• Afghan Envoy Kidnapped in Pakistan  

India will Help Out of Financial Crisis:
British Finance Minister by Dipankar De Sarkar
The British finance minister said India and other strong emerging economies will help bail out Britain from the current global economic downturn. Read On

Maoists Lose Religion Battle in Nepal 
by Sudeshna Sarkar
Nepal's former Maoist guerrillas, who had fought successfully against the state army in the past and brought about the end of the Shah dynasty, were forced to bite the dust before the powerful Newar community of Kathmandu valley and pledge not to interfere with traditional religious festivals. Read On

Obama, McCain Spar Over $700 bn
US Bailout Plan by Arun Kumar
As lawmakers and officials scrambled to finalize the Bush administration's $700 billion bailout plan to save the US financial system from collapse, the two presidential candidates sparred over how to deal with the mess. Developed with support from the country's central bank, the Federal Reserve, the plan would have the government buy up to $700 billion of the bad loans in the hope that this will allow financial firms to resume normal lending operations. Read On

• Fed Extends Credit to Morgan Stanley,
  Goldman Sachs
• Chinese Hospitals Treat 13,000 Infants
  for Tainted Milk

Pakistan Blast Toll Rises to 53, Probe Underway
by Muhammad Najeeb
Pakistani authorities were desperately searching for vital leads as they investigated the devastating suicide bombing at a luxury hotel here Saturday that claimed at least 53 lives, but a top official Sunday refused to charge any outfit with the outrage. Read On

• Israeli PM Olmert Hands in Formal Resignation
• Mbeki Formally Resigns,
  Denies Role in Zuma Prosecution  
• Taiwan Issues Sea, Land Warnings
  for Typhoon Hagupit
• Six Held in Yemen
  Over Fake Claim of US Embassy Attack 

PepsiCo Announces $500 mn Investment in India
PepsiCo will invest $500 million in India over the next three years to triple the turnover out of one of the top five markets for the group by 2014, its chairperson and chief executive Indra Nooyi said Sunday. The investment, towards capacity upgrades, infrastructure, research, new products development, environment sustainability and agriculture, will create 50,000 more direct and indirect jobs, the Chennai-born executive said at a press conference in Gurgaon. Read On

• End Emergency Before Polls,
  say Bangladesh Parties  

Pakistani Journalist Recalls Night of Horror
at Marriott by Muhammad Najeeb
Pakistani journalist Imtiaz Alam was in a lift in Hotel Marriott here when he heard an ear-splitting boom. The lift came to a sudden halt and its lights went off. A friend of many Indian journalists, Alam did not know then that a suicide bomber had just blown up a truck packed with one tonne of explosives outside the gates of the luxury hotel. Read On
► Footage Shows Lone Suicide Bomber
    Behind Islamabad Blast

Indian IT Companies Bringing 11,000 Migrants
to UK Every Year by Venkata Vemuri
Over 11, 000 foreign workers are being brought into Britain by Indian IT companies every year, prompting a trade union to question if the work permit system is being "abused" in the process. Read On

McCain's Brazilian Love Found
after more than 50 Years: Report
A 77-year-old Brazilian former model who was the young love of US Republican presidential candidate John McCain has been found by a newspaper in the South American country. Maria Garcinda Tedixeira de Jesus met McCain in 1957 while he was in Rio de Janeiro on leave from his Navy ship. Read On

• Huge Blast in Islamabad; 60 Killed,
  Toll may Rise

Head of Italian Subsidiary Beaten to Death
in Greater Noida 
L.K. Choudhary, the managing director of an Indian subsidiary of an Italy-based company in the industrial area of Greater Noida, adjacent to the national capital, was beaten to death by irate retrenched workers Monday. Read On

Manmohan to take Terror Upfront with Zardari 
by Manish Chand
Even as Prime Minister Manmohan gets ready for some tough talk on cross-border terror and spike in infiltration and ceasefire violations with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in New York, India is not sure about how much clout Zardari has in the new dispensation marked by multiple centers of power. Read On

Terror Probe Heads South, More Leads Uncovered
Investigations into the various serial blasts that rocked Indian cities moved to the south of the country when a joint team of the Delhi Police and Intelligence Bureau arrived late Sunday in a special plane at Udupi in Karnataka to unearth further leads. Read On
► Delhi Blast Suspect Saif Taken to Karnataka,
    Many Questioned

• Karnataka Invokes 'Goonda Act'
  Against Church Attackers 

Indian Markets Trying to Understand
Wall Street Changes by Arjun Sen
Indian investors are still trying to evaluate the full implications of the biggest financial restructuring in the US since the Great Depression of 1929, analysts said here Monday. "What is happening today is similar to what happened after the Great Depression of 1929 when the US federal government set up the RFC to provide credit to credit crunch-hit companies," said analyst Jagannadham Thunuguntla. Read On

• Markets Close Nearly Flat
  as Traders Grapple with Data  
• Yamuna Crosses Danger Mark in Delhi
• Uttar Pradesh Rivers in Spate,
  Another 200,000 Affected 

PM Looks Forward to Discussing
'Entire Range of Issues' with Bush
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday said he looked forward to his meeting with US President George W. Bush in Washington later this week to discuss the entire range of issues on the bilateral agenda, including on the civil nuclear initiative. Read On
► PM for Multilateral Approach
    to Meet 'Contemporary Challenges' 
► Assam Editor Dropped from PM Trip,
    Accuses MEA of Communal Bias

Trapped for Hours, Rescued by IAF,
Orissa Victims Recall Ordeal
Two men in their 60s were trapped on the roof of a building in a flood-hit Orissa village for 12 hours until an Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper came to their help. They recount their ordeal with horror and can't stop thanking the defence personnel. Read On

• Rahul Gandhi Surprises Many
  with Golden Temple Visit

Eco-friendly 'Green Buildings' Catching On in India
by Quaid Najmi
How about living in a 'green building'? The popularity of such eco-friendly 'green buildings' with their own water harvesting and solar power systems is catching on in India and the high price is no deterrent. Green buildings also have their own water re-cycling system. Read On

• Special Card to Offer Discounts to Chandigarh Visitors

In India's Silicon Valley, Senior Citizens
Hunt for Jobs by Maitreyee Boruah
India's tech hub Bangalore has more than half a million senior citizens, of whom nearly 90 percent are without any pension benefits, forcing many of them to go on working for a living and compete in a market that prefers young blood. Read On

Primary Health Still Lowest Priority for States 
About 50 percent of posts of specialists at various community health centers (CHCs) are lying vacant in India, says a report by industry lobby ASSOCHAM, indicating that primary health still remains the lowest priority of state governments. Read On