Former Maharashtra deputy chief minister R.R. Patil, who was tipped to be state unit president of the National Congress Party (NCP) after he stepped down last week, has declined to accept the post. 

Patil, who was also the state home minister before he resigned in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack on Nov 26 that killed at least 180 people, has instead preferred to take a break. 

The former minister told NCP president Sharad Pawar that he would like to have a break till after the forthcoming state assembly elections, said a party functionary.  

Cairo  - Egypt's top Muslim cleric Mohammed Tantawi responded furiously to Israeli reports of his handshake with Israeli President Shimon Peres, a local newspaper reported on Sunday.

Both Israeli dailies Maariv and Haaretz reported that Tantawi approached Peres. According to the independent Egyptian daily al- Masry al-Youm, the Mufti called editors of the Israeli newspapers "liars."

Washington, December 7 : Sarah Palin’s salons and spas expenses, including 350 dollars at Escape Skin Care and Day Spa in New York, have surfaced as the latest bills paid from the Republican National Committee’s account during the Presidential campaign, according to reports.

As per the Federal Election Commission records, the RNC had reported shelling out a total of about 180,000 dollars for clothes and various accessories for the Alaska Governor and her family.

Washington, Dec 7 : U. S president-elect Barack Obama’s former campaign manager David Plouffe is writing a book about the historic election victory.

More than 18 publishers have expressed interest in the book.

The book has been tentatively titled The Audacity To Win, a reference to Obama''s million-selling The Audacity of Hope, reports Politco. com

New Delhi, Dec 7 : The counting of votes in the assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Delhi will be taken up on Monday.

The fate of several stalwarts like Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Bharatiya Janashakti chief Uma Bharti and senior BJP minister Babulal Gaur would be decided in Madhya Pradesh which witnessed a 60 percent turnout during elections to the 230-member Assembly.

The Rajasthan poll outcome would be a test for Chief Minister Vasudhanra Raje government’s performance in the state. AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot and PCC president C P Joshi are also testing their political fate.

Prague  - Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek successfully defended place in his party's top post Sunday, a sign of continuity for the European Union as the Czech Republic prepares to chair the bl