Cairo: The leadership of Egypt's ruling party quit on Saturday, but the protesters who have rocked the political establishment dismissed the move as a ruse that would not deter them from their goal of toppling the president. The United States, Egypt's key ally, which has been demanding transition begin immediately, signalled it might be changing tack by declaring explicitly that President Hosni Mubarak should stay in power to oversee the process. This was likely to anger demonstrators demanding he resign immediately. Reports by Al Arabiya saying President Hosni Mubarak had resigned as head of the party were later withdrawn by the Dubai-based television news channel. Mubarak has reshuffled his government but says he intends to stay on as president until elections in September. State television said only the leadership of the party, including Mubarak's son Gamal, had resigned and named the new secretary general as Hossam Badrawi, seen as more liberal. A US official called th...

Wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified mark-uplanguage . Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used to create collaborative works including community websites, corporate intranets, knowledge management systems and note services. Ward Cunningham, developer of the first wiki software, WikiWikiWeb, came across the word 'wiki' while on honeymoon in Hawaii. The word means 'quick' . Jaya Srivastava, Uttar Pradesh

WASHINGTON: Welcoming any step that moves Egypt, which is the middle of a political unrest, towards transition to democracy , the White House today said that it is for the Egyptians to decide how this transition occurs. "As the President has repeatedly said, Egyptians will be the ones that decide how this transition occurs. We welcome any step that provides credibility to that process," said Tommy Vietor Spokesman, National Security Council, White House. The White House statement came amidst reports that Gamal Mubarak, the head of the National Democratic Party and son of embattled President Hosni Mubarak has resigned. "We view this as a positive step towards the political change that will be necessary, and look forward to additional steps," a senior Administration official said when asked about the latest development coming from Egypt. ...

BHUBANESWAR: Orissa women and child development minister Pramila Mallick on Saturday resigned from her post in the wake of allegation of Rs 700-crore scam in purchase of dal for mid-day meal [MMD] scheme and Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP). Women and Child Development department is the nodal agency through which dal is being given to about 95 lakh beneficiaries including 50 lakh school children. I have tendered my resignation on my own on moral grounds in the interest of the Biju Janata Dal [BJD] and to keep the clean image of the government intact. It is a sacrifice for the party and government. I am not afraid of any probe," she said claiming that she was a victim of conspiracy. Claiming that there was no pressure on her to resign, Mrs Mallick said she met the chief minister this morning and conveyed her desire to step down to prevent people f...

New Delhi: Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy on Saturday asked a Delhi court to name Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Rajas relatives and his wife as accused with Raja in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case. "I have prepared an additional application to impeach Mr Karunanidhi as co-accused along with some other accuse, whom I may name them later on. Karunanidhi is co conspirator in looting the country, Raja couldn't have done it alone," said Swamy. In a petition filed on January 17, Swamy had sought the summoning of seven officials from agencies such as the CAG, the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. Sandeep Sethi appeared for CAG and filed the certified copy of the report in the Tis Hazari court. The Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai was summoned last week after a complaint by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, seeking the prosecution of the former Telecom Minister, A Raja, in the 2G case. The court on Saturday issued a notice to the CBI...

New Delhi: Uncle of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, the NSG commando killed by terrorists during the 26/11 attacks who attempted self-immolation on Thursday outside Parliament, died on Friday night. The 56-year-old K Mohanan suffered 98 percent burns when he set himself on fire. Although it was not clear why he took the drastic step, some reports say he was disturbed over his nephew's death. He was apparently also upset with the government's apathy in treating 26/11 victims. K Mohanan attempted to set himself on fire in front of Parliament on Thursday. He was admitted to the RML hospital in the capital with 70 per cent burns. K Mohanan, a native of Kozhikode in Kerala, poured kerosene on his body and set himself afire outside Gate No 4 of Parliament House near Vijay Chowk at around 5:45 pm, a senior police official said. (With inputs from PTI)

Aurangabad: BJP president Nitin Gadkari on Saturday criticised the Central government for not making efforts to declare the names of those who had stashed black money belonging to India in Swiss banks. "I don't understand why they do not want to make the names of the account holders public? Is anybody from the treasury bench involved? The Indian money, stashed in the Swiss banks should be brought back and the names of the account holders should be declared," Gadkari said at a rally here this evening. "The money belongs to the poor people of our country. If the money is brought back each person in the country would get Rs 2,34,000 and it can be utilised for the development of the nation," he added. Alleging that the Congress had "looted" the country, Gadkari said people like Ottavio Quattrocchi, involved in the Bofors scam, were "permitted in the house of the top Congress leaders" without any security check. Gadkari further said that along wi...

