India

November 29: The 'real' Sonia Gandhi, a young mother of two children, that veteran journalist and columnist Tavleen Singh knew from mingling in Delhi's influential social circles in the mid-70s was a woman partial to expensive shahtoosh shawls and fur coats and one who fervently stated that she would rather see her daughter and son beg on the streets than allow them to join politics. Singh, who

New Delhi, November 29: The four-day logjam in Lok Sabha over the FDI in retail ended today with Speaker Meira Kumar allowing a discussion on the subject under a rule that entails voting. "I have received 30 notices for discussion on FDI in multi-brand retail under Rule 184. I have admitted the motion to allow the discussion. The date and the time will be decided later," the Speaker announced in

New Delhi, November 29: Amid the raging debate over freedom of expression in the social media and the recent arrests of young citizens who chose to speak their mind in cyberspace, officials are meeting in Delhi today to review controversial sections of the Information Technology Act. The Cyber Regulation Advisory Committee will be in a huddle to consider if section 66A of the Act is too draconian

New Delhi, November 29: The freedom of airlines to charge public at their whim may soon be over with the Aviation Ministry planning to announce a more rationalised fare structure in a fortnight and keep a strict vigil on sudden and unexpected rise in airfare. In the long run, the Ministry is also planning to have a regulatory mechanism to monitor fares, implying the demand and supply mechanism to

Ahmedabad, November 29: An affidavit filed by the police in a court in Surendranagar district says that a police team used AK-47 assault rifle, among other weapons, to fire on protesters from a Dalit community at Thangadh on September 23. Three youths had died in the incident. Inspector General of Police Anil Pratham told PTI that “one AK-47 rifle was used in the firing, in addition to a carbine

Palghar, November 29: A 19-year-old boy detained by the police in Palghar near Mumbai for a derogatory Facebook post against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has been released this morning. The police said his Facebook account appeared to have been hacked and they are investigating this. The brother of the boy, who is now back home in Palghar, has confirmed that the Facebook

New Delhi, November 28: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today came in for praise from Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju for his government's "strong step" against two police officers who had arrested two girls for their Facebook comments last week. Katju wrote a letter congratulating Chavan on "your strong step in suspending the police officers who arrested the girl who

New Delhi, November 28: Zee News has called the arrest of its senior journalists Sudhir Chaudhary and Samir Ahluwalia for alleged extortion of steel tycoon and Congress MP Naveen Jindal as an attempt by the party-led government to gag the media and cover up the coal scam. "After 65 years of independence, the present Congress-led government is pushing the media to not speak the truth and gag it. It

Cuddalore, November 28: Eight houses of a Dalit colony at Pacharapalayam in Kurinjipadi block were ransacked and set on fire by a mob on Tuesday. While three houses were completely burnt, five others were partially scorched. The steel almirahs in the houses were pierced open and gold jewellery and other valuables stolen. Two minivans and 10 two-wheelers were damaged in the attack. In the ensuing

Mumbai, November 28: Days after inspector general (Konkan range) Sukhwinder Singh termed the arrest of two girls hailing from Palghar as an irrelevant act of haste, the Shiv Sena has called for a bandh in the area on Wednesday. This, even as the charges against the two girls arrested for posting comments on Facebook criticising the general shutdown on Bal Thackeray cremation, remain to be dropped