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• Unicycle Ride to Promote India-Pakistan Friendship  

• Windies Trounce India, Keep Series Alive

• Amitabh Bachchan honoured with top French award 

• 10 Killed in Bombing near Peshawar Mosque 

Global Trade Talks to Resume, Cautious Welcome by India
Trade ministers of some 30 countries Saturday decided to resume full-scale talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO), even as India cautiously welcomed the decision, hoping the development agenda is preserved. The talks were suspended last July because of differences between the rich and developing countries. Read On >>>

Iranian MPs Seek Rafsanjani's Intervention on Nuclear Issue
A number of Iranian parliamentarians have urged influential former president Rafsanjani to intervene in the ongoing nuclear dispute caused mainly by the tough stance of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on making Iran go nuclear. "With the US forces' attack against our consulate in Arbil (north Iraq), we have switched from sanctions to the phase of real threat and the situation of our country is really critical," the MP Germai-Moqaddam said. Read On >>>
Iran Condemns Bush's Order as "Terrorist Act"   

National Games to go on Despite Terror Threats: Aiyar
The 33rd National Games to be held in Guwahati next month will be held despite terror threats from the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Mani Shankar Aiyar said here Saturday. The Games, to be held Feb 9-18, has come under a shadow following a series of attacks carried out by the outlawed separatist group this month claiming more than 80 lives. Read On >>> 

India Committed to Reducing Carbon Emissions
India is committed to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals in reducing carbon emissions provided the developed world is willing to devise policies and initiatives in this direction, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Ashwini Kumar has said. "The preservation of our environment is a matter of sustained trust which must be redeemed by global leaders in the spirit of statesmanship," Kumar said Friday while addressing a session on climate change at the World Economic Forum (WEF).  Read On >>>

India Nuclear Deal 'Still a Bit of a Lemon'
A leading critic of the India-US civil nuclear deal says it was still "a bit of a lemon" as it will enable New Delhi to increase its nuclear arsenal by freeing its scarce domestic uranium reserves. "In response, China may push to cut a similar deal with Pakistan, which could further destabilize South Asia," Howard Berman, second ranking Democratic member of the House foreign affairs committee, said offering well-worn arguments against the deal. Read On >>>

EPF Interest Rate Cut Deferred, No Investment in Stocks
The board of trustees of the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) Saturday rejected a proposal to invest five percent of the funds in stocks even as it deferred the decision to reduce its interest rate following objections from trade unions' representatives. Due to its financial constraints, the cash-starved organization is under pressure to reduce the interest rate by 0.5 percent points as this year's investment income allows it to pay interest at a rate of only eight percent rather than the current of 8.5 percent.  Read On >>>

Vodafone's Sarin Hopeful of Bharti's Cooperation
Vodafone's chief executive Arun Sarin has said that Bharti Airtel is "quite open" to the fact that the British telecom major is fighting it out in Airtel's rival firm Hutch-Essar.  Vodafone has 9.9 percent stake in Bharti group's telecommunication venture and will need a nod from the company before acquiring a stake in rival Hutch-Essar. The two companies have a non-compete clause in the agreement and Vodafone has to seek Bharti's permission before buying a stake in a rival company. Read On >>>

• Putin Keen on APEC 2012 Being Held in Russia 

• Air Chiefs from Several Countries to Gather for Global Seminar

• Hyderabad Auto-rickshaw Strike Enters Sixth Day 

• World Military Games Mascot to be Unveiled in Hyderabad 

• India Needs National Movement of Young People: PM 

Chinese Soldiers Join India's R-Day Celebrations in Ladakh
The growing warmth between India and China was visible in the sub-zero temperatures of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir Friday when Chinese soldiers joined in India's Republic Day celebrations. A delegation of Chinese soldiers joined the celebrations at the Indian border post of Chushul, a spokesman of the Northern Command of the Indian Army said. Read On >>>

China, India Hit $20 bn Trade Goal Ahead of Target
Trade between China and India hit $24.9 billion last year, exceeding the $20 billion goal two years ahead of target, China's ministry of commerce announced. The two Asian giants, both among the world's fastest growing economies, had signed an agreement in 2005, pledging to bring the bilateral trade volume to $20 billion by 2008. Read On >>>

UN General Assembly Condemns Holocaust Denials
In another historic recognition of the Holocaust, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to condemn "any denial of the Holocaust". Iran, which late last year provoked international outrage by holding an international conference to dispute the facts of the Holocaust, disassociated itself from the decision and branded it a political move. Read On >>>

Pakistan Needs 'To Do More' to Check Taliban Insurgency: US 
Making Pakistan "do more" to check the real problem of increased Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan with strikes at terrorist training camps in north and south Waziristan and Baluchistan is Washington's "major priority", a senior US official says. Noting that the Taliban increased its insurgency in 2006, Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns acknowledged Friday, "It's a real problem." Read On >>>

India Joins Creative Commons Camp of Building Sharable Knowledge 
India's entry into the global Creative Commons network that works to expand the range of creative work available for others to build upon and share has been welcomed by Joichi Ito, chair of the non-profit organization. Read On >>>

Another Walk in Space for Sunita Williams
Indian American astronaut Sunita Williams, the first person of Indian descent to take a walk in space, is getting ready to go on another stroll around her home in the stars next week. Flight Engineer Williams and ISS Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria readied the spacesuits they would wear on their spacewalks, with the first one coming up Jan 31. Read On >>>

Iraq Gets Panel for Quelling Sectarianism 
About 500 Iraqi clerics, academics and intellectuals have set up a group called the Iraq Scholars Association, assigned with the task of fighting sectarianism that currently plays havoc with Iraqi society. Read On >>>

British Ed Resigns Over Royal Phone Tapping
The editor of one of Britain's leading tabloid newspapers resigned after a top reporter was jailed for four months for illegally tapping into over 600 mobile phone messages of the royal family's aides. Andy Coulson, who has been editor of the News of the World since 2003, said he took responsibility for the "scandal" over phone interception Friday. Read On >>>

'Hindujas to Make $1 bn Foray into India's Healthcare Industry
The Hinduja Group is making a $1 billion foray into India's commercial healthcare industry with specialty hospitals in several cities and a modern research centre, a senior member of the Europe-based family said. "We already have a charitable hospital in Mumbai. This will be a commercial venture with hospitals in cities like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune," Prakash P. Hinduja said. Read On >>>

Vodafone to Make Bid on Hutch-Essar Next Month 
The race for acquiring majority interest in Indian telecom major Hutch-Essar is going to get fiercer with Vodafone set to submit a formal bid next month, even as the Hindujas began their due diligence process Friday. "Our due diligence process is currently underway. Once we get the report, which could be any time next week, we'll be submitting a formal proposal. It will be sometime early next month," Vodafonne chief executive Arun Sarin told IANS. Read On >>>

De Beers Plans Top End Diamond Store in India  
De Beers plans to retail its top-end diamond jewellery in India and expand its existing Nakshatra range that is promoted by its marketing arm, the Diamond Trading Company, a member of the Oppenheimer family said. "We have a 50:50 venture with Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton to retail exclusive diamond jewellery. We have these stores in six countries from the US to Japan," said Jonathan Oppenheimer, head of De Beers' producer relations in Africa. Read On >>>

India Invites Foreign Investment in Mining 
India's Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Ashwini Kumar has invited global mining companies to invest in his country, while pointing out that a liberal policy had been formulated to facilitate the flow of overseas capital in the sector. Read On >>>