Tunisia will next week lift a state of emergency that was imposed last month by ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali at the height of a popular revolt, Tourism Minister Mehdi Houass said Friday. Next week will see the lifting of the state of emergency, the minister told reporters. Meanwhile, the European Union slapped asset freezes Friday on 46 associates of ousted Tunisian leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, an EU official told AFP. The state of emergency, alongside a curfew and a ban on public gatherings, were imposed by Ben Ali on Jan. 14, a few hours before he fled the country. Authorities have since then reduced the curfew period as protests abated. We wanted to do this step by step out of caution and to ensure total security for people, Houass added. Major street demonstrations have dried up in Tunisia in recent days, after a reshuffle purged the interim government of most Ben Ali loyalists. However, many Tunisians have called for more members of the old guard to be removed from ...

By Marwa Awad Reuters CAIRO: Egypts vice president will meet a group of prominent independent figures Saturday promoting a solution to the countrys crisis in which he would assume the presidents powers for an interim period, one of the groups said. Diaa Rashwan told Reuters he and others had been invited to see Vice President Omar Suleiman to discuss solutions to the crisis based on an article of the Constitution that would allow President Hosni Mubarak to hand his powers to his deputy. Mubarak would stay on in a symbolic position under the proposal being promoted by Rashwan and a group of Egyptians calling itself the The Council of Wise Men. The U.S., a vital Egypt ally, has said an orderly transition of power must start immediately, though it has not spelt out how it thinks that should happen. Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain have adopted a similar position. Handing powers to Suleiman offers a potential compromise between protesters demands for Mubarak to leave office immedi...

Cairo: Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians marched peacefully in Cairo on Friday to demand an immediate end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, but there was no sign of his generals, or his U.S. allies, squeezing him out just yet. Turnout nationwide seemed short of the million seen on Tuesday and which leaders had hoped to match on what they called "Departure Day." Many Egyptians, weary of disorder, feel Mubarak did enough this week by pledging to step down in September. Some also were wary of renewed violence by shadowy Mubarak loyalists. On the 11th day of unprecedented massive protests which have revolutionized Egypt and the wider Arab world, some 200,000 men and women from all walks of life streamed past patient soldiers to the capital's Tahrir, or Liberation, Square. A similar number marched in the second city of Alexandria and smaller pro-democracy rallies were held elsewhere. "Leave! Leave! Leave!" crowds chanted after Friday prayers on the squ...

SHIMLA: Can a leopard change its spots? This is what seems to be disturbing the Himachal Pradesh police, which in due course of its investigations over the recovery of a large number of foreign currency including Chinese yuan and US dollars from an organization of the 17th Karmapa in the Gyuto Tantric monastery near Sidhbari at Dharamshala, have stumbled upon Chinese connection of not only Ugyen Trinlay Dorje, but also his guru, Tai Situ Rinpoche. Though DGP Himachal, D S Manhas, told TOI that they had the fullest regards for the religious sentiments of the Tibetan people and even held the 17th Karmapa in high esteem, it had to be ensured that law and order of the country is not infringed and the security of the country not jeopardized. "If law and order is infringed, and the security of the country appears threatened, law has to take its own action", he pointed out. He said that Tai Situ Rinpoche, who stood third in t...

NEW DELHI: Former Telecom Minister A Raja, who was arrested yesterday in connection with 2G spectrum allocation case, was taken to Safdarjung Hospital today for medico-legal check-up before being produced in the court. As per the Safdarjung medical record books, Raja entered the hospital at 6.06 in the morning where he was subjected to a number of medical tests to see if he is fit enough to be kept in the custody. "He was brought to the hospital at six in the morning. Physicians conducted a couple of tests," an offical with the hospital said. "In a medico-legal check-up, the physician looks for external and internal injury in the person who undergoes the tests. The person is subjected to a variety of tests which include those of liver, kidney, eye, blood pressure etc," a doctor with Safdarjung hospital said. Raja, fo...

