India

New Delhi, Aug 31: BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Saturday said there should be no controversy over the issue of the party's prime ministerial candidate as that would be akin to committing a "hit-wicket" and turn out to be the only possible reason for the main opposition losing the upcoming general elections. Speaking at a conclave of BJP's legal and legislative cell, the leader of the opposition in

New Delhi, Aug 31: The Juvenile Justice Board Saturday sentenced the lone minor accused in the Dec 16, 2012 gang rape here to a three-year stay in a special home. The boy, who was 17-and-half years old at the time of the incident, has turned 18. The board, presided over by Principal Magistrate Geetanjali Goel, pronounced the verdict and acquitted him of some of the charges. The incident occurred

Indore, Aug 31: As Asaram Bapu went underground in Madhya Pradesh, allegedly evading the police, the father of the schoolgirl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by the spiritual leader began an indefinite fast demanding his immediate arrest. The Rajasthan police has sent a team to find and question the 75-year-old, who missed yesterday's deadline to meet investigators in Jodhpur. Near his ashram

Patna, Aug 30: A few hours before he was flown from Patna to New Delhi in a special Border Security Force (BSF) flight on Friday, the co-founder of Indian Mujahideen (IM) Yasin Bhatkal told his interrogators that his fight was against the system and therefore he had taken the extreme step to bomb and destroy set-ups. “Hamein iss system se pareshani hai. Iss liye purey system ko bigadna chahte hain

New Delhi, Aug 31: Prime minister Manmohan Singh on Friday tried to fob off agitated Rajya Sabha members over the weakening rupee with a straight-faced and bare economic fact-sheet and rounded it with a pale Manmohanomic exhortation to get reforms going. “The easy reforms of the past have been done. We have the more difficult reforms to do such as reduction of subsidies, insurance and pension

New Delhi, Aug 30: The Samajwadi Party has raised questions over the arrest of Indian Mujahideen founder Yasin Bhatkal. "Police should ascertain whether Yasin Bhatkal's arrest is based on crime or religion," SP leader Kamaal Farooqi said in an interview on Friday. "There have been instances in the past when cops have branded individuals as top terrorists, but have failed to prove charges against

Mumbai, Aug 30: Stock markets today rose for the third day with S&P BSE benchmark Sensex jumping 218.68 points to end at over two-week high of 18,619.72 after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured that the rupee's decline will be addressed without capital controls or reversal of reforms. The currency markets also appeared to strengthen with the rupee gaining over 50 paise to trade at 66.05/06

New Delhi, Aug 30: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday ruled out reversal of reforms or resorting to capital controls to rescue the sliding rupee, which he said fell on account of domestic as well as global factors. Making a statement on the state of the economy in Parliament amid concerns over rapid depreciation of rupee, Singh said the country has to be ready for short-term shocks but the

Bhopal, Aug 30: Asumal Sirumalani, also called Asaram Bapu, a preacher accused of child rape, targeted the Congress leadership during a visit to the city on Thursday. Exiting the airport, he told reporters: “People tell me Madam and her son are framing me. This has been going on for the last four-and-a-half years. They support those involved in religious conversion.” But he evaded questions

Bangalore, Aug 30: India's first exclusive defence satellite GSAT-7 was successfully launched by European space consortium Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana today, giving a major push to the country's maritime security. Indian Navy would be the user of the multi-band home-built communication spacecraft, expected to be operational by September end. The Rs 185