Nawaz Admits to Mistakes on Kargil
Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif has admitted to committing mistakes during the 1999 Kargil war, saying that he should have appointed an enquiry commission in the aftermath of the conflict like India did. Read On

• Militants Behead women, Bomb Stores in Pakistan
• Anti-military Movement Spreads in Central Myanmar  

Arrests in Germany Turn Focus
on Pakistan Terror Camps
The arrest in Germany this week of three suspects in an alleged plot to blow up US military and civilian targets has again raised the spectre of terrorist training camps in Pakistan that groom killers to wreak havoc in the Western world. Read On
► Pakistan is No Haven for Terrorists: Musharraf

APEC Splits Over Australia's Climate Initiative
Climate change emerged Friday as the make-or-break issue at a meeting in Sydney of 21 Asia-Pacific leaders with rich and poor countries dividing on traditional lines. Read On

• Global Effort Needed to Eradicate Major Diseases
• Subjectivity in Granting Visas Unavoidable
• US has Will, Flexibility for Successful Doha Round
• Korean War will End if North De-Nuclearises: Bush
• Admit India to make APEC Inclusive 
• Iran Scorns US Nuclear Fuel Bank Plan
• PML Chief Hussain to be Cover Candidate
  for President 

India Tops Forbes List of Asia's Fabulous 50
by Arun Kumar 
India is again home to more Forbes' Fabulous 50, of the best of Asia-Pacific's biggest listed companies, than any other country with 12 Indian firms making the cut, including its Big Four information technology outsourcers. Read On

Myanmar Military Clashes with Monks
Myanmar's state controlled media admitted for the first time that the military regime was at loggerheads with rebellious Buddhist monks in Pakokku. Read On

• Earthquake, Aftershocks Hit Taiwan
• Typhoon Strikes Japan: One Killed, 40 Injured
• Suicide Bomber Kills 14, Wounds 60 in Algeria

Hurricane Felix Leaves Trail of Death
in Nicaragua 
Tearful children holding on to their mothers and anxious faces awaiting news of the missing are prevalent the Nicaraguan city of Puerto Cabezas in the wake of the deadly Hurricane Felix. Read On

Protests in Islamabad
over 'Illegal Confinement' of Hundreds
By Muhammad Najeeb
Holding placards and raising slogans against Pakistan's military regime, more than 200 people staged a demonstration Thursday evening to draw attention to the plight of hundreds of missing people, alleged to be illegally confined. Read On

India Proposes Dates for Terror Talks,
Pakistan Undecided
The recent bombings in Hyderabad as well as in the Pakistani garrison town of Rawalpindi have put the spotlight on the problem of terrorism plaguing both countries, but Pakistan has yet to agree to dates proposed by India for the second meeting to take their anti-terror mechanism forward. Read On  

• Hasina to go on Trial in Warplane Purchase Case

Car Radio Celebrates 75th Birthday
By Heiko Haupt
Almost every new car today is equipped with a radio and CD player, a far cry from the car radio unveiled at a Berlin exhibition on Aug 19, 1932. Developed by Blaupunkt, the AS 5 even had remote control fitted to the steering wheel. Read On  

Bhutto Return Unnerves Pakistani Ministers 
The prospect of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto returning to share power with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has unnerved some ministers of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid (PML-Q), who say they might not contest the upcoming general elections if the deal comes through. Read On
► 'Very Remote' Chances of Deal
     Between Benazir and Musharraf 

• Panda Diplomacy, the New Symbol  
  of Australia, China Ties
• Nepal Crown Prince Survives Major Heart Attack

Nepal King Loses his Biggest Prop 
by Sudeshna Sarkar
With elections in 76 days when the people will for the first time decide if they should still have a monarch, Nepal's King Gyanendra's fortunes continue to plummet with his biggest support group - the Nepali Congress headed by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala - deserting him. Read On

• Pakistani Lawyers Launch Campaign
  to Oust Musharraf
• I'm President till Nov 15, Musharraf tells Court 
• Nawaz Ponders on Airline for Flight Home
• Russian Proton-M Rocket
  with Japanese Satellite Crashes  
• Former US Senator, Actor Thompson
  Declares Presidential Bid 
• Citizenship Likely for Bangladesh's
  Urdu-Speaking People 
• Indians Better Placed to Land Skilled Jobs in US
• APEC Meeting Stresses Trade, Human Security

Fake TV Sting Might Arm Government
to Control Broadcasters
by Prashant K. Nanda
A fake sting operation carried out by a news channel showing a woman teacher allegedly forcing her students into prostitution could well arm the government to clamp down on broadcasters, believe media critics, senior journalists and politicians. Read On
► Reporter Behind Fake TV Sting Held