Video Cairo: CNN-IBN video journalist Rajesh Bhardwaj was detained for a second time by the Egyptian Army on Thursday as he was returning to his hotel after being released by authorities after four hours of questioning. His camera has also been confiscated. Bhardwaj after his release said, "Army seized my phone, passport and camera. They switched off my mobile phone and locked me inside. I requested them to allow me to talk to the Indian ambassador but they refused. They haven't returned my camera yet but I have got my passport and mobile back. When I again pleaded them to return my camera, they threatened to detain me. The army is basically targeting the journalists." Earlier on Thursday, Rajesh was taken into preventive custody and his identity card and tapes were burnt. Bhardwaj along with some other media personnel was reportedly taken into custody by the Egyptian Army but released after some time. Bhardwaj was shooting the anti-Hosni Mubarak protests at Tahrir Squar...

Srinagar: People in the Kashmir valley have come out to protest the indifference shown by the government and separatist leaders over the murder of two sisters by militants four days ago even as the separatists have called for a shutdown in Sopore on Friday. Four days after two the sisters were gunned down by militants for allegedly being police informants in Sopore, locals held a sit-in at a Srinagar park and demanded greater security for women. Though the public response to the gruesome killings was feeble initially, more and more people have now come out to protest. "Women are not safe here. The government should investigate the matter. No one was held accountable for Shopian and now this Sopore incident. We want government to find out the truth," said Sanaa, a protestor. Teenagers Akthar and Arifa were killed on Monday evening allegedly by Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, two of whom police claim to have identified. Though it was made out that the girls were killed on the suspi...

NEW DELHI: The days of wiring your television set for a cable connection could soon be over. The information and broadcasting ministry on Thursday set a March 31, 2015 deadline for shift from analog to digital systems. Digital cable TV will ensure better picture quality and services, choice of channels and interactive services. The industry will benefit as the move is expected to bring greater transparency in subscriber base and reduction in carriage fees (paid by channels to cable operators). This is the way ahead for the industry, a government official said. The proposal has been sent to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and will subsequently be put before the Union Cabinet for approval. Digitization, where the feed will be received through set-top boxes, is expected to be executed in phases and the four metros of Delhi , Mumbai, Kolkat...

Thiruvananthapuram: The mystery over the death of a whistleblower Kerala government official in has deepened with post-mortem report revealing bruises on his body. The post-mortem report suggests that Malabar Cements Limited company secretary V Saseendran could have been killed or driven to suicide. Eight bruises were found on his body. Initially, suicide was suspected. But questions are being raised now over the deaths especially as Saseendran was the key witness in about four vigilance cases against Malabar Cements Limited, a public-sector unit. While he was company secretary with the company, Saseendran had written to the Kerala Chief Minister about rampant corruption in the company only to withdrew the allegations and quit the job in a month. His family now says Saseendran had been forced to withdraw his allegations. Saseendran's wife Teena and his father Velayudhan Master filed a petition on Wednesday in the Kerala High Court seeking an investigation by the Central Bureau of ...

Video Chennai: The DMK has backed former telecom minister A Raja, who has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the 2G spectrum scam case. The DMK General Council met in Chennai on Thursday and passed a resolution saying that the arrest doesn't mean Raja is guilty. Sources said Raja had offered to resign as DMK propaganda secretary following his arrest on Wednesday. The party also said that the Opposition has been unnecessarily targeting Raja. Click to play video Chennai: The DMK has backed former telecom minister A Raja, who has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the 2G spectrum scam case. The DMK General Council met in Chennai on Thursday and passed a resolution saying that the arrest doesn't mean Raja is guilty. Sources said Raja had offered to resign as DMK propaganda secretary following his arrest on Wednesday. The party also said that the Opposition has been unnecessarily targeting Raja. With the Tam...

