Hasina invites Zia, others to iftar party

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday invited Opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia for an iftar party, triggering prospects of a political rapproachment. Ms Hasina's protocol officer Proloy Joardar on Thursday morning handed over the invitation letter to Ms Zia's private secretary A.S.M. Saleh Ahmed, Star Online said.

Mr Ahmed confirmed receiving the invitation, United News of Bangladesh (UNB) news agency reported. The invitations have gone to other political leaders as well as part of the interaction that is normal during the Ramzan when prayers are held by devout Muslims and the day-long fast is broken.

After a round of dates and snacks, a dinner follows. Political significance is being attached to the invitation as Ms Hasina and Ms Zia do not meet socially and have interacted only on rare occasions.

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Ted Kennedy dies, American era ends

Edward Kennedy, he last of the storied band of brothers whose triumphs and tragedies dominated a generation of American politics, has died after losing his year-long battle with brain cancer.

The "liberal lion" of the US Senate, who was once seen as a political heir to his assassinated elder brother John F. Kennedy as President, died late Tuesday at his home at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. He was 77.

He will be buried at the Arlington National Cemetery near his two brothers, JFK and Robert Kennedy, assassinated in 1963 and 1968 respectively.

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China open to India in Lhasa

More than 40 years after bad blood between India and China closed down the Indian consulate in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, a Chinese foreign ministry official says New Delhi can re-open it any time it wants. "India can set up a consulate in Lhasa," said Jujian Hua, a director at Tibet's foreign affairs office. "That depends on India."

With the 13th round of border talks between India and China resuming in New Delhi earlier this month, Beijing is emphasising that it wants improved relations with India. "The cross-border talks represents a great step in the relationship between the two countries,"

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Balaji Telefilms: Police favoured builder

The dispute between Balaji Telefilms and RNA Builders has reached the Bombay high court with the former making allegations of wrongful action by the Thane (rural) police. The court has adjourned the matter for two weeks. Balaji Telefilms has sought action against the builder as well as police, who according to the film company acted without authority despite perusing all the documents, in order to favour of the builder to dispossess the company of its land.

Balaji Telefilms has filed the petition for the second time, over the disputed land at Ghodbandar village in Mira-Bhayander area. RNA Builders has already filed a petition in the city civil court against the original owner of the land accusing him of selling the land first to them (RNA) and then to Balaji Telefilms.

Balaji Telefilms claims to t have brought the two plots of land bearing survey number 24 measuring 13,890 square meters each

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Ashes urn back in England

England regained the Ashes with a sweeping 197-run victory over Australia in the fifth Test at The Oval on Sunday despite a battling century from Michael Hussey which threatened to take the game into a fifth day.

A capacity crowd basking happily on a sun-baked evening erupted in scenes reminiscent of the corresponding Test four years ago when a draw was enough to bring the Ashes back after 16 years.

"It's a special moment for us, we had to dig deep in a very hard series. It has not sunk in yet," England captain Andrew Strauss said in a pitchside interview

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Voting brisk in northern Afghan

Even in one of Afghanistan's safest, most progressive regions, the men and women who lined up to vote in Thursday's presidential election kept a check on their optimism.

There was broad agreement that the insurgency that has infected other parts of the country, especially the south, could soon reach Afghanistan's north without proper leadership from the Central government.

"We're afraid," said Umaira Abdul-Fatah, a 32 year-old woman voting in Mazar-i-Sharif. "Hopefully, God will bring peace to our country."

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Series of blasts kills 95 in Baghdad

A series of explosions killed at least 95 people and wounded more than 563 in central Baghdad on Wednesday, the deadliest day in the Iraqi capital since US troops withdrew from urban centres in June.

At least six bombs and mortar rounds struck near government ministries and other sensitive targets in quick succession, the latest in a series of attacks in the capital and Iraq's north that raised doubts about the ability of Iraqi security forces to cope without US help.

One blast shattered windows in Iraq's Parliament building in the heavily guarded Green Zone government and diplomatic complex, television footage showed. It occurred near the foreign ministry, just outside the Green Zone.

