India

New Delhi, August 11: An Indian escaped from the captivity of an al Qaeda linked terror group after being held captive in the southern Philippines for nearly 14 months. Biju Kolara Veetil from Calicut was abducted in the Philippines, while visiting his in-laws. In July 2012, he miraculously escaped and is now is now safe in police custody, and is in touch with Indian officials, MEA spokesman Syed

New Delhi, August 10: Amid continuing violence in Assam, the Centre has told the Supreme Court that it would not be possible to delete names of 40 lakh doubtful voters from the state on the basis of their religious or linguistic profile as it would be unconstitutional. The Centre rejected the allegation of NGO Assam Public Works that over 40 lakh illegal migrants from Bangladesh had got their

Etah/Lucknow , August 10: In outrageous remarks, PWD Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav, uncle of the UP Chief Minister, told officials that they can steal a little of public money if they work hard but they should not behave like dacoits. As BJP and others lashed out at him, Shivpal, who appeared to have given 'official sanction' to officials in the state to indulge in little bit of corruption, went

New Delhi, August 10: A group of foreign reporters say that at their meeting with Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), said that in public perception of effective governance, Bihar is ahead of Gujarat. "RSS' Mohan Bhagwat's first-ever chat with foreign media. Asked to rate state govts on good governance, he said bihar, gujarat, in that order," tweeted Rama Lakshmi, a

Thiruvanathapuram, August 10: Kerala is heading for a significant phase in its demographic transition with the state moving towards achieving zero population growth rate, which will result in an increase in scarcity of labour. With a very low fertility rate and stabilising death rate, Kerala is expected to achieve zero population growth rate in 25 to 30 years, a stage indicating the incipient

Rohtak, August 10: Commerce students of Maharshi Dayanand University are angry over the diktat by their head of department (HoD) against wearing jeans and tops. The students mostly girls accused the acting HoD, Mahender Singh Malik, of improper behaviour and using vulgar language in presence of girls. The aggrieved students on Thursday submitted a written complaint to the vice-chancellor demanding

Mumbai, August 10: Ajmal Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist caught alive after the Mumbai attacks, was brought face-to-face today with Abu Jundal, the alleged 26/11 handler. According to police sources, Kasab has identified Jundal as one of the handlers who instructed the team of 10 terrorists that struck Mumbai on November 26, 2008. After the Maharashtra state government permitted the Mumbai

New Delhi, August 9: A CBI inquiry into the Assam violence has been initiated and the Army put on alert, the government told the Rajya Sabha today as the opposition alleged that the region was not safe because of ‘vote-bank politics being indulged by the ruling Congress’. Replying to a debate on the issue of violence in Assam that has so far claimed 74 lives, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said

New Delhi, August 9: After repeated adjournments in Rajya Sabha and turmoil in Lok Sabha, Government today agreed to members' demand for bringing a Constitution amendment bill for reservation in promotion of SCs and STs in state jobs. Minister of State for PMO V Narayansamy informed the Upper House that a bill will be brought in this regard on August 22 after an all-party meeting, which will

New Delhi, August 9: Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde was on Thursday forced to eat his words and apologize in the Rajya Sabha after he made certain remarks about SP member Jaya Bachchan triggering an uproar. Shinde was replying to a short duration debate on Assam violence and Bachchan, an actress, expressed unhappiness saying the minister was not responding to specific queries raised by members.