Pakistani Forces Face New Front
After Gains in Swat 
Islamist militants stepped up their activities in Pakistan's South Waziristan region near Afghanistan at the weekend, as a top government official said the military was close to wresting control of the Swat valley from the Taliban fighters. Read On

Thousands Protest Attacks on Indians in Australia
Thousands of slogan-shouting Indian students, joined by many from other countries, massed here Sunday to protest a spate of racially motivated attacks on them in Australia. Chanting slogans against the Australian government and the police for failing to protect them, the Indian students gathered at the Federation Square in the heart of the city. Read On

• Kathmandu Valley Strike Called,
  More Challenges for Government  

Nepal Fails to Exorcise Royal Ghosts 
by Sudeshna Sarkar
Eight years after the assassination of Birendra, king of Nepal, and 9 family members in the tightly guarded royal palace in Kathmandu and a year after the formal abolition of monarchy, the Himalayan republic continues to be haunted by its royal ghosts Read On

• Pakistani Forces Kill 25 Taliban, Two Commanders  

US Defence Chief Warns against New Arms Race in Asia
The United States would not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Saturday while warning that Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests might lead to a new arms race in Asia. Read On

General Motors Prepares for Historic Bankruptcy
The century-old US industrial icon GM is expected to declare bankruptcy Monday in what would be the most humiliating blow yet for the reeling US auto industry. GM would become the fourth-largest bankruptcy in US history and the largest manufacturer to ever seek court protection from its creditors. Read On

US 'Rubbish Peanuts' Won't Help Pakistan
Win War against Terror: Editorial 
The "rubbish peanuts" the US is offering Pakistan won't help it win the war against terror, an editorial in a leading English daily said Saturday, noting that the price this country would have to pay "far outweighs" the $700 million Washington is offering annually for the next five years. Another editorial said without striking at the roots of militancy in the country, "the pipeline that churns out suicide bombers and terrorists can never be shut down". Read On

H1B Restrictions Would Choke US of Talent: Premji by Arun Kumar
Wipro's executive chairman, Azim Premji has warned that a proposal to restrict hiring holders of H1B visas for skilled workers will choke America of talent coming in and could generate a trade war with countries such as India. "In my opinion it's a very drastic initiative," he said in an interview with BusinessWeek, referring to a bill in the US Senate basically preventing firms from hiring H1Bs in the US or bringing in holders of L1 visas for semi-skilled workers. Read On

Obama Launches Cyberspace Security Plan
US President Barack Obama declared the country's digital infrastructure a "strategic national asset" whose protection needs to be overseen from within the White House. Referring to a series of brazen crimes ranging from attacks on thousands of US military computers to the theft of an estimated $1 trillion in intellectual property, Obama announced the creation of a new position for a cyber-security czar who would coordinate a disparate government bureaucracy. Read On

15th Lok Sabha Begins First Session Monday
The first session of the 15th Lok Sabha begins Monday as a resurgent Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was set to start a new innings and an humbled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it will play the role of a "constructive opposition." Read On

• Advani Elected Leader of Opposition 
• India Set to Get First Woman Lok Sabha Speaker
• Economy Recovering, Business Confidence Level Up
• Sharad Yadav Blames BJP for NDA's Poll Debacle

Post 26/11, Pakistan Moved 75% of Air Force to LoC
Pakistan had mobilized 75 percent of its air force resources to the Line of Control (LoC) against India after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, a top Indian Air Force commander said Sunday. Read On

India Asked to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions
15-30 Percent by Joydeep Gupta
India is under pressure from industrialized countries to reduce its GHG emissions by 15-30 percent by 2020. India's negotiators are meeting their counterparts from G77 countries and China throughout this weekend in Bonn to formulate a joint response. Read On

I will Work to Empower Women: Shruti Choudhary
by Mayank Aggarwal 
She may have come into the public eye after her win in the recent general elections, but debutante MP Shruti Choudhary is a third generation politician who is determined to make a difference in parliament by focusing on issues like female feticide that continue to plague her home state, Haryana. Read On

Agatha Sangma seen as Beacon of Hope
in Northeast by Azera Rahman
Young and well-educated, 28-year-old Agatha Sangma's induction into the newly formed Manmohan Singh govt has spelled a wave of "renewed" hope in the minds of the people of northeast, especially in the Garo Hills, where many residents have long felt "neglected". Agatha, they say, is now their beacon of hope. Read On

Cyclone Toll 125, Centre to Send Relief,
Assessment Team
The death toll in the havoc caused by Cyclone Aila rose to 125 Saturday, while there were reports of enteric diseases breaking out in the worst hit South 24 Parganas district.  The enteric diseases have already claimed one life in the district, Read On

• President's Speech to Focus on Social Sector,
  Economy 
• India Should Attract More Foreign Tourists: Selja
• Government will Rectify Laws for Women
  and Child Development: Tirath
• West Bengal to Rebuild 400 km of Embankments
  in Sundarbans

Resentment in Congress
Over Few Ministerial Berths
There is resentment among a section of the Congress in the northeast over the poor representation from the region in the Manmohan Singh ministry. A Congress ally in Assam has also threatened to withdraw support to the Assam government over the issue. Read On

After 23 Years as State,
33 Percent Goa Legislators Tainted
Ruling benches occupied by two ministers facing criminal charges, a deputy speaker charged for corruption, a minister who was earlier in the police list as a "bad character", another minister booked for violating currency control laws and two legislators facing charges of graft and extortion ushered Goa into its 23rd anniversary as a state Saturday. Read On

Manmohan Speaks to Rudd,
Seeks Assurance on Indians' Safety in Australia 
With more attacks being reported on Indian students in Sydney and Melbourne, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday spoke to his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd and urged him to take all possible steps to ensure the security of Indians in Australia. Read On
► 20 Incidents of 'Curry Bashing' in Sydney
    in a Month