Manmohan, Cong. back Chidambaram

The Prime Minister is understood to have expressed full faith in Mr. Chidambaram’s integrity; Opposition parties led by the BJP and the AIADMK insist that the Home Minister should go

The government and the Congress on Thursday stoutly defended Home Minister P. Chidambaram facing heat from a united opposition who pressed for his resignation and a CBI probe over his stand in the controversial 2G spectrum allocation.

Millionaire tax 'class warfare'

WASHINGTON: Leading Republicans have rejected as ''class warfare'' a White House proposal dubbed ''the Buffett rule'' that would ensure millionaires are taxed at the same rate as the middle class.

The US President, Barack Obama, was expected to make the proposal last night, picking up on a repeated complaint by billionaire investor Warren Buffett that he pays taxes at a lower rate than his secretary.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said increasing taxes on millionaires would add a ''de minimis amount of money'' to the Treasury to pay off debt.

Back to the future in bid to lift US

THE drums have been beating on Wall Street all week. They belong to Operation Occupy Wall Street, organised by social activism group Adbusters, which has brought hundreds of protesters to New York's financial hub. The group does not just include your typical professional hipster protesters. Among the crowd are former white-collared mums and dads who are struggling to comprehend that they are now considered to have been unemployed ''long term'' (that is to say, they have been without a job for more than 26 weeks). They are laying the blame for the jobs crisis at the door of corporate America, which they feel is playing puppeteer to the President.

Don’t visit Pakistan: Shiv Sena to Anna Hazare

Ralegan Siddhi: Shiv Sena on Thursday advised Gandhian Anna Hazare not to visit Pakistan until the neighbouring country stops supporting terrorism.

The move comes after a Pakistan delegation met social activist Hazare at his native village Ralegan Siddhi on Wednesday and extended an invitation to visit the neighbouring country. 
The delegation comprised Justice Nasir Aslam Jahid, a former judge of Pakistan's Supreme Court, and Karamat Ali, a well-known peace activist.

Egypt's Political Turmoil Drives Foreign Tourists Away

The big losers of the Arab Spring in Egypt aren't just Hosni Mubarak and his allies.

Before the February revolution, one of every seven Egyptians made a living in the tourism industry. But nearly seven months after the popular uprising, foreign tourists are still largely staying away.

Their absence has delivered a multibillion-dollar financial blow that is reverberating from luxury tour operators down to vendors in Cairo's bazaars.

Overseas students get easier entry, working visas

ENTRY requirements for foreign students will be relaxed and short-term visas will be available for those who wish to work after completing their university studies in an overhaul intended to revive the tertiary sector announced yesterday.

Six killed, 50 injured after series of car bombs in Russia’s Dagestan

MAKHACHKALA, Russia — Six people were killed and at least 50 injured when three car bombs exploded in the capital of the Muslim Dagestan region in Russia’s North Caucasus, an Interior Ministry source and Islamist rebels said on Thursday.

West 'should respond to Burma change', says think-tank

An influential think-tank has urged Western nations to acknowledge and support what it calls the major changes taking place in Burma.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) says there is now a unique opportunity to engage with the country's relatively new civilian-led government.

French court issues first niqab fines

MEAUX, France — A French police court slapped fines on women for wearing the full-face covering Islamic niqab veil for the first time on Thursday, in a case that could have legal implications across Europe.

Police have issued several on-the-spot fines since the ban came into effect in April but the hearing saw the first two court-issued fines, and the pair vowed to appeal their case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.

Americans freed from Iran enjoy family reunions

Muscat: Two Americans released from an Iranian prison spent their first full day of freedom Thursday in seclusion, enjoying a joyous reunion with their families in the Gulf State of Oman after being held for more than two years accused as spies. 

Yemeni capital Sanaa shaken by fresh clashes

Renewed clashes have broken out in the Yemeni capital Sanaa between government troops and forces opposing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Reports quoting sources from both sides say at least 10 people have been killed by shelling and sniper fire.

Yemeni forces shell protest as toll hits 100

Renewed violence in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa killed at least nine people on Thursday as street battles broke out between forces loyal to the regime and its opponents, medical and security officials said.

The officials said six people died in central Sanaa when government forces shelled a gathering of thousands of protesters with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. Snipers on rooftops also targeted the protesters at Change Square, the epicentre of Yemen's seven-month-old uprising, and adjacent streets.

