Middle East Set for Low Cost Aviation Boom 
by Aroonim Bhuyan
In November last year, during the Dubai Air Show, Emirates ordered $23.4 billion worth of aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, with options for 50 more. Today, experts here say, this "options for 50 more" is what is going to help the Dubai government spread its own version of low cost wings. Read On

• 63 Killed, as many Injured in Iraqi Violence
• I am Prepared to Work with New Govt: Musharraf 
• Work on World's Largest Water Reservoirs
  Begins in Dubai

UN Reports Violence Upsurge
Ahead of Nepal Polls by Sudeshna Sarkar
With a little over a fortnight left before Nepal goes to its first national polls after almost a decade, the UN has warned the government that there has been an upsurge of killings, intimidation against candidates and voters, and threats to disrupt the electoral process. Read On

Taiwan's President-elect to Seek UN Seat,
Not by Referendum
Taiwan's president-elect Ma Ying-jeou, in his first international news conference a day after a landslide victory at the polls, Sunday said Taiwan will continue the fight for UN membership, but not through referendums. Read On

Germans Talk More Openly
About Wartime Suffering by Mike Swanson
A new centre dedicated to expulsions in Europe is another example of how Germany is dealing more openly with the suffering of its citizens during and after World War II. Read On

• Pope to Baptize Muslim Journalist: Report
• Olympics Boycott Should be Considered: EU
• Hamas, Fatah Fail to Agree on Dialogue Agenda
• Endeavour Astronauts Begin Final Spacewalk
• Israel has Right to Defend against Rocket Attacks:
  Cheney 
• Bush Urges Taiwan's New Leader to Work with China
• Gillani Named PPP's PM Candidate  

Chinese Media Call for 'Crushing'
of Tibetan 'Conspiracy'
China's flagship media Saturday moved into high gear against those opposing Chinese rule in Tibet, saying the "Tibet independence" forces must be "resolutely crushed". The demandcame after the Xinhua news agency said the death toll in violent demonstrations against Chinese rule in Tibet had risen to 19, and more than 600 people were injured. Read On

Busy Beijing's Low-key Approach
to Taiwan's Presidential Election
Preoccupied for the last two weeks with Tibetan independence protests and the diplomatic fallout from its attempts to contain them, mainland China's ruling Communist Party has taken a low-key approach to Taiwan's presidential election. Read On

Hispanic Governor Boosts Obama;
Setback for Hillary Clinton by Arun Kumar
In a major setback to Hillary Clinton's hopes of becoming America's first woman president, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has announced his endorsement of Senator Barack Obama, her rival for Democratic nomination. Read On

South Korea's First Woman Astronaut
Approved for Flight by Alissa de Carbonnel
"I will not fly as So-Yeon, not just as a person but as the first Korean astronaut," said the 29-year-old woman who has officially qualified to be South Korea's ambassador to space. Read On

Obama, Clinton, McCain's
Passport Files Breached
Contractors working for the US State Department breached the passport files of presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain, spokesman Sean McCormack said. Read On

All Nepal Ministers Jump into Poll Fray
By Sudeshna Sarkar
As Nepal gears up for its first constituent assembly elections next month, the nation will also see the unprecedented spectacle of the entire cabinet of ministers vying in the joust, with the prime minister himself leading the fray. Read On

• Gloss Rubs Off Australia's Shiny Economy
• Exiles ask Bhutan King to Defer Monday Polls

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

New Hyderabad Airport Opens with Initial Glitches
The new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad near here began its commercial operations early Sunday when a Lufthansa flight arrived. But initial hiccups marred the opening day as a KLM flight from Amsterdam failed to land due to "confusion". Read On

• Prayers, Painted Eggs and Feasts
  Mark Easter Sunday  
• Maharashtra Minister Ready for 'Life Term in Jail'
• Left Slams Chidambaram for 'Irresponsible' Statement
• Gujarat BJP Legislator Booked under Arms Act

Nuclear-capable Agni-1 Successfully Test Fired
The nuclear-capable Agni-1, a strategic 700-km range surface-to-surface missile, was successfully test fired from the Island Launch Complex off Dhamra in Orissa Sunday, the defence ministry announced. Read On

Are Marxists Feeling Heat of Global Warming? 
By Monobina Gupta
Comrades in the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) have started feeling the heat of global warming. So much so that the hitherto environment indifferent Communists have included a substantive chapter on environment in the political document to be adopted by the CPI-M at its coming party congress in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. Read On

Convicted Top Cop R.K. Sharma Spends Days Praying, Meditating by Sahil Makkar
Former IPS officer R.K. Sharma, convicted in the 1999 murder of journalist Shivani Bhatnagar, has gone into a depression, and spends most of his time praying and meditating, say prison sources. He has stopped playing badminton, which he is fond of, and has been eating little in his Tihar Jail cell ever since his conviction for murder March 18. Read On

Taslima's Exit is a Blow to Indian Secularism 
By Amulya Ganguli
Taslima Nasreen's departure from India marks perhaps the lowest point in the history of Indian secularism. Significantly, it is not the supposedly anti-secular Hindutva brigade which has forced her into exile, as has been the case with respect to M.F. Husain. Instead, it is the self-proclaimed champions of liberalism - Congress and Communists - who have compelled her to leave the shores of the world's largest democracy. Read On  

Apex Court Rules for Maintenance
to Estranged Muslim Woman by Rana Ajit 
In a ruling of profound socio-religious significance, the Supreme Court has held that a Muslim woman married to her sister's husband, termed an "irregular" marriage within Islam, is entitled to maintenance from her husband. Read On

• New Hyderabad Airport begins Commercial Operations

Dalai Lama says Tibet Struggle Will Never Die 
Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has said that it was "much better" for Tibet to join China, but warned the Communist regime that the struggle in his homeland would never die as the younger generation had a stronger spirit to fight injustices. Read On

Holi Festival Colors India
From the prime minister here to the trooper at the Pakistan border and the villager in Orissa, India Saturday celebrated Holi, the festival of colors. Spring was in the air as people shouted "Holi hai", smeared colored powder or worse on one another and danced to Bollywood's Holi songs in neighborhood after neighborhood, city after city. Read On

• Left Blocking Economic Progress: Chidambaram
• Volatility in Market in Truncated Week  
• South Africa Series Challenging: Kumble
• Advani Reaches Out to Manmohan, Sonia  

Bumper Potato Crop Leaves Gujarat Farmers Poor
by V.N. Balakrishna
Potato farmers in the Deesa are at their wits' end trying to tackle a problem of plenty. A bumper harvest has left them worried as cold storages are packed to capacity and now the crop is lying in the open. Read On

Advani Did Meet Mulayam to Trip Sonia 
by Faraz Ahmad
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav did meet secretly in 1999 to prevent Congress president Sonia Gandhi from becoming prime minister, sources close to Yadav and former defence minister George Fernandes have confirmed. Read On

The New Jinnah in India's Parliament
Will be Argumentative by T.S.V. Hari
"I cannot hope to match my debating skills with those associated with my famous name," says S. Amir Ali Jinnah, one of the members elected to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu. Jinnah will be the first MP in the Indian parliament with a name matching that of Pakistan's founder leader, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Read On