Heavy Clashes in Palestinian Camp
in South Lebanon
Heavy clashes erupted late Friday between a Sunni fundamentalist group and fighters of the mainstream Fatah faction in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, prompting civilians to flee the area. Read On

Saudi King Urges US to Press Israel
for Mideast Peace Deal
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia Friday urged visiting US Vice President Dick Cheney to put pressure on Israel to seal a peace deal with the Palestinians before US President George W. Bush leaves office in January 2009, official sources said. Read On

Bush 'Cautiously Optimistic'
over Russia-US Missile Talks
US President George W. Bush has said he hopes an agreement could be reached with Russia on Washington's missile defence plans for Central Europe. Read On

• Rice Apologizes to Obama over Passport Breach
• Iran's Nuclear Pursuits Threat to Europe: Sarkozy
• Iran Wants Nuclear Weapons to Destroy Others:
  Bush

Obama Blames Iraq War for US Economic Woes
US Democratic presidential candidate hopeful Barack Obama has blamed the ballooning defence budget due to the Iraq war for the country's current economic woes. Read On

Subprime Crisis to Persist for Two to Three Years
The impact of the subprime crisis is likely to persist for two to three year before the US economy recovers, Nobel laureate US economist Joseph E. Stiglitz said here Friday. "The Federal Reserve and Bush administration did too little, too late, and did not do the right things to redress the problem," Stiglitz told an audience at Renmin University. Read On

US Stocks Rally as Confidence
in Financial Institutions Rises
US stocks rallied Thursday, closing higher for the first week in a month as investors speculated that financial institutions plagued by the credit crisis may be pulling back from the brink. Financial stocks led the gains despite a private survey that suggested the world's largest economy could yet be headed toward a recession. Read On

Blair Makes a Strong Pitch
for Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Former British prime minister Tony Blair Thursday said if the developed world was ready to take a "really strong and definitive action" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, then it was "fair to ask India and China" to do it. Read On

• Gulf IT Sector to Cross $12-bn Mark by 2011
• Pakistan's Premier to be named Monday

West Must Pay for India's Clean Technology:
UN Official
If a power plant coming up in India for $500 million can embrace clean technology for an extra $50 million, developed countries must pay the difference, a top UN official has said. Read On

Wharton India Economic Forum
to Define 'Global Indian' by Arun Kumar
Former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Vinod Dham, considered the father of the Intel Pentium microprocessor, will be keynote speakers at this year's Wharton India Economic Forum.  The theme of the 12th such conference, to be held Saturday in Philadelphia, is 'India Imagine'. Read On

Singapore Wants to Learn Lessons
from India's 'Growth Story' by Prashant K. Nanda
National University of Singapore is inviting Indian civil servants to teach the 'growth story' to other Asian counterparts and in turn learn the best practices in public administration from global experts, Read On

IAEA Pact 'Ready',
Mukherjee Heads for Washington 
Ahead of his visit to Washington, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday made it clear that the text of India's safeguards agreement with the IAEA had been finalized but can only be "initialed" after a nod from the government's Left allies. Read On

Montek Singh Ahluwalia Reassures Banks
on Farm Loan Waiver
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has reassured the country's banking sector on the Rs.600 billion ($15 billion) farm loan waiver. "There is no need for the banking sector to panic as meticulous financial correctives are on, to offset the huge burden that will come on the banking sector," ...Read On

China Warns US, Slams Dalai Lama for 'Lies'
On a day Tibetan protesters slipped into the Chinese embassy premises and the Dalai Lama arrived for a week's stay, China urged India not to be misled by the "lies" of the Tibetan leader and warned against any international "meddling" in its "internal affairs" Read On
► Tibetan Youths Storm Chinese Embassy 
► Dalai Lama in Delhi for Buddhist Discourses

Pelosi Hits Out at China, Backs Dalai Lama
by Baldev S. Chauhan
Nancy Pelosi, the US House of Representatives speaker, Friday came out strongly in support of the Dalai Lama and asked China to allow independent monitoring of the situation in troubled Tibet. Read On

• BJP Questions Rahul Gandhi's Political Acumen
• Bhutanese Apprehensive about Democracy

Husain's 'Mahabharata' Record - Irony for India
M.F. Husain's epic work "Mahabharata: The Battle of Ganga and Jamuna" fetching a world record of $1.6 million at the Christie's sale is the best example of situational irony in a nation that has virtually exiled its finest living artist. The world record can perhaps silence hardline Hindu groups. Read On

Khalistan Forces Trying to Stir Sectarian Violence
by Sahil Makkar
Three prominent sect leaders in Punjab - Ashutosh Maharaj, Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh and Baba Piara Bhaniarewala - are on the hit list of Khalistan separatist forces that are trying to regroup with the help of overseas funds and the Pakistani intelligence agency, say Indian security officials. Read On

China to India:
Judge Dalai Lama by Deeds, Not Words
As the Dalai Lama arrives in the national capital Friday night, China has attacked "the Dalai clique" for allegedly masterminding violence in Lhasa a week ago and urged India to see through the "lies" of the Tibetan spiritual leader and judge him by his deeds rather than merely words. Read On

Parties Dangle Goodies before Chhattisgarh Voters
by Sujeet Kumar
Subsidized rice, cash, land ... it's raining offers for voters in Chhattisgarh as political parties are already going all out to woo them for assembly polls scheduled in November. Read On

Pakistan's Troubles Impacting India, Region
The marked deterioration in Pakistan's internal situation has "serious implications" for India and the region, the Indian defence ministry said Thursday, adding that instability in the neighborhood "could fuel disturbances for our internal security as well". Read On

Three Soldiers Killed in Indian Military War Game
The Indian military staged one of its biggest war games in the deserts of Rajasthan - close to the Pakistan border - that foreign observers termed "excellent", but the event ended in tragedy with three soldiers losing their lives. Read On

• Pelosi Meets PM, Backs N-deal  
• N-deal to Dominate Mukherjee-Rice Talks in US
• Inflation Soars to 5.92 Percent