Bush Confident of Stimulus Package
Amid Sharp Job Losses
US President George W. Bush defended the actions his administration has taken to bolster the lagging US economy amid a report Friday of a sharp loss of jobs in February. Bush insisted the $150-billion stimulus package passed by Congress would boost consumer spending and help create jobs. Read On

Maoists Take Poll Plunge with Manifesto
for 'New Nepal' by Sudeshna Sarkar
Nearly two decades since they last fought an election in Nepal and then chose to begin a guerrilla war, Nepal's Maoists Friday finally took the plunge for a poll that would be the first of its kind in the Himalayan state, releasing their party's election manifesto and rooting for a new leadership. Read On

Discrimination Against Women Exists
in Most Countries: UN
Speaking on the eve of the International Women's Day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said the failure to create true legal parity between men and women was having "a detrimental effect on women in many countries, sometimes to a devastating degree. Read On

Musharraf will Support a Coalition Government
by Muhammad Najeeb
A day after the army chief announced support to the political process, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said Friday that he would support a coalition government and expected it to support the peace process. Read On

Nicaragua Breaks Diplomatic Ties with Colombia 
The crisis over a cross-border raid by Colombian forces into Ecuador continued to escalate as Nicaragua broke off diplomatic relations with Colombia "in solidarity with Ecuador". Read On

Obama beats Clinton in Raising Money
by Arun Kumar
As the battle for Democratic presidential nomination grows fiercer by the day, front-runner Barack Obama's campaign announced it had raised a record $55 million in February, $20 million more than Clinton. Read On

• False Evidence Given Against Me
  in Nepal Apex Court: Sobhraj  
• 33 Missing British Girls in Forced Marriages Abroad
• Indo-Canadians Make History
  as 5 Elected MLAs in Alberta

Democrats May Try to reach Compromise between Clinton and Obama by Parveen Chopra
Worried that the prolonged, hard fought race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama may jeopardize the eventual Democratic nominee's chances in the presidential election, party leaders are likely to sit down in April to reach a compromise, according to an Indian American superdelegate to the Democratic Convention that declares the nominee. Read On

• Arms Dealer Sold Weapons to Colombian Rebels 
• Sikhs Lose Challenge to Helmet Rule in Canada 
• Condoleezza Rice Hails Progress of Women in India

New 'Space Truck' Hailed as Precursor
to Mars Mission 
A heavy-duty European spacecraft that will make its maiden flight Sunday has been hailed as a precursor to a spaceship that could one day carry robots to the planet Mars. The Jules Verne, which will haul nine tonnes of food, fuel and other supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), then depart with the station's accumulated garbage, is the first automated transfer vehicle (ATV) in a series of five. Read On

• Toll in Iraq Bombings Rises to 54  
• Palestinian Gunman Kills 8 in Jerusalem Seminary
• Pakistan Army Backs Musharraf,
  Urges Harmony among Leaders 
• Kenya's Parliament Meets, Power-sharing Likely  

Low-Grade Blast at New York
Army Recruitment Centre by Parveen Chopra
A military recruitment station near New York City's landmark Times Square was targeted with a low-grade explosion early Thursday. Security agencies took a serious view of the incident. Read On

Pakistan's New Rulers will Inherit Economic Mess
by Zofeen T. Ebrahim
As Pakistan braces for transition from over eight years of military rule to a democratic one, independent economists say the new government has tough times ahead. It will find it difficult to disentangle the economic mess that the Musharraf government leaves behind in its wake. Read On

CPI Writes to PM on N-deal,
Threatens to Withdraw Support 
Stepping up pressure on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government over the India-US nuclear deal, the Communist Party of India (CPI) Friday warned that the Left parties would withdraw their support if the government decides to go ahead with the contentious pact. Read On
► Deal Only After Consensus with Left: Pranab

India will be 90% of US Economy by 2050: PWC 
The $1-trillion Indian economy would be 90 percent the size of the US by 2025, as the nation of 1.17 billion people, rather than China, tops the global growth league today, says PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Read On

Russia to Upgrade IAF's MiG-29 Combat Jets
The long-delayed upgrade of the Indian Air Force's MiG-29 jets is set to get underway with its manufacturer RAC-MiG inking a deal with the Indian defence ministry in Moscow Friday, the company said. Read On

• Punjab Grants Kashmir Singh, Wife Monthly Pension
• Dikshit Launches 'Ladli',
  Gives Rs.10,000 to Newborn Girl 
• Central Government Employees Get Pay Bonanza
• Kidney Scam Kingpin Amit Kumar
  takes Lie-detector Test
• Loan Waiver Attempt to Cheat Farmers: SP

Loan Waiver Not on Government's Balance Sheet
by Dipankar De Sarkar
A top tax consultant from India told a meeting of British investors here that the Rs.600 billion farm loan waiver announced by the government in last week's budget has not been accounted for. Read On

PM Trying to Isolate us on N-deal, says Left
by Liz Mathew
India's Left leaders feel betrayed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who they say is trying to isolate them on the India-US nuclear deal by seeking the opposition's help in taking the contentious pact ahead. Read On

• Tripura Voters Root for CPI-M  
• Fractured Mandate in Meghalaya 
• Coach Wants Ishant to Turn Non-vegetarian  
• Britain beat India 3-2 in Olympic Hockey Qualifier 

Gap Between Suffering and Shining India Increases: Swaminathan
The disparity in the country's growth was alarming and the chasm between shining and suffering India was getting bigger, India's leading agricultural economist has warned. Read On

• Indian Stock Market Opens Deep in Red,
  Slips by Over 550 Points 
• Patil Congratulates Women
  for Shaping Destiny of Country   
• Asia's Biggest Art Mall Pays Tribute to Women Artists
• Major Power Outage in Northern India; Trains Halted
• Rahul Begins All-India Trip from Orissa
• Ire, Indifference after Closure
  of 'Objectionable Exhibition' 
• From Pakistan to Paris in Punjab,
  Kashmir takes in his New Life 

Sensitive Issues Remain, But Ties on Fast Track: Chinese Envoy
Though "sensitive issues remain", India-China ties are growing rapidly, says Chinese envoy Zhang Yan, nearly a month after China protested against PM Manmohan Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh. Read On

Government Extends Ban
on Deendar Anjuman Sect by Ritu Sharma
A special tribunal has upheld the extension of a two-year ban on Deendar Anjuman, an 82-year-old religious organisation alleged to be behind bomb blasts in churches in southern India in 2000, following intelligence reports that it had links with Pakistan and was planning more terror attacks. Read On

India Not to Commercialize Sex Work:
Renuka Chowdhury by Sahil Makkar
India will not consider legalizing commercial sex or giving licenses to brothels, Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury has said. "I am ready to legalize brothels or red light areas if the sex workers say their decision is informed. In most cases their choice is not informed but is forced due to poverty or other reasons," Chowdhury said. Read On

Rajasthan Government is de-facto
Real Estate Agent: Pilot by Liz Mathew
Congress party MP Sachin Pilot, who hails from Rajasthan, has hit out at the state's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, alleging it is acquiring farmland and selling it to builders. Read On

• Capital gets Quarantine Facility for Wild Animals
• Surrogate Liquor, Cigarette Ads to be Banned Soon?