Sri Lanka Decides to Pull Out of Ceasefire
with LTTE by P.K. Balachandran
The Sri Lankan government Wednesday decided to withdraw from the Norway-brokered 2002 ceasefire agreement it had signed with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) citing failure to bring peace to the country. Read On

Britain to Assist Bhutto Probe: Musharraf
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday that Britain would help investigate the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, whose slaying has forced the delay of crucial scheduled elections by six weeks. Read On

• Musharraf Calls for Peace in Pakistan

Bourses Link Up in the US, Europe and Gulf
Dubai's state-run BDL stock exchange is taking stake in Nasdaq, and the two will take over a group operating stock markets in Nordic and Baltic nations, linking markets in the US, Europe and the Gulf. Read On

Pakistan Elections Postponed Till Feb 18
by Muhammad Najeeb
Pakistan's parliamentary elections have been postponed from Jan 8 to Feb 18 in the wake of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, it was announced Wednesday. Read On

• Condition of Sheikh Hasina Worsens,
  No Treatment Abroad 
• Hundreds Evacuated as volcano Erupts in Chile 
• Farmers Protest Trade Pact at US-Mexico Border
• Pakistan Open to Foreign Help
  in Bhutto Murder Probe 
• Elections on Jan 8 Impossible in Pakistan 

Huge Blast in Colombo
At least four people, including a soldier, were killed and over 24 injured when a powerful bomb targeting an army bus exploded in the heart of the Sri Lankan capital Wednesday. Read On

Probe by Ousted Chief Justice
into Bhutto Killing Sought by Gurmukh Singh
Calling Benazir Bhutto's murder an attempt to "sabotage the possibility of democracy" in Pakistan, South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy, a group of intellectuals, academics and activists of South Asian origin in Canada, has demanded a judicial investigation into the killing. Read On

• Strike by Sri Lankan Food Importers may Affect India
• San Francisco Woman is Mrs Pakistan World 
• European Cultural Capital Stavanger
  Looks Beyond Oil  

World Hopes for Peace in 2008 
After a round-the-globe series of partying stretching from Sydney to San Francisco, the world ushered in the year 2008 on Tuesday amid appeals for peace but worries about violence in trouble spots ranging from Pakistan to Iraq to Kenya. Read On

• 50 Kenyans Seeking Shelter in Church
  Burned to Death

Musharraf Buying Time to Rig Polls: Pakistan Opposition Parties by Muhammad Najeeb
Pakistan's opposition parties accused President Pervez Musharraf of planning to rig the upcoming polls as the Election Commission said Tuesday it was difficult to conduct vote as scheduled Jan 8 due to the unrest following Bhutto's assassination. Read On

Pakistan Retracts 'Lever Killed Bhutto' Theory
The Pakistan government has retracted its contention that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto died after striking her head against the sunroof lever of her SUV and has "apologized" for floating the theory. Read On
► Al Qaeda Didn't Kill Benazir: Zardari

• EU Seeks Probe into Kenyan Poll Results 
• Hong Kong People Biggest Optimists for 2008 
• Tamil MP Shot Dead in Colombo 
• US Diplomat Killed in Sudan Shooting

Chandra Shekhar's Son Wins in Ballia,
Mayawati Gets Blow
Samajwadi Party nominee Neeraj Shekhar Singh, son of former prime minister Chandra Shekhar, was Wednesday elected to the Lok Sabha from his late father's constituency Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, defeating the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party of Mayawati. Read On

• Lalu's Sons Accused of Eve Teasing, Roughed Up
• PM in Vizag for Science Congress
• Karunanidhi Threatens to Nationalize Cement Industry
• West Bengal Forms Expert Committee
  on Chemical Hub
• BJP Demands 'White Paper' on Growing Terrorism
• Delhi Judges to Visit Commonwealth Games
  Village Site 

India's Key Index Scales New Peak 
The New Year began with a bang for Indian equities as a key index, powered by pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, power stocks, scaled a new all-time peak on the 2nd day of trading before closing a tad lower. Read On

Discuss ULFA's Sovereignty Demand,
say Peace Pushers
Members of a peace panel appointed by the ULFA, one of northeastern India's frontline separatist groups, said Wednesday that the government should be prepared to discuss their 'core demand' of sovereignty to restore peace in the region. Read On

• Patil Assures Protection to Riot Victims in Orissa
• Lucky To Be Given Not Out: Symonds 
• Symond's Ton Guides Australia to 376/7
• India Monitoring Developments in Pakistan: Antony 
• Patil Meets Chief Minister, Governor of Riot Hit Orissa
• South Asian History Will be Rich Legacy: Irfan Habib
• Government Rolls Out Free Second Line Treatment
  to AIDS Patients
• New Sops to Attract $254-million Investment
  in Solar Power 

BAE Systems Buys Indian American's Firm
for $450 mn by Jaideep Sarin
A major US military support provider company set up by an Ohio-based Indian American and his wife in 1984 has been acquired by leading British defence firm BAE Systems for some $450 million. Read On

Armed Forces to Train 4,000 Officers
as Psychologists by Prashant K. Nanda
The Indian armed forces will train over 4,000 junior commissioned officers (JCOs) as psychologists to battle ever-increasing stress and subsequent suicides among military personnel. Read On  

Partying for Some, Prayers for Others on New Year
Symbolizing a country standing at the crossroads, Indians powered by new money rang in the New Year at boisterous parties in clubs and farmhouses, and yet on the morrow of 2008 prayed at temples and churches for a good year ahead. But New Year began on a traumatic note for some - four young revelers were killed in Mumbai and one in Chennai. Read On

Seven CRPF Men Killed in Uttar Pradesh
'Fidayeen' Attack
Just a month after coordinated terror strikes in three Uttar Pradesh towns, terrorists struck again in the state, killing seven paramilitary force personnel and a civilian in a pre-dawn "fidayeen" attack at a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) base camp in Rampur town on the New Year's Day Tuesday. Read On

• Basu Rules Out Possibility of Third Front 
• Air Marshal Naik is IAF Vice Chief
• Unresolved Issues Dog Tamil Nadu into 2008
• Sonia Gandhi Stable after Hospitalization
• Uttar Pradesh Ushers in VAT Regime Amid Protests
• After 12 Years, Chandraswami Waiting to Go Abroad

Science Congress to Focus on
Creation of Knowledge Society by Fakir Balaji
The 95th Indian Science Congress (ISC), to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Thursday, will focus on creating a knowledge-based society to transform India into a developed country in the coming decades. Read On