Govt says relief in prices of 30 essential items
Facing severe criticism for relentless rise in prices the government said rates of 30 essential items have eased for the week ended 21st June, even as inflation rose to a new 13-year high of 11.63 percent for the same period.

PM to meet Bush on the sidelines of G-8 summit
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet US President George W Bush on 9th July on the sidelines of the G-8 summit in Hokkaido in Japan when he is expected to discuss the progress in the nuclear deal.

Mulayam favours nuke deal, meets PM and Sonia
Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh on Friday made it clear that they favoured the Indo-US nuclear deal as they met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi over the issue.

Six killed in stampede during Rathayatra
Tragedy struck the rath Yatra in Puri on Friday when six people were crushed to death and 58 others were injured following a stampede as people scrambled to pull the chariot.

Left parties set deadline for UPA
Left parties set 7th July deadline to know from government whether it is going ahead to seek IAEA approval for safeguards agreement.

India, US sign pact to double Fulbright-Nehru scholarships
India and the US on Friday inked an agreement that would double the number of scholarships under the popular Fulbright educational exchange programme.

Benefits of ICT must reach villages: President
President Pratibha Patil has advocated taking the benefits of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to the villages, which are still largely untouched by technology induced development.

India to pip US as 2nd largest carbon emitter from fuel
Amid the rising demand for crude oil and coal, India is likely to overtake the US as the second largest emitter of carbon from energy use by 2050 after China.

Govt staff to quote PAN for market trade in personal capacity
Market regulator SEBI has said central and state government employees will have to quote PAN numbers for all stock market transactions undertaken by them in personal capacity.

Efforts on to secure early release of those held in Iran: India
India has said it is making efforts to secure early release of 17 Indians, who were captured by Iran alongwith four Saudi fishing boats in the Persian Gulf waters.

Japan pledges food aid ahead of G8 summit
Japan on Friday announced an additional USD 50 million to help developing countries cope with soaring food prices increasing the momentum for action at next week's Group of Eight summit.

US delegation meets PM
Amid its keenness to see early implementation of the nuclear deal, a US Congressional delegation on Friday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is understood to have pointed out that time was running out.

South Asian Centre for scribes reporting conflict inaugurated
A South Asian centre for journalists was launched in Chennai on Friday to impart skills to reporters covering conflicts.

Israeli PM Olmert calls for face-to-face peace talks with Syria
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has called for face-to-face peace talks with Syria as both sides ended a third round of indirect negotiations mediated by Turkey with a deal to meet again.

SAARC adopts action plan on climate change
India and other SAARC members have adopted a three-year action plan to combat climate change, pressing the developed countries to establish a special fund to save them from the drastic effects of the phenomena.

Central banks globally implicitly accept high inflation: RBI
At a time when the rate of price rise in India is over 11 pc, the Reserve Bank has said central banks worldwide implicitly accept that high inflation caused by higher prices of food, energy and other commodities may be a reality in the immediate future.

SBI raises floating home loan rate by 0.5 pc
Country's largest lender State Bank of India on Friday increased floating home loan rate by 0.5 percent across all tenors with effect from 27th June, private sector player like HDFC, ICICI Bank have already increased home loans rate by 0.75 percent.

Direct tax collections up 38.6 per cent in April-June
Belying fears of economic slowdown impacting government revenue, direct tax collections have gone up by 38.6 percent in the first quarter this fiscal at Rs 57,373 crore compared to Rs 41,391 in the year-ago period.

Inflation rises to 11.63 pc, may force RBI to increase rates
Driven by higher prices of fruits and vegetable, cereals and some manufactured items such as iron and steel and edible oil, inflation grew to a new 13-yearhigh of 11.63 percent.

Industry asks govt to lobby for price band in oil imports
Government should take up an initiative to set up syndicate of oil consuming countries to lobby for price band mechanism to deal with rising crude oil prices, said a survey of 300 CEOs of top Indian companies.

