China Intensifies Rescue Operations
as Quake Toll Soars 
Soldiers and officials Wednesday intensified efforts to search and save more survivors in areas near the epicentre of Monday's earthquake in southwest China, even as the death toll rose to about 15,000 with tens and thousands of people still missing. Read On

Myanmar Needs $243 mn in Agricultural Aid: FAO
Myanmar's cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy Delta - the country's rice bowl - will need more than $200 million in agricultural aid soon to prevent a severe food shortage this year and next, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Wednesday. Read On

Global Condemnation of Jaipur Bombings
The serial bombings in Jaipur Tuesday evening that claimed 63 lives have evoked global condemnation and calls Wednesday for a concerted and unified fight against terrorism. Leading the chorus of global condemnation, the United States said it stands by the government and people of India in their ongoing fight to eliminate the scourge of terrorism. Read On

China Quake Death Toll, Now 15,000,
Continues to Soar
Military helicopters flew aid to settlements cut off near the epicentre of a devastating earthquake in southwest China that killed some 15,000 people and left tens of thousands missing in toppled buildings. Read On

Hillary Clinton Won't Quit Race 
Senator Hillary Clinton claimed victory in the Democratic Party's West Virginia presidential primary at a televised rally following the close of polls. "I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign until everyone has had a chance ... to be heard," Clinton said Tuesday, pumping her supporters for more money to keep her campaign alive. Read On

Lives Ebb Away as Myanmar's Military Sidelines Vital Aid by Simon Parry
It was supposed to be a moment of hope, a breakthrough in the troubled international aid effort for the hundreds of thousands of Myanmarese victims of Cyclone Nargis. Instead, I watched as the delivery of the first overland aid convoy was received with stark indifference by military officials ... Read On

• Biopirates Hijack Traditional Knowledge about Nature
• Canada, US 'Moral Equivalent' of Al-Qaeda: Senator
• Hillary Clinton Wins West Virginia Primary 

India Offers All Help to Quake-hit China 
India Tuesday offered China "any assistance" to help it deal with the situation in Sichuan province where an earthquake has killed more than 12,000 people as Beijing expressed its willingness to accept international aid to handle relief measures. Read On

Musharraf a 'Virus' that is Bad for Democracy: PML-N Leader by Muhammad Najeeb
"Just like a deadly virus in any computer that can destroy the whole system, Musharraf is a dangerous virus for democracy and the government cannot function properly until this virus is removed," PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said while addressing a press conference with other party leaders who resigned Tuesday from the federal cabinet. Read On

• Record Rice Yield Expected,
  but Prices will Rise: UN

PML-N Ministers Resign from Pakistan Cabinet
by Muhammad Najeeb
A day after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif announced his party's withdrawal from the cabinet, nine federal ministers of the party Tuesday submitted their resignations over disagreement on the issue of sacked judges. Read On

Past Misdeeds Return to Haunt Nepal Army 
by Sudeshna Sarkar
With just a fortnight left for the ouster of Nepal's King Gyanendra, the army that had once been allowed to perpetrate gross human rights violations in the name of combating the Maoist insurgency is now facing a backlash with its past crimes ... Read On

Benazir Carried Nuclear Secrets in Overcoat
to North Korea: Book by Manish Chand
Benazir Bhutto, then prime minister of Pakistan, carried critical nuclear data on CDs in her overcoat to Pyongyang in 1993 and brought back North Korea's missile information on her return journey, says a new political biography of the late leader. Read On

• With Jayasuriya's Ton,
  Mumbai Beat Chennai by Nine Wickets 

India says 'Terrorism' Back on Talks-agenda
with Pakistan
Stunned by the serial blasts in Jaipur that Tuesday killed at least 63 people and injured more than 200, India asserted Wednesday that "cross-border terrorism" was back on the agenda for talks with Pakistan. Read On

Congress Moots Federal Agency
as BJP Demands POTA 
Under fire from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for failing to prevent acts of terrorism, the ruling Congress came up with its own prescription of a federal agency to counter terror, though the BJP wanted the now-scrapped draconian anti-terror legislation back. Read On
► Advani Wants POTA Back
► Bombings Planned to Cause Maximum Damage:
    Rajasthan Minister

Terrorism Back at Centre-stage
of India-Pakistan Talks by Pranay Sharma
The synchronized bomb blasts Tuesday in Jaipur, preceded by an attack at the Samba garrison in Jammu and Kashmir two days earlier, has brought back "terrorism" to the centre-stage of India-Pakistan talks scheduled for next week. Read On

• Depreciating Rupee Helps Stock Markets
  End in Green

Minority Welfare Must Not be Tied
to Religion of Officials by Rajeev Ranjan Roy
With the government gearing to deploy officials from the minorities in areas they dominate, community leaders have said that welfare of minorities should not be linked to the "religion of bureaucrats" and sought better implementation of welfare measures for their economic and educational betterment. Read On

• Terror-hit Jaipur Calm, 63 Dead, 216 Injured
• Violence Continues in Round Two
  of Bengal Panchayat Polls 
• Farmers Enter World of Carbon Trading
  through Biogas Use 

UPA 'Equally Responsible' for Blasts:
Rajasthan Minister by Sahil Makkar
A day after serial blasts ripped through its capital killing at least 63 people, Rajasthan blamed the central government and said it was not "mere coincidence" that that the attack came only two days after the 10th anniversary of the Pokhran nuclear test. Read On

• US Condemns Jaipur Blasts, Vows to Stand by India
• Curfew Imposed in Parts of Jaipur; Death Toll 55

Serial Blasts Rock Jaipur
by Anil Sharma and Murali Krishnan
Seven synchronized blasts ripped through the Indian tourist city of Jaipur Tuesday evening, killing at least 50 people and injuring nearly 100 others - and officials feared the death toll could rise. The carefully choreographed blasts at six spots went off within a space of 20 minutes ... Read On 

• Shoaib Akhtar Scripts Impressive Win
  for Knight Riders

Infiltration on rise as Kashmir readies for Elections
Infiltration from across the border is on the rise in Jammu and Kashmir with the valley gearing up for the assembly elections this year, but attempts of "enemies" to disrupt the peace process will be thwarted, India's Defence Minister A.K. Antony Tuesday said. Read On

Aga Khan Focuses on Madrassa Reforms,
Heritage Monuments
The Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims, Tuesday called on President Pratibha Patil and discussed a host of issues, including reforms in madrassa education and the conservation of monuments in India. Read On