In a highly choppy trade, the BSE benchmark index Sensex failed to regain the psychological 16,000-mark on Monday, despite ending in the positive terrain for the second day with a gain of 20 points, as funds continued to their selling spree in heavy-weight counters.

Tracking Asia, the Sensex opened 95 points down and shuttled between 16,061.41 and 15,651.99 before shutting the shop for the day up a paltry 19.96 points at 15,935.61, as Reliance and Infosys bucked the general downtrend. These two stocks …

A Ras Leela without ageing uncles and aunties and bawling children in the audience? That was the scene at the French embassy on Friday evening, as an audience comprising officials of the embassy of France sat enthralled though Krishna, a dance drama by the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra.

Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont hosted the Ras Leela as part of the reception of the French minister of ecology, energy, sustainable development and sea Jean-Louis Borloo, who is on an …

The defeated candidate in Sri Lanka’s presidential election, General Sarath Fonseka, has been arrested at his office in Colombo.

Gen Fonseka was defeated by incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa last month by six million votes to four million.

Gen Fonseka rejected the results and vowed to challenge them in court.

The initial allegations brought by the government against Gen Fonseka, 59, were put simply as “committing military offences”.

The government had earlier been seeking legal advice on bringing a court martial on charges of plotting to …

Three Shiv Sena legislators complained Monday that their police security cover had been withdrawn, and accused the Congress-NCP of getting back at them for their recent opposition to the government.

Two of the three lawmakers, Jogeshwari MLA Ravindra Waikar and Andheri MLC Anil Parab, were among the 342 Shiv Sena activists who were detained last week for waving black flags at Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Mumbai. Before that, Parab had led a march to Shah Rukh Khan’s home to protest the …

With RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) spearheading a campaign against introduction of Bt brinjal and Sangh boss Mohan Bhagwat too speaking out against it, BJP-ruled Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh went the Uttarakhand way today, announcing a ban on commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal.

Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said he did not expect everybody to be happy with the keenly awaited decision planned to be announced before February 10.

Speaking at a news conference in Kochi, Ramesh said: “I have to be sensitive to the public opinion, be responsible …

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan will star with Mohanlal in a Malayalam film based on the hijack of an Indian Airlines flight to Kandahar in Afghanistan in 1999, the movie director Major Ravi said.

The veteran actor held discussions in this regard with Mohanlal and Ravi here last night.

Ravi said that the story of the film, presently named ’Kandahar’ was narrated to Bachchan last night. “Bachchan ji was engrossed in the story and after hearing it said I am doing it,” Ravi said.

The shooting would begin by June, …

The government may not tinker with the corporate tax rates in the Budget 2010-11 despite pressure from India Inc to slash rates or at least do away with surcharge and cess.

The industry has been clamouring for a reduction in corporate tax rate to 25 per cent from the current over 30 per cent, including education cess and surcharge. Corporate tax rates could be kept at the same level and the industry may have to wait for fiscal 2011-12 for the rate to be 25 per cent as proposed …

Sri Lanka’s defeated presidential candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka could face a military court on charges of conspiring to overthrow the government and plotting to kill President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a report said on Sunday.

The Rajapaksa-led government, which alleged soon after the presidential poll verdict that the former military chief had plotted to kill the President, has consulted its top legal counsel on trying Fonseka in a court martial. “A military court is likely to try retired General Sarath Fonseka on several charges of conspiracy”, the ‘Sunday Times’ …

Victorian police chief Simon Overland has advised Indian students in Australia to keep a low profile and “try to look as poor as you can” to avoid attacks, drawing strong condemnation from the community which called his statement “ridiculous”.

Indian students could make themselves less of a target if they do not display their expensive gadgets, Oliver told an international students’ safety forum here Saturday.

“Don’t display your iPods, don’t display your valuable watch, don’t display your valuable jewellery. Try to look as poor as you can,” Overland …

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India needed stringent laws to counter cross-border terrorism and criticised the Central Government for not giving the nod to his state’s proposed anti-terror act.

“We need latest technology to strengthen our forces but we also need stringent laws to fight the challenge of terrorism from across the border,” Modi told reporters on the margins of the internal security meeting held in New Delhi.

“India is a democracy and such laws will also protect human rights,” he said.

Earlier, in his address …