Markets rise, Sensex up by 360 points
Markets bounced back on Friday with the benchmark Sensex scaling up nearly 360 points on revival of buying support following reports that inflation is below 12 percent level contrary to anticipations that it would breach this mark.

IMF sees loss rising to USD 242 mn
The Iternational Monetary Fund has projected its budget deficit would rise to USD 242 million in the 2009 fiscal year, after a loss that was not as bad as expected in the past year.

Govt to announce 3G, Wimax guidelines soon
The government on Friday said guidelines on 3G and Wimax will be out in a week and it is separately looking at third party solution to address security concerns attached to accessing Blackberry network.

Govt bans maize export to check price rise
Battling 11.42 percent inflation, the government on Thursday banned export of maize till 15th October to increase availability in the domestic market and check prices of corn, poultry and other products.

Wireless user base up 11.75 pc in March quarter
The average revenue per user for mobile firms remained almost flat for GSM players and negative for CDMA operators in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, even as the total wireless subscriber base hit 261.07 million in the said quarter, taking the total telecom customer base to 300.48 million.

Oil prices hit new peak above 145 dollars
Oil prices broke through 145 dollars a barrel for the first time on Thursday, with Brent North Sea crude for August delivery at 145.01 dollars in Asian trade.

Govt approves 28 FDI proposals for Rs 1327.7 cr
Global retail major Marks & Spencer's proposal for 51 percent foreign direct investment in single brand retail business is among the 28 proposals totalling Rs 1,327.7 crore that have been approved by the government.

Pak SC validates emergency; sacking of judges by Mush
Pakistan's Supreme Court, comprising judges handpicked by Pervez Musharraf on Friday revalidated as "inevitable" the President's controversial actions of imposing emergency in November last year and sacking judges who did not endorse the measure.

Chinese tourists head to Taiwan on landmark trip
Mainland Chinese tourists flew out for Taiwan early on Friday on the first regular direct service in decades, a milestone that is part of a dramatic recent thawing in ties between the long-time rivals.

Zia slapped with fresh charge after refusing to talk to govt
Detained former premier Khaleda Zia has been slapped with a fresh graft charge by Bangladesh's military-backed government for allegedly embezzling a foreign grant for orphanages.

38 villagers drown as boat capsizes in Myanmar
Thirty eight people were killed after a boat carrying over 80 passengers capsized in Myanmar's south west Irrawaddy delta earlier this week, state media reported on Friday.

Another 50 million face hunger due to rising food prices: UN
An additional 50 million people across the world face hunger as a result of soaring food prices, the United Nations has said, calling for stepped up global cooperation to boost food security in poor nations.

Bush will attend Beijing Olympics opening ceremony
US President George W Bush will attend the 8th August opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic despite appeals from human rights activists that he boycott the gala, the White House has said.

Ban-ki-Moon for increased assistance to agri sector globally
Ahead of next week's summit of industrialised nations, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has pressed on the need for increasing assistance to agricultural sector worldwide, to deal with the global food crisis.

Sri Lankan air force pounds LTTE stronghold
Sri Lankan Air Force pounded areas in the LTTE stronghold killing seven militants aboard a truck whereas 26 others including two soldiers lost their lives in clashes elsewhere in the island nation's embattled north.

Ban suspended, Shoaib eyes Champions Trophy
Temperamental Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar got a respite as the Lahore High Court has suspended the 18-month ban on the controversial bowler, allowing him to play until a final decision is taken on the issue.

Pak score consolation win, beat B’desh by 10 wkts
Twin unbeaten half centuries by openers Salman Butt and Nasir Jamshed ensured a consolation win for Pak as they guided the hosts to a comprehensive 10-wicket victory over B’desh in their inconsequential last Super Four match of the Asia Cup in Karachi on Friday.

