India

New Delhi, June 27: Pranab Mukherjee resigned as Union finance minister on Tuesday, giving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a free hand to reorient the key ministry during an economic slowdown while raising the possibility of a larger Cabinet reshuffle in about six weeks from now. Mukherjee submitted his resignation to the prime minister to end his career as Congress leader ahead of filing the

Islamabad, June 27: Hours after reports emerged that Pakistan was to free Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh, the presidential spokesman tonight clarified that authorities had taken steps for the release of another Indian prisoner named Surjeet Singh who has been jailed for three decades. "I think there is some confusion. First, it is not a case of pardon. More importantly, it is not

Islamabad, June 26: After being on the death row for 20 years over bombing charges, Indian national Sarabjit Singh is being released with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari today commuting his death sentence. Zardari commuted Sarabjit's death sentence to life term which he has already completed having been in jail beyond 14 years. Therefore he is being released. The 49-year-old Sarabjit

Mumbai, June 26: A report on Muslim prisoners in Maharashtra jails by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) establishes that most of them do not have connections with criminal gangs, and points to an acute bias of the police for arresting them in some cases only because they belong to a particular community. A Study of the Socio Economic Profile and Rehabilitation Needs of Muslim Community

New Delhi, Jul 26: Pakistan today offered India counter-terrorism cooperation in the backdrop of the arrest of Abu Jundal, a LeT terrorist and key handler of attackers who struck Mumbai in 2008. Maintaining that Pakistan has been at the forefront in the campaign against terror, the Pakistan High Commission here said terrorism is a common concern. "As agreed at the highest level between Pakistan

New Delhi, June 26: A soon-to-be-published book claims that finance minister and UPA's presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee was engaged in an elaborate "cover-up" on the last days of Azad Hind Fauj founder and national leader Subhas Chandra Bose. Penned by former journalist Anuj Dhar, the book that is likely to hit the stands in July, dismisses the official version that Bose died in an air-crash

Srinagar, June 26: A fire destroyed a revered Muslim shrine in Kashmir on Monday, prompting anti-government protests by residents angered over what they said was a slow response by firefighters. The Peer Dastgeer Sahib shrine here was gutted but the holy relic of the 11th century Muslim saint is safe, an official said. “The holy relic [a hair of the beard] was kept in a fire/burglary proof vault

New Delhi, June 25: The Congress today bid a warm farewell to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, poised to become the country’s President, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that the veteran leader will be missed. At a special meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), party chief Sonia Gandhi personally bid farewell to the chief trouble-shooter of the party and the UPA and expressed

Mumbai, June 25: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monday announced a series of measures, including raising limits for external commercial borrowings and government securities, that would help revive the battered currency and the economy. The Reserve Bank of India said in a statement that it has taken measures in consultation with the government to liberalise capital account transactions. It has

New Delhi, Jun 25: The Supreme Court today refused to stay the day-long nation-wide strike called by the Indian Medical Association to protest against certain reforms initiated by the Central Government in the medical field. A bench of justices H L Gokhale and Gyan Sudha Misra, however, hoped the doctors would desist from going ahead with the proposed strike in the interest of the general public.