Local & States

On Wednesday, following the rape in India's capital, New Delhi, of an eight-month-old girl, Swati Maliwal, head of the Delhi Commission for Women, announced she was beginning a 30-day Satyagrah Aandolan — a form of non-violent civil protest — to persuade the Government of India to impose the death penalty promptly when offenders rape children. She asked for others to join in her protest action. As reported in the Indian press on Monday, the baby girl was initially in critical condition after she was raped on Sunday at her home in Subhash Nagar

Five men pleaded not guilty yesterday to the rape and murder of a 23-year-old Delhi student. They face 13 charges and the death penalty in a specially set up "fast track court". The accused, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Kumar, Ram Singh, Mukesh Singh and Akshay Thakur, signed statements in the court declaring their innocence. The five men could face the death penalty if convicted. The men, on Saturday filed in to the court room with their faces covered, and are next expected to be back in court for a hearing on Monday for the formal start of the trial.

Indian social activist and reformer Anna Hazare, 72, joined a nationwide protest campaign against an anti-corruption bill on Tuesday by beginning a "fast-unto-death" hunger strike at Jantar Mantar observatory in Delhi. He and 100 of his supporters began fasting to protest the bill, known as the Ombudsman bill, when the government did not accept their demand that the opinions of citizens be considered in the formation of the bill. Participants in the nationwide campaign called "India Against Corruption" claim the proposed anti-corrupt

Ramadan, the holy month of Islam, is scheduled to begin today in India. The new moon, which marks the beginning of Ramadan, was observed across the nation. Maulana Mufti Mukkaram Ahmed, Shahi Imam of Delhi's Fatehpur Sikri mosque, announced that Ramadan would begin from today. The new moon was observed in states including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. The new moon could not be observed in Delhi and Mumbai as the sky was covered by clouds but it was seen nearby. Ramadan is observed by fasting from sunrise to suns

Five hundred people are missing and as many as 150 are reported to have been killed by flash floods in India, caused by a sudden cloudburst that hit Indian-controlled Kashmir on Friday. The downpour struck the town of Leh and several surrounding villages, and reportedly caused a mud slide that hit the refugee-populated village of Choglamsar. Associated Press reported that at least five foreign tourists were among those killed. Their nationalities are not known but New Delhi Television (NDTV) reported that 110 tourists, half of them foreigners,

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 7.7 magnitude earthquake near Nicobar Islands, India. The earthquake took place on Sunday at 01:26:35 local time (Saturday 19:26:35 UTC). The earthquake had a depth of 35 kilometers, and the epicenter was located 150 kilometers at the west of Mohean, Nicobar Islands, 440 kilometers at the northwest of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, 1155 kilometers at the southwest of Bangkok, Thailand and 2790 kilometers at the southeast of New Delhi, India. It lasted for about 10–20 seconds. India, Indo

A 6.4 moment magnitude earthquake has hit near the Andaman Islands, Bay of the Bengal, India, on Tuesday at 1:21:48 AM local time (Monday 19:51:48 UTC), USGS has reported. The earthquake had a depth of 127.7 kilometers (79.4 miles). The epicenter was located 120 kilometers southeast of Port Blair, Andaman Islands; 350 kilometers north of Mohean, Nicobar Islands; 795 kilometers southwest of Bangkok, Thailand and 2580 kilometers southeast of New Delhi, India. No casualties or damage have been reported. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawa

Pirates from Somalia have captured two ships in the Gulf of Aden on Monday. The ships thought to be captured are the British owned St James Park chemical tanker, and the Panamanian Navios Apollon cargo ship. This brings the total number of ships being held by the pirates to ten. Also on Monday, pirates released a Singapore-owned cargo ship, the Kota Wajar, for US$4 million (€2.7m, £2.5m) ransom. The pirate commander Mohamed Shakir told The Times “We have hijacked a ship with [a] British flag in the Gulf of Aden late yesterday, we have peace

A bridge under construction along the Chambal river collapsed in Kota India, trapped more than 40 people under debris, and injured five, on Thursday. Twelve bodies have been recovered from the river, and Rajeev Dasot, the inspector general of police, said that the remaining 30 are most likely dead. Numerous rescuers were on the site, however it could take another three days to finish cleaning the area. Local investigators have arrested two project managers working for South Korea's Hyundai Engineering and Gammon India under suspicion of culp

The Indian Government issued a terror alert in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), and Chennai (formerly Madras). This comes after several militants claiming to be the Taliban allegedly sneaked into India to conduct suicide bombings. According to one source, the terrorists are planning an attack on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The Nuclear Plants across India received a similar alert, due to fears that terrorists would be targeting them. In addition, government offices and transportation facilities have received beefed up

Officials in Pakistan have said that a bomb blast killed seven Pakistani soldiers and wounded eleven others on Saturday in the northwestern part of the country. The incident took place in the Khyber region, which is the main route for moving supplies to international forces fighting in neighbouring Afghanistan. The explosion struck a vehicle that was transporting paramilitary troops on a patrol near the region's main town of Landikotal, according to a spokesman for the Frontier Corps. "The vehicle was completely destroyed and seven of our sold

Two passenger trains collided in India early on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people and injuring more than twenty others, reports have said. The accident occurred at around 05.30 local time (00.00 UTC), when a passenger train collided with another train which was waiting at a red signal near the northern city of Agra. Both the trains were in the final leg of their journey at the time of the collision. They were heading to the capital, New Delhi, which is about 200 kilometers north of the accident site. Passengers said that they were sleepi