New Delhi: Aiming to strengthen its medium-lift helicopter fleet, the IAF is planning to procure 59 more Mi-17 IV choppers in addition to the 80 ordered earlier from Russia.

New Delhi: The central government on Thursday said a video clip, purportedly shows uniformed personnel herding four naked young men in Kashmir, had not been "authenticated" and agencies had been asked to investigate the matter. 'The Indian Express' had reported on Thursday that this three-minute video clip, anonymously posted on social networking sites Facebook and YouTube, was being widely circulated in Srinagar.

It’s been often asked why our officialdom, with all the intellectual capital at its command, is unable to quantify the number of the really poor in India. Is this such a difficult thing to do? It is all the more baffling because in recent times, the debate on India’s poverty has only further confounded ordinary citizens. The Planning Commission had come up with an assumed deprivation ratio of 27.5%. This meant 27.5% of India’s population lived below the poverty line, defined as a minimum per capita income threshold of Rs 3,816 per annum.

New Delhi: Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday appealed to the media to help maintain communal harmony in view of a United States pastor threatening to burn the Quran, and said it was "obviously calculated" to increase strife between religious groups.

As my flight approached America last weekend, my mind circled back to the furore that has broken out over plans to build Cordoba House, a community centre in Lower Manhattan. I had been away from home for two months, speaking abroad about cooperation among people from different religions. Every day, including the past two weeks spent representing the US on a State Department tour in the Middle East; I have been struck by how the controversy has riveted the attention of Americans, as well as nearly everyone I met in my travels.

New Delhi: Clearing decks for the formation of the BJP-JMM government in Jharkhand, the Union Cabinet today recommended the revocation of President's rule in the state. "The Cabinet has made appropriate recommendation to the President based on the governor's recommendation. You will have to wait for the President's decision," Home Minister P Chidambaram said after a meeting of the Union Cabinet here, which took up the issue.

On September 11, 2001, two civilian planes turned into terrorist torpedoes and literally slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, in Lower Manhattan, New York, killing 2,752 people.

Chennai: Lost Mumbai boy Mohammed Fazlu just might celebrate Eid with his family. The nine-year-old has been staying at a shelter in Tamil Nadu after making an accidental train journey, but a couple claiming to be his parents turned up Thursday to take him home.

New Delhi/Chandigarh: With heavy rains in catchment areas near Delhi, the Yamuna river is set to cross the danger mark of 204.83 metres by Thursday evening. The authorities are appealing to Delhiites living in low-lying areas not to "panic" but to shift to safer locations.

Srinagar: Curfew was lifted today from all parts of the Kashmir Valley on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr. "Curfew has been lifted from all parts of Srinagar city, and Anantnag and Bijbehara towns in south Kashmir in view of Eid-ul-Fitr," a police official said. Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated tomorrow or Saturday, depending on the sighting of the new moon, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramzan.

Bhopal: At least 18 people were killed when an overcrowded bus fell into Bagdi river in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district, police said, adding that more than 30 passengers are still missing.

Pune: Rishab Agarwal, who survived the German Bakery blast, is indifferent to the twin arrests by the ATS.

Pune: As a schoolboy, Mirza Himayat Baig was naughty and was frequently scolded by his father Mirza Inayat Baig for neglecting his studies, but he was sharp and did well in class, his brother says.

Pune: The family of Mohsin Chowdhary, alleged recruiter for the Indian Mujahideen, said on Wednesday they want him to surrender. Mohsin’s name has come up again after the ATS made two arrests for the Bakery blast.

Mumbai, Pune: Seven months after the bomb blast at Pune’s German Bakery, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) today claimed that it had achieved a breakthrough in the probe and arrested 29-year-old Mirza Himayat Baig for the attack which killed 17 people.

Srinagar/New Delhi: A three-minute video anonymously posted on YouTube and Facebook that purportedly shows uniformed security personnel in the Valley herding four young men stripped naked is being widely circulated in Srinagar.

Mumbai/ Bangalore/Chennai: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest information technology (IT) services company, will remain immune to the US state of Ohio’s ban on outsourcing of government IT and back-office projects to offshore locations such as India. Rather multi-national companies like IBM, Accenture, CSC and HP will be affected more by this.