Prachanda Meets Koirala
as Maoists Gain Majority by Sudeshna Sarkar
As reports of fresh Maoist conquests started pouring in and the former guerrillas were headed for majority in Nepal's crucial constituent assembly election, rebel supremo Prachanda met Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala in the capital Sunday to discuss the future of the coalition government. Read On

• Zimbabwe Court Halts Recounting of Votes: MDC  
• End to Crisis as Kenya Names 40-member Cabinet

India Urged to Take the Lead to End
Sri Lanka Conflict by M.R. Narayan Swamy
Two Sri Lankan leaders - one a cabinet minister and one from the opposition - and Indian politician Vaiko have urged India to play an active role to help end the island nation's protracted ethnic conflict. Read On

Landslide Victory Beckons Maoists,
End of Road for Koirala by Sudeshna Sarkar
As Nepal Sunday celebrated the dawn of its new year, a change in the leadership of the former Himalayan kingdom was in the offing with its former Maoist guerrillas, once hiding in jungles and hunted down by the army, poised for a landslide victory after a crucial election last week. Read On
► Nepal King Accepts his Poll Lot
► King's Men Bite Dust in Nepal's Battle Royale
► Communists Mull Quitting Government
    after Nepal Poll Rout 

• Iran to Inform IAEA
  about Future Nuclear Programmes 
• Haitian Senate Fires Prime Minister over Food Riots
• Ugly Row Over Finding Berlin Station
  for Holocaust Train 

Scores Killed in Sri Lanka's Clashes
on New Year Eve
By P. Karunakharan
Fierce fighting erupted in Sri Lanka's northwestern Mannar district on the eve of the Tamil-Sinhala New Year, with both the government troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) claiming heavy casualties on the other side. Read On

Gordon Brown is 'a Little Tiny Dot
on World Stage': Mugabe
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe had sharp words for PM Gordon Brown after the British leader issued his second call in as many days for the release of results from Zimbabwe's 3/29 elections. Read On

• Sikhs Throng Pakistan Shrine for Baisakhi 
• Chinese President Hu Jintao meets
  Taiwan's Vice President-elect 
• 200 Hurt in Dhaka
  as Islamist Bodies Protest Law for Women
• Two Indians among 3 Killed by Afghan Militants

Vote for Change Drives Maoist Victory in Nepal
by Sudeshna Sarkar
An overwhelming desire for change and increase in the number of young voters, many of whom cast their ballot the first time, drove the astounding victory of Nepal's Maoist party, a formerly banned underground organization that continued to sweep the historic constituent assembly polls. Read On
► Armies Still Key Factor in Nepal Polls

• IMF Warns of Inflation, Cooling Economy
  as Chidambaram Arrives 
• India, China Lead Growth in Asia,
  but Momentum Easing 

India, China Join World's Top Five,
Become Donors by Arun Kumar
With India and China among the top five economies, developing countries now produce 41 percent of the world's output, up from 36 percent in 2000, according to the World Development Indicators (WDI) 2008. Measured at gross national income, the United States is still the largest economy, producing $13.2 trillion worth of goods and services; but China is number two, and India is number four. Read On

Pope Visits Troubled US Catholics
in Shadow of Campaign   
Pope Benedict XVI is set to find in his visit to the US a rich and powerful Roman Catholic Church, but also one divided and rather anxious: sexual abuse scandals have damaged its reputation and pushed some dioceses close to ruin. The third-largest national Roman Catholic Church in the world - after Brazil and Mexico - is, like those in other countries, suffering from a scarcity of priests ... Read On

• Marathon Kid's Former Coach Shot Dead
• Haryana Lays Foundation for Dam
  Mooted 60 Years Ago
• Nitish Drops 10 Ministers, Inducts 19 New Faces

India Beat South Africa in Third Test, Level Series
by Qaiser Mohammad Ali
Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag spun India to a series-levelling eight-wicket win over South Africa on an eventful third day of the third and final Test here Sunday. With this win, achieved with two days to spare on an unpredictable pitch at the Green Park Stadium, India drew the series 1-1 after surprisingly losing the second match. Read On

India Ready to Work with Maoists in Nepal
By Pranay Sharma
India is ready to work with the Maoists in Nepal, New Delhi's envoy said Sunday, as results of the elections in the Himalayan kingdom putting the rebels ahead of others stunned key international players. Read On

• Punjab Celebrates Harvest Festival Baisakhi
• Icon of Quota Politics Forgotten in Moment of Triumph
• Resignations of Eight Bihar Ministers Accepted
• No Foodgrain Use for Bio-fuel Production: PM
• Maharashtrian Pride Blossoms in President Patil

India's Public Healthcare in Serious Decline: Planning Commission
India's public healthcare is in "serious decline" due to non-availability of medical and paramedical staff, diagnostic services and medicines, says a Planning Commission report. Read On

Congress plays Dalit-Brahmin card in Uttar Pradesh
by Rakesh Mohan Chaturvedi
In an attempt to reclaim its support base in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress party is wooing upper castes along with Dalits. The party expects that the recent induction of 34-year-old Jitin Prasad into the central council of ministers will send a positive signal to the upper castes in the state. Read On

Inflation to Dominate Rest of Budget Session
The concluding part of the budget session beginning Tuesday is set to be stormy with the BJP and Left parties preparing to put the Congress party on the mat over inflation. The Congress will face flak not only from the main opposition party but also its own allies in the UPA, especially its Left Front partners ... Read On

• IIM Lucknow will Not Hike Fee Like Others
• Haryana Not Responsible for Poverty of Other States 

India Seeks More Voice
for Emerging Economies in IMF by Arun Kumar
Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Saturday sought periodic realignment of nations' votes in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reflect their changing economic weight. Addressing the International Monetary and Financial Committee as the two-day IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings began, he also called for policy action by national authorities and international bodies to restore the confidence in US financial markets so as not to let the credit squeeze deteriorate into a credit crunch. Read On

• IPL Backs Down on Media Restrictions
• India to Work with Latin America
  to Strengthen Developing Countries: Patil
• Farmers conclude 4,000-km march against GM Seeds
• Three Punjab Cops Arrested, Dismissed for Rape
• NCP will Support Sonia or Rahul as PM: Praful Patel

Indian Equities Market has Good Week
Despite Inflation  
The Indian equity market posted gains this week despite rise in inflation. The improved data on industrial output kept the market sentiment high and of the five trading session three ended in the green. The wholesale price index rose 7.41 percent, accelerating from the previous week's annual rise of 7 percent. Read On

India's Decision over Nizam's Wealth
Comes Under Flak by Mohammed Shafeeq
The Indian government's decision to seek out-of-court settlement of the dispute over the Hyderabad Nizam's wealth lying in a London bank has come under flak from a former adviser of the ruler's successor and grandson Mir Barkat Ali Khan Mukarram Jah Bahadur. Read On