India Favors Talks to End Iran's Nuclear Crisis
India Friday underlined Iran's "right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy" even as it asked Tehran to "remove all doubts" about the nature of its nuclear programme through "transparent" dialogue with the UN nuclear watchdog. Read On

• Exorcise Ghosts of the Past, says PM 
• 1993 Mumbai Blasts Could Have Been Averted 
• CPI-M Urges all MPs to Ponder on N-deal Implications
• ISRO Land Deal Finalised by Congress Government:
  Achuthanandan

Opposition Adamant on JPC,
Parliament Stalled Again
An unyielding opposition Friday continued to disrupt the proceedings of parliament demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the India-US civil nuclear deal and forced adjournments of both houses without transacting any major business. Read On

Maoists Down But Certainly Not Out in Andhra
By Mohammed Shafeeq
With the bid on the life of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Janardhan Reddy and his minister wife N. Rajyalakshmi early Friday, the Maoists have once again tried to give a message that they may be down but not certainly out in their traditional stronghold. Read On

• Kerosene Oil Scam Busted in Punjab 
• Drug Cartel Busted, 4 Nabbed with Rs.250 mn Drugs
• Rajasthan Government-Gujjars Talks Fail
• Mamata Practices Politics of Opportunity: Jyoti Basu
• TV Reporter Held for Fake TV Sting
• Jabalpur's Miracle Baba Arrested for Stampede Deaths

Former Andhra CM, Wife Escape
Maoist Landmine Attack, 3 Killed
Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Janardhan Reddy and his wife N. Rajyalakshmi, who is a minister in state cabinet, escaped a landmine blast triggered by suspected Maoists in Nellore district early Friday morning. Read On

• Tripura is World's Best Gas Yielding Zone 
• 14 ULFA Leaders Surrender in Assam 
• Sonia in New York on Oct 2 for Non-Violence Day
• Sanjay Dutt Precedent Helps Memons Get Bail
• Congress MP 'caught' with Two Women
  in Haryana Rest House 
• MP Gets Bail Only to be Rearrested
  for Another Murder 

50% Madhya Pradesh Farmers In Debt 
By Sanjay Sharma
Half the farmers in Madhya Pradesh - where more than 75 percent of the population is dependent on agriculture - are in debt, says new data. The report cites loss of trust in the government's financial institutions as the main reason for the high incidence of debt. Read On

Nuclear Law Amendments Did Not Figure
at Cabinet Meeting 
The Indian cabinet Thursday did not discuss - as it was widely expected to - the issue of amending the country's Atomic Energy Act which could facilitate the entry of private players into nuclear power generation. Read On

Government Offers Opposition 'Mechanism'
to Study N-deal
The government, after rejecting the opposition demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to study the implications of the India-US nuclear deal, Thursday offered it any other "mechanism" including one similar to a committee of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Left parties. Read On
► UPA-Left Committee Findings
    Binding On Government: CPI 

Mamata Parts Ways with NDA, BJP Not Surprised
After months of keeping the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leadership on the edge, Trinamool Congress (TC) chief Mamata Banerjee Thursday finally took the plunge and severed her nine-year long association with the opposition grouping. Read On

• Kerala offers ISRO 200 Acres after Land Row
• Congress, Left Criticise BJP for 'Disruptive' Politics
• Indian Markets End Firm; Energy,
  Banking Stocks in Limelight
• Electricity for Every Village by 2012: Shinde 
• Australian Academics Explore Stories from the Raj
• India says 'Not Yet' to another assault ship from US

India's Nuclear Deal Better Than China's: Mansingh
by Manish Chand
As the opposition and leftist allies of the government continue to attack India's civil nuclear pact with the US, former foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh has said the deal is better than what China has got and a failure to push it through before early next year will "hurt" national interests. Read On

Equal Opportunities Panel is An Idea
Whose Time Has Come by Murali Krishnan
India Inc. may not have to reserve jobs for the underprivileged once the government sets up the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) which will institutionalize affirmative action ... Read On

Vote and Earn Rs.1,750, says Chhattisgarh Party
by Sujeet Kumar
A political outfit in Chhattisgarh has offered to pay Rs.1,750 every month to those who cast a vote in its favour. But there's a catch: it will make the payments only if it comes to power! Read On

• Mamata Severs Ties with NDA
• Parliament Adjourned Again Over JPC Demand 
• India's Direct Taxes up 42% in 5 Months 
• Lukewarm Start to Day Two of Fashion Week
• Three Years RI for Hit and Run Convict Pereira 
• Arrest Puts Hyderabad Cops Closer to Breakthrough
• Gujjars Threaten Stir if Chopra Committee Term
  is Extended
• Intel Unveils High-efficiency Quad-core Processors