Paes-Dlouhy crash out, Indian challenge ends in Wimbledon
Leander Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy frittered away chances aplenty as they crashed out of the Wimbledon with an excruciating five set defeat, with this loss, the Indian challenge in the Wimbledon came to an end.

Flawless Federer crushes Safin
Roger Federer marched into his sixth consecutive Wimbledon final with an awe-inspiring demolition of the revitalised Marat Safin.

Pakistan confirms Champions League Twenty20 participation
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday has confirmed their participation in the Champions Trophy Twenty20 tournament to be held in India later this year.

Indian judokas reap rich medal haul
India team has earned a rich medal haul, bagged eight medals, including four gold, in the second Asian Youth Judo Championship held in Yemen.

Australia to host twilight GP till 2015
Australia has secured the rights to host the Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne until 2015, with a new evening start to reach a greater television audience overseas, officials said on Friday.

Lalu confident of govt's survival despite Left threat
The threat of UPA-Left breakup over the Indo-US nuclear deal notwithstanding, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has said he is confident about the survival of the Manmohan Singh govt, which he asserted will complete its term in office.

Govt has the numbers; we are ready to prove it: Cong
Government as well as the Congress remained unfazed despite the Left parties threatening to withdraw support over the nuclear deal issue and the BJP demanding a vote of confidence in such an eventuality.

Assam govt welcomes coming forward of ULFA companies
The Assam govt on Friday welcomed the initiative for a peaceful solution to the vexed insurgency issue in the state of the 'A' and 'C' companies of banned ULFA's 28 battalion.

We will vote against confidence motion: Karat
Virtually reaching a point of no return on the nuclear deal, the CPI(M) has said the Left parties would vote against the UPA Government in Parliament in case of a confidence motion on the agreement.

SC refuses to interfere in Amarnath land transfer row
The Supreme Court has refused to interfere with the Jammu and Kashmir govt's decision to revoke the transfer of land to Amarnath Shrine Board but directed the authorities to provide security to pilgrims stranded in the state.

Imperative of govt to seek confidence vote: BJP
The BJP has said that it was imperative of the UPA govt to seek a vote of confidence with political morality and integrity in the event of the Left parties withdrawing support to it.

SP-Cong deal on Nuke deal in Mulayam's interest: Mayawati
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Friday alleged the "political deal" struck by Samajwadi Party and Congress on Indo-US nuclear deal was not in national interest but in the personal interest of SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Fresh communal violence claims 2 lives in Indore, curfew in entire city
Two persons were killed and seven injured as fresh communal violence rocked a number of areas in Indore on Friday taking the death toll to six in two days of clashes between the two communities over Amarnath land transfer row, after which indefinite curfew was imposed in the entire city.

New I & B Secretary Sushma Singh assumes office
Newly appointed secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Sushma Singh on Friday assumed office as Singh is a 1972 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre.

HC rejects bail application of BSP MP Umakant Yadav
The Allahabad High Court has rejected the bail application of BSP MP Umakant Yadav who has been booked under the Gangsters Act for alleged forcible occupation of land and illegally demolishing the structures constructed there.

Truckers call off strike, toll tax hike frozen for a year
The three-day-old truckers' strike has been called off following an agreement between the transporters and the government after marathon negotiations that lasted for about ten hours.

Five more bodies retrieved from sunken vessel
Five more bodies of the elite anti-Naxal Greyhound commandos, who fell victims to a Maoist attack, were retrieved from the sunken launch in Balimela reservoir on Friday, taking the number of bodies recovered to 15.

N-E should shed its insurgency-prone area tag: Assam Guv
The North Eastern region, particularly Assam, should soon shed its tag of being unsafe and insurgency-prone are and march on the path of development, the state's new Governor, Shiv Charan Mathur, said on Friday.

Ist IIM in north India to come up soon
The first Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Northern India would come up at Rohtak in Haryana soon.

Country's seventh IIM opens in Shillong
Sixty students began their academic session in the country's seventh IIM which was formally inaugurated in Shillong on Friday.