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Bihar students burn, loot trains

Bihar’s acute love-hate relationship with the Railways once again found violent expression on Tuesday when express train coaches were burnt, passengers were robbed at gunpoint and railway properties were damaged in three separate incidents.

Four AC coaches of the 2392 New Delhi-Patna Shramjeevi Express were set afire by college students in an act of extreme lawlessness at Bihta station, some 35 km off Patna, on Tuesday morning. Armed robbers looted cash, jewellery, watches and mobile phones all of an estimated value of Rs 2.5 lakhs from passengers travelling in the Patna-Pune Express at Ara station early in the morning. The Gaya-Howrah Express was forcibly stopped for hours at Lakhisarai and people protesting a railway accident vandalised the railway premises.

At Bihta, the students some of them having monthly passes allowing them to travel in general bogies and most others simply without ticket,

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Pakistan close to 7,000 km ICBM

Pakistan has started preparing an intercontinental missile with a range of 7,000 km, defence sources said.

"The aim is to increase our defence capabilities. The work on the project has started. It will soon be testfired", the sources said, adding, "The intercontinental missile has a range of 7,000 km and is capable of hitting targets falling within its range. The missile can contain nuclear as well as traditional warheads," the source said. He said the missile will be a significant milestone for the defence of the country.

On Wednesday, Air Chief Marshal Qamar Suleman said that the Pakistan Air Force plans to induct four Chinese airborne refuellers next year, in a move to counter IAF's enhanced capabilities after New Delhi acquired six similar aircraft

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New code to lower tax rates

Come 2011, your worries on the tax front may be eased a little. Not only does the new direct tax code, announced Wednesday and to be implemented from that year, seeks to lighten your burden, it also makes it much simpler to calculate the tax you will need to pay, as it proposes to remove all exemptions, including those on provident fund and insurance.

The code has been thrown open to discussion. It is only after the consultation process that finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will table a bill in Parliament, possibly in the winter session, to replace the existing Income-Tax Act.

The code advocates modest tax rates for individuals.

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Quake hits Andamans, no damage reported

A fairly strong earthquake struck the deep seabed off the Andaman Islands at 1.25 am on Tuesday setting off alarm bells over a tsunami possibility, but seismologists quickly clarified there was no such danger. The earthquake magnitude was measured at 6.9 on the Richter scale and was "upgraded" to 7.8 by 2.30 am. No damage was reported in the region, though some minor tremors were felt around that time even in Chennai and surroundings over a thousand km away.

The Regional Tsunami Warning Centre (RTWC), set up at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) in Hyderabad after the tsunami disaster of December 2004, put out the alerts almost immediately after the Andaman earthquake.

"The first earthquake was recorded by our centre at 1.25 am and we issued the first bulletin at 1.31 am.

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350 new species located in Himalayas

More than 350 new species, including a flying frog and the world's smallest deer species, have been discovered in the Eastern Himalayas in the last decade, according to the WWF.

The eastern Himalayas, the region which spans Bhutan and Northeast India, north Burma, Nepal and southern parts of Tibet Autonomous Region in China, faces an alarming threat from climate change.

In the last decade, 244 plants, 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, 2 birds, 2 mammals and at least 60 new invertebrates have been discovered in the region, the wildlife agency said in a report released on Monday.

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2 more die of H1N1 flu

With the deaths of a 42-year-old teacher in Pune and an America-based NRI in Ahmedabad early on Sunday morning, taking the nationwide death toll to four, and H1N1 flu-positive cases spiralling in other cities, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reviewed the situation with health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday.

The Prime Minister's Office will now closely monitor the flu crisis. Dr Singh directed the health ministry to coordinate with state governments and to set up a panel of experts to disseminate information on the H1N1 virus. A website will also be launched to educate people about the disease.

The death of Praveen Patel, who had come from the United States 10 days ago, marked the first H1N1 fatality in Gujarat, while Sanjay Tukaram Kokre, 42, a teacher in Pune, was the third to die of the disease in less than a week in Maharashtra.

