Top UN Official Fails to Meet Tamil,
Muslim Parties by P.K. Balachandran
A top UN official who was in Sri Lanka to study the worsening ethnic conflict in the island went back Tuesday without meeting leaders of the Tamil and Muslim minorities. Read On

Indian Woman Charged with Death Threats
to Ontario Premier by Gurmukh Singh
An Indian woman immigrant, who worked as a reporter with a South Asian daily in the Toronto suburb of Brampton, has been charged with making death threats to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty Read On

British Court Convicts Terror Trainer
'Osama Bin London'  
An ethnic Indian extremist who called himself "Osama Bin London" was Tuesday found guilty of training men in secret camps held in secluded forested areas of Britain to fight abroad. Read On

• Australia to Build World's Biggest
  Solar Power Plant 
• Pakistan has not Responded to Interpol on Dawood
• Massive Quakes Again Rattle Sumatra in Indonesia
• US, Britain Want Musharraf to Stay

Bush Team Making All Out Push for N-deal 
by Arun Kumar
The Bush administration is making an all-out push to finalize the landmark civil nuclear agreement with India, a deal that the US president wants to leave as his major lasting legacy as he sprints towards the end of his term. Read On
► India Must Decide on N-deal with US: Burns

• US Places More Sanctions on Myanmar Business
• US Opposes Taiwan's Referendum
  on UN Membership 

Sikh Student Denied School Admission
Because of Turban by Neena Bhandari
In a landmark case that may have far-reaching consequences for Sikhs in Australia, a family has challenged a Brisbane private school's decision not to enrol their son because his turban would breach the school's uniform code. Read On

• Zarine, Brave Indian Teenager,
  has Only Weeks to Live  

Can New Cypriot President Unite
his Divided Island?
Past Cypriot leaders have been unable to guide their island toward reunification. Now the question on everyone's lips as the divided city of Nicosia celebrates the election of Cyprus' new president is whether Dimitris Christofias can find success where his predecessors failed. Read On

Bahrain Starts Work on Middle East's
Biggest Healthcare Project by Aroonim Bhuyan
Bahrain's Ithmaar Development Co has awarded a $69-million contract to Boskalis Westminster Middle East to start reclamation work in the country's northeast coast for what is to be the Middle East's largest healthcare, leisure and real estate project. Read On

• Iraq Violence Flares
  with Attacks on Pilgrims and Police 

Suicide Bomber Kills Pakistani Army General,
Six Others by Muhammad Najeeb
Seven people, including a Pakistani army general, were killed and at least 30 injured in the garrison city of Rawalpindi in a renewed terror attack after the last week's general elections, Read On

Will IPL Concept Improve Cricket
at Grassroots Level? by Avishek Roy
Powered by top-flight business houses and Bollywood bigwigs, the Indian Premier League (IPL) might usher in a new revolution in cricket, changing the rules of the game once and for all. But the big question is how much of the new concept will percolate down to improve the game at the grassroots level. Read On

US Hopeful of N-deal, Focuses
on Widening Fence Ties
The US Tuesday said it is hopeful that India will do what is required to complete the civil nuclear deal even as it sought to expand defence ties with New Delhi regardless of the fate of the nuclear initiative. Read On
► Mukherjee's US Visit to Focus on N-deal

Bangalore Police Looking
for 12 SIMI-Linked Techies
The Karnataka police are looking for at least 12 techies in the city and other parts of the state believed to be linked to the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).  The police have, however, denied reports in local media that two suicide bombers have sneaked into the city via Nepal. Read On

Two Punjab Police Officers Arrested
for Sex Scandal
Two senior Punjab police officials were Tuesday arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly extorting money from innocent people after threatening them of false sexual abuse charges. Read On

• Indian Equities Rise for Second Straight Day  
• India Tests Undersea Ballistic Missile 
• Islamic Scholar Hails Deoband Edict against Terror

Fares Cut, Profits Soar in Lalu's Fifth Rail Budget  
by Arvind Padmanabhan
Across the board reduction in fares, better hygiene, focus on punctuality, new routes, better coaches and mobile ticketing - the millions of train travellers in India could not have asked for more as Railway Minister Lalu Prasad presented his fifth budget Tuesday, mixing populism with pragmatism. Read On
► Highlights of the Railway Budget 
► Lalu Wants Kids to Say 'Chak de! Railways'  
► Lalu's Budget Welcome but What about Safety
► Lalu's Budget Leaves Left MPs Divided 
► Railway Porters Now See a Life of Security 

India Thrash Sri Lanka,
Reach Finals against Australia
An all-round performance helped India beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets in a must-win encounter Tuesday and seal their place in next month's finals against Australia in the Commonwealth Bank Triangular Series. Read On

• Hyderabad on Terror Alert Again 
• Lok Sabha Approves President's Rule in Nagaland
• Tata Preparing to Sign Jaguar Deal Early March
• Power Shortage Could Haunt Capital in Summer
• India's Ninth Budget on That Extra Day of Leap Year
• Orissa Univ Closed after Violence over Gang Rape 

'Frivolous' RTI Applications Irk NHRC Officials 
by Ritu Sharma
An understaffed and overburdened National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is inundated with applications seeking "frivolous" information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Read On

• India, IAEA Resume Talks on N-deal 
• US Defence Secretary May Meet Advani on N-deal  

Patil Echoes UPA's Refrain of Inclusive Growth 
President Pratibha Patil's maiden speech Monday to the budget session of parliament gave a distinct sense that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was in the election mode as she referred to inclusive growth and plans to enhance investments in education, agriculture, health and rural development. Read On

After Two Years of Surplus,
Deficit Looms Over Gujarat  
The Narendra Modi government Monday announced its decision to mobilize Rs.8.8 billion ($220 million) by levying additional tax in 2008-09, ending a two-year no-tax budget regime since 2006-07. Read On

• BJP Prepares to Counter Delimitation Hurdles 
• Bihar's Surplus Budget
  Focuses on Agriculture, Infrastructure 
• Government Approves 10 More SEZs  
• Eight Maoists Gunned Down in Maharashtra
• Deoband Meet Condemns
  Labelling Muslims as Terrorists