NATO extends Libya mission to Christmas

LONDON: NATO leaders have authorised a 90-day extension of the alliance's aerial mission over Libya, raising the prospect that US and European military personnel could be involved in Libya until Christmas.

But the NATO Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, emphasised the alliance could call home its forces ''at any time'' if international authorities and the new Libyan government determined help was no longer necessary. ''This decision sends a clear message to the Libyan people: we will be there for as long as necessary but not a day longer, while you take your future in your hands to ensure a safe transition to the new Libya,'' Mr Rasmussen said.

China Raps U.S. on Taiwan Arms, Warns of Fallout

BEIJING –  China on Thursday denounced a decision by the United States to upgrade Taiwan's F-16 fighter jets, summoning the U.S. ambassador and warning that military ties and overall relations will suffer.

But the strong words are seen as merely rhetoric, delivered in keeping with China's policy of reacting strongly to all U.S. military cooperation with the island. Previous threats to retaliate diplomatically or economically have come to nothing.

China Restrained Over U.S. Taiwan Move

BEIJING—China's Defense Ministry warned the U.S. that bilateral military relations would face "severe obstacles" as a result of its decision to upgrade Taiwan's fighter jets, but Beijing appeared to have stopped short of suspending defense ties as it did the day after the last arms package was unveiled in January 2010.

Pope in Berlin for first state visit to native Germany

The pope has arrived in Berlin for his first state visit to his nativeGermany amid the now customary protests against his leadership of the Catholic church.

Benedict XVI – born Joseph Ratzinger in Marktl, Bavaria, 84 years ago – was given the red carpet treatment at Berlin's Tegel airport, where he was met by German chancellor Angela Merkel and president Christian Wulff at the start of his four-day visit.

Pope Benedict making first official visit to Germany

The Pope was greeted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Christian Wulff

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Benedict XVI, the German head of the Roman Catholic Church, has begun his first official visit to his home country as Pope.

Rabbani killer duped us with peace CD' - Hamid Karzai

Officials at the very highest levels were deceived by the suicide bomber who killed Afghanistan's peace talks chief, President Hamid Karzai says.

Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed in his own home on Tuesday while meeting two men claiming to be from the Taliban.

Killer tricked Rabbani with Taliban peace offer: Karzai

The suicide bomber who killed Afghanistan’s former President Burhanuddin Rabbani gained access to him by presenting officials beforehand with an audio recording of a purported Taliban peace offer, President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday.

No boots on our ground": Pakistan warns U.S.

(Reuters) -Pakistan would not tolerate any incursion on its territory by U.S. forces targeting militant groups, the country's interior minister said on Thursday, calling for Washington to provide the intelligence Islamabad needs to take them out itself.

Obama warns Palestinians against UN bid

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TONY JONES, PRESENTER: On the opening day of the United Nations General Assembly, the US president cut a lonely figure, standing against a controversial Palestinian bid for statehood through a Security Council vote.

In his speech, Barack Obama warned that there is no short-cut to peace.

While his stand pleased Israelis, it put him at odds with other world leaders, who are arguing for Palestine to at least be granted UN observer status.

Don't open vault B of Kerala temple yet: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday gave it's verdict in the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple case and said the vault B of the temple will not be opened till an integrated and multi-layered security cover is provided.

5,500 Armymen in rescue and relief job in Sikkim

The Army has deployed nearly 5,500 personnel drawn from all across Sikkim and adjoining regions under the Eastern Command in the rescue and relief work in the Himalayan state.

GoC-in-C Eastern Command Lt Gen Bikram Singh visited several 'quake-hit areas in North Sikkim, including Chatten, Mangan, Tung, Chungthang and Gangtok, to survey the damage, besides taking stock of the Army's rescue and relief operations since Sunday night.

2G: PM calls up Chidambaram, counsels patience

New Delhi: Sources have told CNN-IBN that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called up Home Minister P Chidambaram and told him that he has faith in his integrity. Manmohan Singh also speak to Pranab Mukherjee over the Finance Ministry note suggesting chidambaram could have prevented the 2G scam.

Congress defends Chidambaram

Pranab refuses comment on letter to PM on 2G pricing

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday refused to comment on a letter sent by his Ministry to the Joint Secretary in the PMO on the 2G spectrum scam, saying he cannot make any remark on the matter is it is “sub judice“.