Indian nationals wanting to return home from Libya will initially be evacuated by sea from Benghazi to Alexandria in neighbouring Egypt. A chartered passenger ferry with capacity to seat 1,200 persons is in Egypt and it was readying to sail to Benghazi with ministry of external affairs (MEA) personnel and medical team on board. The vessel, named Scotia Prince, is expected to reach Benghazi by February 27 and bring back at least 1,200 Indians to Alexandria by March 1, from where they would be flown home by special Air India flights.

One of the most well-loved personalities, especially among children and the creator of the Amar Chitra Katha series, Anant Pai (fondly known as Uncle Pai) passed away in Mumbai on Thursday at the age of 79. Pai was responsible for a sort of revolution in the world of comic books. A well-known educationist and creator of Indian comic books, especially the Amar Chitra Katha series, Pai was born in Karkala district of Karnataka to Venkataraya and Susheela Pai on September 17 in 1929.

A day after skipping the meeting of the powerful Majlis-e-Shoora (governing council) of the Darul Uloom, Deoband of which he is a member, Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, who leads the All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in Assam and is a Lok Sabha MP from Dhubri, on Thursday claimed that he did so as he was facing threats.

An associate of Haryana’s former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala was shot dead by car-borne assailants while he was sitting on dharna at Rohtak to protest the state government’s land acquisition policy.

With the Samajwadi Party getting increasingly aggressive in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress has now turned defensive.
The protests held by the Samajwadi Party inside and outside the state Assembly on the issue of amending the urban local bodies bill by the Mayawati government have reinforced the Samajwadi Party’s position as the main challenger to the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party.

Railway minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to increase the frequency of Duronto Express and increase number of suburban trains in the Railway Budget on Friday. It may be recalled that Ms Banerjee during her last Budget had announced over 120 projects for home state. This also included infrastructure projects to attract investments in the state.

Two key members of the National Advisory Council’s drafting committee on the proposed Communal and Sectarian Violence Bill, Usha Ramanathan and Vrinda Grover have quit the advisory body following their differences over fixing the accountability of public officials in any such incident. “We have quit the drafting committee. We will come up with an alternative draft bill, put it in public domain and lobby with the government to incorporate it in the law,” said Ms Grover. Both Ms Grover and Mr

Heeding the advice of late Jyoti Basu, the CPI(M) has decided to approach not only known supporters but also those who have deserted the party. The ruling party is planning to set up a 10-member team for each of the 294 Assembly constituencies which will go to polls. The responsibility of the teams will be to go from door to door to

A 26-year-old factory worker from Bihar was stabbed to death when he allegedly resisted a robbery bid in southwest Delhi’s Sagarpur area on Wednesday evening.
The incident took place at around 9.30 pm near a park in D-block when the deceased, Virender, who worked with an embroidery factory, was returning home. Four

Giving relief to the IPS officer, Nirmal Dhoundial, accused of cheating 87-year-old former Delhi University professor Lotika Sarkar, Justice Shiv Narayan Dhingra of the Delhi high court on Thursday quashed the FIR lodged against him.