PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Sitting on a broken chair outside a Sikh temple in a crowded part of Peshawar, Aman Deep Singh is frantic about his future after losing his business in Pakistan's tribal district of Khyber.
When the Taliban gave Sikhs and Hindus an ultimatum -- leave the land of your forefathers or pay an Islamic tax in protection money -- Singh packed up and left his native Tirah valley for Peshawar.
"We were living under fear. Fear of militants, fear of Lashkar-e-Islam and fear of other armed groups," said Singh, his hair

Heavy rains lashed many parts ofPunjab and Haryana today, with south-west monsoon which hadturned "weak" over the region earlier becoming "active" onceagain. With north-west region receiving deficient rains betweenJuly 1 and 25, today's widespread rains gave themuch-needed respite to the people from sultry conditionswhile the power situation in the two states should alsoease.  The rains also came as a big relief to the farmingcommunity of the two agrarian states as prolonged dryweather had threatened to cause crop damage.Meanwhile, Ludhiana was the wettest place in the regiongetting drenched by 142.8 mm of rain, the Met Departmentsaid here.

NEW DELHI: Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi on Monday asked journalists to wait for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to spell out his stand in Parliament on the India-Pakistan joint statement.Briefing the media, he said that he had nothing more to say after the media in-charge, Janardan Dwivedi, had spoken.Mr. Singhvi advocated patience till Wednesday when Dr. Singh is expected to intervene during the discussion in the Lok Sabha on issues arising out of the Prime Minister’s recent visit to foreign countries. With Dr. Singh due to clear the air and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to articulate

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday decried the Union Government’s move to ask the States to bear 50 per cent subsidy on diesel for agriculture purposes.According to an official release, Mr. Badal said since 95 per cent of the paddy produced in Punjab went to the Central grain pool to ensure national food security, the Union Government should bear the entire cost of subsidising diesel for use in the farm sector, especially when the monsoon had failed.While he demanded that diesel prices for farm operations be brought down to Rs.20 per litre, Mr. Badal said the

Frisking of former President A P J Abdul Kalam by the staff of America's Continental Airline caused uproar on Tuesday in Parliament after which the Government registered an FIR here against the ‘concerned staff’ of the airlines.
77-year-old Kalam was frisked in violation of the mandatory protocol at Delhi International airport before he was to board the Newark-bound Continental Airline flight on April 21. The staff of the airline frisked him after which he was allowed to board the plane. The incident was roundly condemned in

After his unexpected confession to involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks in November, 2008, the lone terrorist captured alive after the carnage, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab - one of the key 26/11 accused - made a startling statement in court.
On Tuesday, he said he had orders from Pakistan to fire indiscriminately at the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
The prosecution says he is a good actor and the defence says his utterances cannot be seen as a confession. But many feel his admission to guilt is reason enough for the trial to be brought to an end. CNN-IBN debated the legalities and repercussions of such a move on Face the Nation with a panel comprising lawyers and politicians.