Govt says Arunachal integral part of India after Chinese protest

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's trip to Arunachal Pradesh to woo voters ahead of Monday’s assembly elections came despite Beijing's serious concerns, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement posted on the ministry's website.

Reacting to China’s statement, foreign minister S M Krishna said, "Well, regardless of what others say it is the Government of India's stated position that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India. We rest at that.”

The ministry also said in a statement that New Delhi was "disappointed and concerned" over Chinese objection to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

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Annual inflation at 0.7 per cent on September 26

India's wholesale price index rose 0.7 per cent in the 12 months to September 26, lower that previous week's annual rise of 0.83 per cent, government data showed on Thursday.

It compared with a median forecast of a 0.99 per cent rise in a Reuters poll.

The annual inflation rate was 12.08 per cent during the corresponding week of 2008.

Private sector economists have said inflation could reach as high as 8 per cent by the end of March.

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Herta Mueller wins Nobel for Literature

Romanian-born Herta Mueller of Germany has won this year's Nobel Prize for Literature, the Swedish Academy announced in Stockholm on Thursday.

The Academy's citation said that "with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, (she) depicts the landscape of the dispossessed".

The prize is worth 10 million kronor ($1.4 million).

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Taliban say Indian embassy was target

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for Thursday's suicide car bomb in the Afghan capital.and the Talinbans saying their target was the Indian embassy.

Zabiullah Mujahid whose the spokesman of Taliban said in a statement posted on the group's Web site.In the site he said that the attacker was an Afghan man who blew up his a sporty utility vehicle laden with explosives just outside the embassy.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had said the suicide attack in the Afghan capital Kabul was directed at the Indian embassy.

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Heavy Rains Kill More than 130 in India

Officials in southern India say four days of torrential rains and flash floods have killed more than 130 people.

The army sent troops and helicopters into Karnataka state and neighboring Andhra Pradesh to rescue stranded families and deliver emergency food and medical supplies. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been evacuated.

Officials say the rains destroyed thousands of homes. Flooding has also destroyed crops, washed away roads and disrupted communication links. Officials expect the death toll will rise as they reach areas that remain inaccessible.

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Home Minister to visit flood affected Karnataka and AP

Delhi: As the flood situation in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh continues to be grim, Home Minister P Chidambaram will undertake an aerial survey of the two affected states for an assessment of the damaged caused by the natural disaster.

Chidamabaram, who is currently in Tamil Nadu, is also expected to hold meetings with the Chief Ministers of both states - B S Yeddyurappa (Karnataka) and K Rosaiah (Andhra Pradesh) -- and other top officials in Bangalore and Hyderabad, official sources here said.

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Villagers defy flood warning, stay back

Uprooted: A woman moves out with her belongings at Pesarlanka village in Kolluru mandal as floodwaters enter the village on Saturday.

Kollur (Guntur Dt): The swirling waters of the river Krishna began streaming into the brick kilns at Pesarlanka by Saturday afternoon, when Ananta Lakshmi began packing her belongings and load them into a bullock cart. She plans to move to neighbouring Kollur mandal which is slightly on the higher level. “I am not worried as of now, but I am moving out as a precautionary measure,” she said.

She was one of the early movers from the village. But most people living in villages beside the river bank continue to live with indomitable courage defying nature.

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