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Independence Day Lashker e Tayyaba attack threat on 3 cities

After the lull following the 26/11 terror attack, Pakistan based terror outfit Lashker-e-Tayyaba is planning fresh terror strikes around Independence Day in three major cities -Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Specific intelligence inputs gathered by security agencies reveal that the LeT, responsible for innumerable terror strikes including 26/11 in Mumbai, is trying to sneak militants into the country with the aid of Pakistani authorities. "We don't see any indication that Pakistani authorities have reduced their support to the militants. A 400 500 metre long tunnel dug by the militants to enter the valley has been discovered by security agencies. This could not have been done without help from Pakistani authorities," a senior home ministry official said.

Pointing towards the increase in infiltration bids in the last few months, the official confessed that even as major bids have been foiled recently some militants might have been able to sneak into the country.

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Tearful reunion as United States journos return home

Returned home to a tearful family reunion on Wednesday accompanied by former President Bill Clinton, who secured their release in a meeting with the reclusive state's leader Kim Jong-Il. Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36, reporters for an American cable television, venture co-founded by Mr Clinton's former vice-president, Mr Al Gore, arrived with Mr Clinton at Burbank Airport near Los Angeles aboard a private jet from North Korea. The two Current TV journalists were arrested on March 17 for illegally crossing into the North from China and had been reporting on the trafficking of women. They were both sentenced to 12 years hard labour in June.

Ms Ling raised her arms in the air as the two women descended from the plane for a tearful reunion with their families. Ms Ling thanked all those who had campaigned for their release.

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Education every child's right

The Lok Sabha passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2009, on Tuesday, thereby making education for children between the ages of six and 14 a fundamental right in the country nearly 16 years after the Supreme Court had said that this should be done.

Describing the move to make elementary education universal and compulsory as a "national enterprise", Union minister of human resources development Kapil Sibal told the Lok Sabha: "We, as a nation, cannot afford to not let our children go to school. This nation cannot afford to say 'No' to children where going to school is concerned because there is no money."

The minister was responding to the concern expressed by several MPs on how the government would deal with the huge financial implications of seeking to universalise elementary education in the country.

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Central board of secondary education for mobiles to be curbed in schools

The CBSE has advised teachers, students, their parents and other professionals to arrive at a consensus to restrict the use of mobile phones in schools.

Arguing that mobiles can be a serious distraction in classrooms, the CBSE said in a circular that "not just students, principals, teachers and other staff members also should not be seen using mobiles in classrooms, playgrounds, common areas, laboratories and elsewhere."

It said that even if kept in silent mode, mobiles could be a "source of disturbance" as SMSes could be sent during class and cameras could be misused.

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Kakodkar: India can build Nuclear carriers too

India can build its own nuclear powered aircraft carrier and warships, said the country's top nuclear scientist. "Yes, we have the capability and technical expertise to build nuclear powered aircraft carriers and war ships of global standards. When the government asks us to build such ships, we will do it," Dr Anil Kakodkar, chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), said on Sunday.

He was addressing reporters at the Propulsion Reactor Project (PRP) site at Indira Gandhi Centre For Atomic Research (IGCAR), where INS Arihant, country's first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine took shape.

Disclosing that India has mastered the technology to build "light water reactors", Dr Kakodkar said, "INS Arihant is powered by a Light Water Reactor built by the scientists of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Barc).

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England coaching legend Robson dies

Former England and Newcastle manager Sir Bobby Robson died on Friday at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer. Robson, whose first brush with the disease that would ultimately claim him was in 1992, led England to the World Cup semifinals in 1990 before leaving to manage a host of top European clubs including PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, Porto, FC Barcelona and finally his boyhood team Newcastle United.

A statement issued on behalf of his family said: "It is with great sadness that it has been announced today that Sir Bobby Robson has lost his long and courageous battle with cancer."He died very peacefully this morning (Friday) at his home in County Durham with his wife and family beside him.

"Sir Bobby's funeral will be private and for family members only."A thanksgiving service in celebration of Sir Bobby's life will be held at a later date for his many friends and colleagues.

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