WASHINGTON: India is opposed to sanctions against Iran as it affected the common people the most, but supports the US policy that Tehran should not have nuclear weapons, according to a US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks. According to the cable, in May 2008, the then National Security Advisor , M K Narayanan, told a visiting delegation of American Senators Russ Feingold and Bob Casey that India and Iran have enjoyed civilisational links, India contains the second-largest Shiite population in the world, and any event in Iran could impact India because of their close geographic proximity. However, Narayanan maintained, the Indian government has "bitten the bullet" and held the view that Iran should abide by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), an unpopular position in India. ...

New York : Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. launched the first iPad-only newspaper on Wednesday. It is hoping the right combination of traditional reporting and technological wizardry will lure enough subscribers and advertisers to pay for a new way of delivering journalism. News Corp. plans to charge 99 cents per week or $40 per year for the newspaper, called The Daily. That's less than what many publishers charge per month for home delivery of newspapers, though The Daily won't be burdened with the cost of printing or delivering a physical newspaper. The digital newspaper is produced by reporters in New York and Los Angeles and a network of freelancers. It will be broken out into sections including News, Gossip and Opinion and delivered to subscribers on their iPads each morning. Each edition will have as many as 100 pages the size of an iPad, which measures 9.7 inches diagonally. Content will be updated, though not as often as a website. "There's a growing segment of...

Video New Delhi: Delhi is not the safest city in the country for women. Last year as many as 585 women faced some sort of sexual harassment. But, to rein eve teasers and trouble makers in, Delhi Police has now started giving specialised commando training to its recruits. After the training is complete, the feisty young women will be able to fight, strike and immobilise anyone who dares to break the law. Click to play video New Delhi: Delhi is not the safest city in the country for women. Last year as many as 585 women faced some sort of sexual harassment. But, to rein eve teasers and trouble makers in, Delhi Police has now started giving specialised commando training to its recruits. After the training is complete, the feisty young women will be able to fight, strike and immobilise anyone who dares to break the law. The reason for starting the programme was to give a boost to women safety in the national capital. "We wanted to increase presence of women in Delhi University areas...

CAIRO: Opponents and supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak fought in central Cairo on Wednesday in what appeared to be a move by the strongman to stamp out nine days of protests calling for him to quit. Protesters said some of the Mubarak supporters were members of the hated police forces in plain clothes. Some rode into the crowd on horses and camels and in horse-drawn carriages, wielding whips and sticks. People fought each other with fists, sticks and stones while troops surrounding the square made no attempt to intervene. Reuters correspondents saw dozens of injured. Many people fled in panic. The fighting broke out as international pressure grew on Mubarak to quit and his closest ally, the United States, told him bluntly that a political transition must begin immediately. After Mubarak went on national television on Tuesda...

SRINAGAR: A Kashmiri Hizbul Mujahideen over-ground worker (OGW) collected and distributed Rs 70,000 among the stone pelters of Kashmir. A police press release said that the Hizbul over-ground worker Fayaz Ahmad Wani, resident of Lolipora Pattan, was arrested following a specific information by the Baramulla police on Tuesday. One letter pad and one receit book of the banned terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen was recovered from his possession. The police said that during questioning, the accused disclosed that he had been collecting funds on behalf of Hizbul and was distributing the same to the families of various killed terrorists and OGWs and among the families of those people who were injured in the recent agitation. He was also instigating people to join the militant ranks and avenge the killing of the people during the recent unrest in the valley. Wani ...

SANA's: Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh will not seek another term in office and called for the opposition to join him in a national unity alliance , in an address on Wednesday to a joint session of both houses of parliament. Saleh's announcement came as large opposition demonstrations were planned in Sana'a for Thursday as part of a "Day of Rage", and was made just hours after President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt also said he would not seek re-election. "I present these concessions for the sake of the country," Saleh told legislators, adding that national interests "are more important than personal concerns". He went on to call for the opposition to cancel all protests, but Islah, a leading opposition party, pledged that the demonstrations will go on as planned. Saleh, aged 64...

New Delhi Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday said that if the new communication minister, Kapil Sibal, was right when he said there was no problem in the allocation of 2G spectrum, then why did the CBI arrest his predecessor A Raja. "If Sibal was right, then why the arrest," Yechury told a TV channel after reports of the CBI arresting Raja and two of his aides were flashed across the media. "It only vindicates our position that there is very very deep malaise behind the scam," he said. The CPI-M leader said that the issue was not only about the investigation which is being conducted by the CBI under the supervision of the Supreme Court. "The bigger issue is how was the system allowed to be manipulated in such a huge way," he said, adding that the party's demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the matter was vindicated.

