Mr Omar Abdullah, who heads the National Conference-Congress coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, met Mrs Sonia Gandhi on Saturday and discussed with her the functioning of his government. Sources said Mrs Gandhi expressed her satisfaction over the handling of the situation by the state government and assured the full support of her party. He also met the Prime Minister and the home minister.

The nine parameters laid down by a Supreme Court bench to protect citizens’ right of freedom of speech and prevent the Central and state governments from misusing their powers to ban a newspaper, publication or book are:

Maharashta chief minister Ashok Chavan is finding it difficult to create an atmosphere in favour of his state at the Centre, on the issue of boundary dispute between Maharashta and Karnataka. While the Congress is distancing itself from this issue, the Union government cannot take any stand on it as the matter is sub judice.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and its parliamentary party chairman L.K. Advani on Saturday said he was impressed with the influence of Hinduism in Indonesia, a Muslim dominated country.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Saturday viewed gender disparities are more due to lack of proper understanding of women’s capabilities than any real frailty of will and wisdom. But women are emerging as agents of change in the struggle against gender biases. “We have to be catalysts for changing mentalities and addressing cultural stereotypes,” she said.

Sangh Parivar’s proposed aggressive “Hanuman Shakti Jagran” campaign, has hit the JD(U) roadblock in Bihar. JD(U) top brass including its chief Sharad Yadav and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, it is learnt, has cautioned the RSS and the BJP, that this campaign should be kept out of Bihar till the Assembly polls are over. But a

Pakistan Army Chief Gen. Ashraf Parvez Kayani met President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on the afternoon of July 15, just hours before India and Pakistan resumed extended talks in the evening that soured badly, well informed sources said here. After two days of bitter slanging match, sources with access to

The Karnataka BJP government is caught between the devil and the deep sea when it comes to handling the Karnataka crisis.
The BJP leadership is of the view that the government should last its full term, even if it had to let go off the Reddy brothers, with its image intact. But that’s too much for an asking.

An Indian Army major being probed for allegedly being seen with a sex-worker recently in Congo has attempted suicide by slashing his wrists, defence sources have confirmed. Sources said the officer is out of danger and is being treated in a hospital in the African nation.

Taking serious note of the outburst of PCC general secretary Ambat Rambabu against the Andhra chief minister K. Rosaiah, the party has suspended him for alleged anti-party activities. Mr Rambabu is a close aide of Jaganmohan Reddy who is now in the middle of his controversial “Odarpu Yatra.”