India

Jack Abramoff, the disgraced ex-lobbyist began his six year prison sentence today. Abramoff himself pled guilty on January 3, to three criminal felony counts in a Washington, D.C. federal court related to the defrauding of American Indian tribes and corruption of public officials. The following day he pled guilty to two criminal felony counts in a separate federal court, in Miami, related to his fraudulent dealings with SunCruz Casinos. On March 29, he was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of more

The Sector 15A locality in Noida, India, which is considered an elite enclave of rich industrialists, bureaucrats and professionals was in for a shock when Anant Gupta, son of Adobe India CEO Naresh Gupta was abducted in broad daylight by two unidentified men on Monday. The Noida police was subsequently notified but they were unable to locate the motor-cycle used by the kidnappers as no one was able to take down the registration number of the vehicle. A number of raiding teams have been formed by the police to track down the offenders. Nares

Allegations of paedophilia made against Indian guru, Sathya Sai Baba are back in the limelight again, after the UK's Sai Youth movement was recognised as an accredited partner of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme. The Baba's followers deny the allegations, and the Sai Youth UK's National Co-ordinator called them "totally unfounded". Sai Baba attracts followers from many countries around the world who revere him as a "living god". Around 200 youth are due to fly to India on November 13th after receiving a "divine commandment" to carry out

Christopher Soghoian, 24, a doctoral student in information security at Indiana University, released a boarding pass generator for Northwest Airlines on October 25th. In the release, he stated that it demonstrates flaws in airport security and the no-fly list. A few days later, on October 27th, Soghoian was visited by the FBI who told him to take down the site. Soghoian complied with the FBI request. However, the FBI then raided his apartment that evening; apparently due to lack of a warrant during the first visit. Representative Ed Markey

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that the first test of the indigenously built cryogenic rocket engine had been a success. Currently, only the United States, Russia, the European Space Agency, China and Japan have successfully developed cryogenic engines, which use rocket fuel and oxidiser stored in a liquified form at very low temperatures. The test was carried out at ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair said that the trial had lasted 50 seconds and had be

Two members of the Islamic militant group Al-Badr have been arrested in Mysore after a gun-battle with police early Friday morning. Police said that they were planning a "devastating" terrorist attack in the state by attacking Vidhan Soudha in Bangalore, which houses the state secretariat and legislative assembly. According to Karnataka DGP B S Sial, they were intercepted by police when they were riding a bike early morning and apprehended after a shootout. The gunfight took place near the city's Vijaynagar extension. Two police constables an

The Indian National Security Advisor M K Narayanan has said that India doesn't have "clinching" evidence of the involvement of Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI in the Mumbai train blasts of July 11, which killed 207 people and injured several hundred more. "I would hesitate to say we have clinching evidence but we have pretty good evidence," he was quoted as saying on CNN-IBN. This statement from a high-ranking Indian official goes against the assertion of the Anti-Terror Squad chief KP Raghuvanshi on October 1 that there was enough e

An Indian Air Force MiG crashed today in Jarohi village in the Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. Police officials in Jailpaiguri said that the pilots of the plane managed to eject safely and that one of them has been taken to Hasimara airbase hospital to be treated for injuries to his legs. Although the jet went up in flames after hitting the ground, no property damage has been reported. The only civilian casualty was a local girl who, officials say, fell unconscious after hearing the sound of the crash. She has been taken to Alipurdaur ho

In the second canonization ceremony of his papacy, Pope Benedict XVI today named four new saints. The new saints were Rosa Venerini (1656-1728), Mother Theodore Guerin (1798-1856), Filippo Smaldone (1848-1923), and Bishop Rafael Guizar Valencia (1878-1938). Rosa Venerini helped to establish Italy's first public schools for girls. Mother Theodore Guerin pioneered schools and religious institutions in Indiana after emigrating from France in 1840. One of the schools she founded, a girls academy, is still in existence a few miles west of Terre H

A private security guard attached to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie pulled out his revolver to threaten a lensman in Pune, India. The Associated Press photographer was also roughed up by the guard, Sunil Singh, who works for Tops Securities. Defamer.com, a tabloid in Los Angeles, however, says that two guards were involved in the attack. The incident occurred at the Sindh Society area in the suburb of Aundh. A spokesperson for Tops confirmed the incident, although he claimed the weapon had been pulled out in "self-defence". The accosted person

The 2006 Man Booker Prize was awarded to Kiran Desai, for her fictional work The Inheritance of Loss. The 35-year-old is the youngest woman, and the third Indian, to win the £ 50,000 award. After two hours of deliberation, Hermione Lee, (chairwoman of the judges) announced that the panel had chosen Desai's second novel over the other shortlisted entries- In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar, The Secret River by Kate Grenville, Carry Me Dow by M. J. Hyland, Mother's Milk by Edward St Aubyn and The Night Watch by Sarah Waters. "This is a magni

__NOTOC__ Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 crashed 1,750km (1,100 miles) north-west of Rio de Janeiro killing all people onboard, on Friday September 29. National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) has confirmed that the crashed Brazilian airplane did crash into a smaller aircraft. Rescue workers and air force personnel are searching the wreckage for bodies Search and rescue teams arrive Search and rescue teams rappelled down ropes or hacked a way through the rainforest, led by local Indians to reach the wreckage. The first people at the scen