MUMBAI: Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan is the 13th accused in the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam , thus becoming the first CM of the state to figure as an accused in any FIR. The CBI, which registered the FIR and gave it to a special CBI court on Saturday, gave a copy of the document to the Bombay high court on Monday. The CBI is investigating the scam involving allegations of illegal land allotment and environmental violations in the Colaba sea-facing building where top politicians, bureaucrats and their relatives have flats. The allotment was initially meant for serving and retired defence personnel and their families, including Kargil war heroes and their widows. TOI first exposed the scam in a report on October 25, 2010 and wrote on January 31 that Chavan may figure among the accused. ...

Israel should not let the chaos in Egypt halt efforts to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday, but hinted that both sides could eventually opt for interim accords. The situation in Egypt should not be seen as a reason not to continue the negotiation process. If we sit and wait, we might face an even more difficult situation, Merkel told a security conference during a two-day visit to Israel. We have to achieve a two-state solution as soon as possible, she said, adding however that any peace deal might have to be agreed in stages rather than as part of a single, comprehensive treaty as often advocated by international powers. Merkel said it was unacceptable that the Middle East peace negotiations had ground to a halt and urged Israel to bow to Palestinian demands to freeze Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank to revive the stalled talks. If, at the end of the day, a settlement freeze leads to peace, then that will outweig...

BERLIN: The German government said Tuesday it was scaling back the reinforced police presence put in place at train stations and airports in November, in response to evidence Islamist militants were planning an attack. Security authorities have come to the conclusion that a progressive reduction of security measures introduced on Nov. 17, 2010 is possible, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere declared. We will continue to pursue with high intensity all clues and indications in order to head off any danger to our country and the population, together with our international partners. However, De Maiziere warned that it was too early to give the all clear. Germany had beefed up security measures at crowded places after two U.S.-bound parcel bombs originating from Yemen were found to have passed through Cologne airport in western Germany. Berlin was also told by an unidentified foreign partner militants were planning an attack in Germany in November. The information suggested Islamic extrem...

NEW DELHI: Environment Minister Jairam Rameshs tough call on green clearances has not only made foreign investors and corporates wary of venturing into forest areas, but even state governments run by his own party are complaining about how it has prevented them from taking up development works in Naxal-affected areas. According to sources, the Congress-ruled Maharashtra on Tuesday joined forces with Jharkhand during a dedicated session on Leftwing extremism at the chief ministers conference here, to protest against the forests ministrys denial of clearances for development works in the Naxal-infested zones. This, they complained, was robbing the locals of development , which is a key prong of the two-sided approach police action combined with development advocated by the same UPA government to tackle Left-wing extremism. Both Maharashtra and Jharkhand raised this...

NEW DELHI: Controversial CVC P J Thomas today told the Supreme Court that he was a man of "impeccable integrity" and had fulfilled all criteria for appointment to the post after being selected as Secretary in the Government. He said among the shortlisted bureaucrats, he was the senior-most and only person who had served as Chief Secretary, besides having got clearance from the Central Vigilance Commission to be considered for empanelment for appointment as CVC as there was no sanction for his prosecution in the Palmolein import case. Thomas said the question relating to the documents relating to the corruption case not being circulated before the panel headed by the Prime Minister had no relevance in the backdrop of the selection process adopted for the appointment of CVC. "I also must state that the inquiry about the documents being placed before th...

KOCHI: Foreign minister S M Krishna , who on Sunday demanded removal of radio collars forcibly strapped round the ankles of Indian students of a California university, on Monday said, "there isn't much the government can do if the US administration takes legal measures to track illegal students. "There's hardly anything India can do if the US laws permit such action to track students who are considered illegal immigrants. Each country is governed by its laws," Krishna told reporters here. The minister, who had asked the US to punish those behind the electronic surveillance of Indian students at Tri-Valley University , said he still found students being forced to wear radio collars "unacceptable'', and that he expected the US to deal with the issue in a "humanitarian way''. Describing Indian students...