As the US mobilses international support against the authoritarian Syrian regime, the Obama Administration wants India and China, the two countries having major investment in Syria's energy sector, to step up pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to curtail his government's brutal crackdown on protests, secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said.

After putting England in a commanding position, opener Alastair Cook said his side was determined to bat India out of the ongoing third cricket Test here.

The Army on Friday successfully conducted the user trial of BrahMos Block-III supersonic cruise missiles that has the ability to engage inaccessible targets inside hillocks.

The film Aarakshan, which deals with the reservation policy in the education sector, has stirred up a controversy before its release this Friday. Directed by Prakash Jha and starring Amitabh Bachchan and Saif Ali Khan, it has angered Dalit and backward caste politicians who claim the film is anti-reservation. Jha and his team point out that the film has been cleared by the Censor Board without any cuts.

Japan may have a new leader by the end of the month, its sixth in five years, newspapers said on Wednesday, as embattled Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he would resign soon.

Novy Kapadia

In the 2014 World Cup qualifying preliminary draw which took place at the Marina da Gloria in Rio de Janeiro, the main beneficiaries were South America.
The Fifa executive committee, despite repeated pleas by the representatives from Africa and the North, Central America and the Caribbean Zone (Concacaf) decided to retain the same qualifying berths for all the continents in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Chinese and Indian citizens dominated Australia’s border control blacklist, secret documents showed Saturday, with the majority of people singled out for national security reasons.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting feels that the year-end home series against India will not only be a keen contest but would also be a lot different as compared to when the Indian team plays any other opponent.

The Comptroller and Auditor General has slammed Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati for incurring an “extra” expenditure of Rs 66 crores on her two dream projects — B R Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram memorials here.

Ayaz Memon

In a week marked by defeat and dismay the good news up front: Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, touted as India’s big hopes in preventing a total rout in this series, are in action and look intent on regaining their Test places.
Sehwag, unaffected by jet lag, spent the better part of an hour at the indoor nets at Northants County ground and did not wince even once.