.
Mumbai gives Israeli gay couple a baby boy The Israeli gay couple’s prayers were answered on Monday as they boarded a flight home with a son in their arms - a month after he was born to a surrogate mother in Mumbai, reports Alifiya Khan.
Citigroup to slash 52,000 jobs, sees hard 2009 Citigroup Inc reveals plans to cut 52,000 jobs by early 2009 in a dramatic move to restore the No. 2 US bank to health as it combats mounting debt losses and sagging economies worldwide.
Sensex sheds 94 points at 9,291 The BSE barometer closed down by 94 points at 9,291. With selling pressure intensifying, it even plunged by nearly 428 points to touch the intra-day low of 8,956 points.
J&K ex-governor denies terror link Describing charges of his links with Malegaon blast accused as "totally malicious and false", SK Sinha said he was contemplating taking legal action against those making such accusations.
Asian markets have mixed response Sensex fell below 9k level by losing over 391 points at noon as Japan joined the list of economies in recession and G-20 summit failed to produce concrete measures to tackle the global crisis.
Japan's economy sinks into recession Japan sank into its first recession in seven years in the July-Sept quarter as the global financial crisis took a heavy toll on the world's second largest economy.
Global trends put Sensex in a bear hug Marketmen said the selling pressure gathered momentum following deteriorating economic outlook as Japan joined the list of economies in recession and G-20 summit failed to produce concrete measures to tackle the global crisis.
Deployment of UN forces sought After the release of MT Stolt Valor, the agency recruiting crew members for the vessel has demanded deployment of UN coalition forces on the sea route to prevent such incidents.
Jammu & Kashmir elects to vote The day showed the Kashmiri people’s seeming resolve to look beyond the gun and participate in elections, even as dissenters, report Neelesh Misra & Rashid Ahmad.
Power shift to new economies, says PM Manmohan Singh has said that the meeting of heads of state of G-20 nations in Washington DC was “a clear indication that the balance of power is shifting in favour of emerging economies." Gautam Chikermane reports.
'Pandey had a hand in Kanpur blast too' The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad officials have said that Malegaon blast accused Dayanand Pandey alias Swami Amritanand is suspected to have a role in the Kanpur blast too.
'We anticipated slowdown, but have done well' PM Manmohan Singh said having anticipated the slowdown, his government took “excessive risk” in the national budget for this year in terms of deficits, which eventually helped in tackling the liquidity problems.
No worries over Obama regime: Manmohan India has no reason to feel uneasy over the change in the US administration following the takeover of president-elect Barak Obama on Jan 20 next year, PM Manmohan Singh said.
Another Andhra student shot at in US Pulluru Shashank, studying Management Consulting at Middle Tennessee State University at Murfreesboro, is the sixth student from the state to be attacked in the US since Dec 2007, reports Ashok Das.
J&K set for elections amid tight security Jammu and Kashmir goes to the polls on Monday to elect a new assembly amid boycott calls by Muslim separatists, with the 10 constituencies in the first of seven-phase elections. Full Coverage
Thousands flee gutted homes in LA Los Angeles firefighters today battled wind-whipped blazes raging around the second-largest US city that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people into shelters.
Jeev wins Barclay's Singapore Open India's Jeev Milkha Singh won a nail-biting Singapore Open today after Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els missed putts to take the $5 million event to a playoff.
102 candidates in fray for first phase Despite the poll boycott call by separatists, Jammu and Kashmir is all set for the first phase of crucial assembly polls on Monday in 10 constituencies that will see a record 102 candidates participating. Full Coverage
The ship’s Captain PK Goyal told his wife via satellite phone from the Gulf of Aden that they are coming back at a speed of seven knots and there is still apprehension as they are not out of the danger zone, reports Abhinav Madhwal. See the map | Two months ordeal
Killer of Indian American CEO held Jing Hua Wu, who gunned down Sid Agrawal, the Indian American CEO of a semi-conductor company, along with two of his top officials on Friday afternoon, has been arrested by the Santa Clara Police.
Leaders pledge to save world economy "Against the background of deteriorating economic conditions worldwide, we agreed that a broader policy response is needed, based on closer macroeconomic cooperation, to restore growth," the G20 leaders said in a summit communique.
Hijacked ship released, Indian sailors safe MT Stolt Valor, a cargo ship with 18 Indian sailors on board and hijacked by Somalian pirates in the Gulf of Aden two months back, has been released, National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) said today.
Manmohan bats for emerging markets One of the most important significance of the G20 Summit in Washington DC was "a clear indication that the balance of power is shifting in favour of emerging economies," PM Manmohan Singh said. Gautam Chikarmane reports.