Sheikh Hasina Pleads Not Guilty to Graft Charges
Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption in an anti-graft court, claiming the interim government was trying to smear her and her family. Read On

• Bush Calls Iran 'Leading State Sponsor of Terror'
• Railway Station Blast Rocks Myanmar's New City
• Pakistan Deports US Scribe for Taliban Story 
• 66 Tiger Rebels Killed in North Sri Lanka
• Canadian Traveler Languishing in Indian Jail
• 50 Killed as Pakistan Army Launches Crackdown
  in Tribal Areas 

Is AIIMS Subsidizing American Healthcare? 
by Sanu George
With too many of its former students working in the US, the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi is in some ways subsidizing American healthcare, says a public health expert. Read On

Pakistan's 'Disappeared' Still Remain
An Unfinished Business by Zofeen T. Ebrahim
Emergency has been lifted and a brand new apex court set up in Pakistan, but the bench still refuses to entertain cases of human rights violations, specially those of enforced disappearances, says former law minister Iqbal Haider. Read On

Australian Indians Peeved at Crooked Cricket Down Under by Neena Bhandari
Cricket has consumed all, even those who otherwise would show scant interest in what was once a gentleman's game Down Under. Australian Indians and Australians at large are peeved at and embarrassed by the cricket story unfolding in one of the greatest sporting nations of the world. Read On

• India of Immense Importance
  for Economic Engagement: Bilimoria 
• India-Sri Lanka Accord Can Solve Ethnic Issue
• Australian Kayakers Become First to Cross Tasman
• Stunning Indian Gift for British Workers
  as Investors Fly In

Colombo Should Accommodate India's Security Concerns: JVP leader by P.K. Balachandran
India should avoid the mistakes of the past while Sri Lanka should accommodate New Delhi's security concerns in the spirit of "true friendship" between the two neighbors, the leader of Sri Lanka's radical Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna said. Read On
► Continue with Norway's Help for Peace,
    Donors tell Sri Lanka

EU Offers China Advice on Welfare, Labor Laws
British experts are advising Chinese officials on how to minimize the social impact of closing down unproductive mines. When it comes to employment and social affairs issues, experts from the continent that invented the modern welfare state believe they have plenty to offer to China. Read On

US Alarmed by Al Qaeda's Growth in Pakistan
The US government is "extremely concerned" about the emergence of Al Qaeda in Pakistan, but will not act without a nod from the Pakistani government. "There are concerns now about how much Al Qaeda turned inward, literally, inside Pakistan, as well as the kind of planning, training, financing and support that the worldwide effort is," ... Read On

Rare Protest in China
Over Maglev Train Route Extension
by Bivash Mukherjee 
In a rare sight in China's financial capital Shanghai, a few hundred people opposed to plans to extend the maglev (magnetic levitation) train route demonstrated outside the city government in the heart of this city on a foggy afternoon. Read On

• Musharraf will Resign if a Majority doesn't Want Him
• Arab League Fails to Resolve Lebanon Stalemate
• Venezuelan Oil Reserves
  Will be World's Largest by 2009 

Ahmadinejad Urges IAEA Not to be Swayed
by World Powers
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the United Nations nuclear watchdog to fulfill its responsibility and not be influenced by world powers in the nuclear dispute, IRNA news reported. Read On

Musharraf Open to Coalition Government
Even as pre-poll surveys in Pakistan suggest that no single party will get a majority in the parliamentary elections Feb 18, President Pervez Musharraf has indicated his party's willingness to work with others to form a government. Read On

It's an Essay in Mutual Comprehension:
Manmohan in China by Tarun Basu 
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a man of few words. But when he chose to describe his informal dinner chat with Premier Wen Jiabao as an "essay in mutual comprehension", it set the stage for his next two days of official talks with the Chinese leadership that is expected to narrow down differences on their border dispute and get Beijing's implied support to New Delhi's quest for civil nuclear cooperation. Read On
► Chinese Business Should Develop a Stake in India
► Beijing's Olympic Efforts an Inspiration
► PM's Grant for Indian Studies in Beijing Varsity 

CPI-M Rally Woos Farmers, Capital, and Boos US
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Sunday organized a mega rally at the Brigade Parade ground in Kolkata, with its leaders explaining the rationale behind warming up to capitalism to wooing farmers and flaying the US for dictating India's foreign policy. Read On

• Blast Cracks High-rise as Kolkata Blaze Spreads
• India's Standing Will Soar if it Drops N-deal: CPI 
• India, Australia Cricket Chiefs Meet in Dubai
  to Resolve Crisis 
• Tata Nano Attracts Big Numbers
• Rushdie in Mumbai, Muslim Groups Protest 
• Tina Ambani Brings 30 International Artists to India
• Bihar Village Set for Facelift with Diaspora Link
• Chinese Kites Becoming Popular in Jaipur
• Army Firemen Brought in to Fight Raging Kolkata Fire

Manmohan Determined to Warm Ties
in Cold Beijing by Tarun Basu
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Beijing at the crack of dawn Sunday for his maiden governmental visit to China, the sub-zero temperature no deterrent to his determination to intensify the growing warmth in the relationship and reduce the "trust deficit" between two of the oldest civilizations that account for two-fifth of the global population. Read On
► Don't Get Drunk in China, Media-persons Advised

Naga Rebel Group Clamps 'Emergency'
to Quell Dissent by Syed Zarir Hussain
A frontline Naga separatist group in northeast India Sunday clamped an "emergency" with the group's topmost quartet assuming total control of the organization to quell "internal unrest" and prevent heavy extortion of money by some deserters. Read On

Parties Looking for New Alliances
Ahead of Lok Sabha Polls by Liz Mathew
As the next parliamentary elections draw closer, almost every political party is trying to forge new partnerships to shore up their strength and wrest more bargaining power at the centre. Read On

• N-Debate in Parliament was Not 'Sense of House',
  says Pranab 
• India to Debate Global Warming, Biodiversity 
• Kolkata Fire Rages for the Second Day
• Ram Setu Affidavit to Wait for PM's Nod 
• Student Unrest, Infrastructure
  Dog Premier Tech College 
• Open Access Publishing Takes Off in India 

Factional Feuds Torment Congress in Karnataka 
By Rakesh Mohan Chaturvedi
Factional feuds seem to be the biggest threat plaguing the Congress in Karnataka ahead of the assembly elections expected in April or May. Read On

Small Car, Big Trouble
and Even Bigger Ambition by Sujoy Dhar
When Ratan Tata added a touch of sarcasm while unveiling 'Nano' Thursday saying it could have been named "Buddha" after West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya or "Despite Mamta" after Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, he may have missed out a point unwittingly. Read On

India's Ties with China
Poised to Enter Vibrant Phase: Manmohan
India's ties with China are now poised to enter "a vibrant and dynamic phase," which will in turn Contribute to global peace and stability, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here hours before leaving for Beijing on a three-day visit. Read On
► Top Industrialists Accompanying PM to Beijing

Tamil Nadu to Seek Review of Ban on Bullfight 
The Tamil Nadu government Saturday decided to seek the review of a Supreme Court order banning the traditional bullfight - jallikattu. Read On

• I am Not in Race for Bharat Ratna: Jyoti Basu 
• Yoga to be Started in all Madhya Pradesh Schools
• Senior Congress Leader Threatens to Quit
  over Telangana
• 'Taare Zameen Par' Makes Advani Cry 
• Four Political Heavyweights in Bharat Ratna Race
• Cherie Blair Pays Obeisance at Golden Temple
• Sea Area to be Demarcated for Olive Ridleys