Gautam Goswami, a 1991 batch IAS officer and a key accused in the Rs 170 million ($3.86 million) Bihar flood relief scam of 2004, died of pancreatic cancer at a private nursing home in Patna on Tuesday morning.

 Goswami, who was named Time magazine's Asian hero in 2005, had been battling cancer for the past several months. He had been shifted from Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) to the private nursing home on Saturday after his condition deteriorated further due to kidney impairment.

On Monday the authorities in Orissa were ordered by the Supreme Court to offer security to thousands of Christians who fled their homes after some of the worst religious violence in decades last year, said the officials.

The order came to light as a measure to support Christian leaders who criticized the state government since it failed to provide enough security for scared Christians still living in camps and forests.

The top court also banned the State government which is run by a coalition of a regional party with Hindu nationalists, from withdrawing troops from riot-infested zones without permission of the central government.

Union Home Minister has called an important meeting of all Chief Ministers in New Delhi due to the increasing importance of security in the country.

During the meeting the decision was made to get serious with the Government's moves without coming across as being politically incorrect.

BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said, "We have a deep concern over the vulnerable internal security situation in the country - the incidents in Assam, the continuing encounters in Poonch."

Sachin Tendulkar said that he does not favor neutral venues because of the lack of partisan crowds. The man who scored a century in his first outing for Mumbai in nearly two years in the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Saurashtra.

However, he even enjoyed playing at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, which Tendulkar said that it was one of his favourite grounds in the world, he preferred a venue which was either side's home ground.

An official told on Monday that India is looking forward to play an extra Test during the upcoming tour of New Zealand to offset losses after the cancellation of matches against England and Pakistan.

Ratnakar Shetty, Chief administrative officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said, "We have requested New Zealand to accommodate an extra Test to the series. We are waiting for a response from them."

In the month of March-April India had planned to play Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match in New Zealand.

The Supreme Court observed that legislators cannot be unseated by courts, where as, it is the presiding officer of the house who is the appropriate authority for disqualifying a legislator.

These observations were made by a bench consisting of Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, Justice Makandey Katju and Justice P. Sathasivam, while hearing a public interest lawsuit by Birendrah Singh, in which he sought disqualification of Congress parliamentarian Moni Kumar Subba from Tezpur in Assam.

Singh argued that Subba belongs to Nepal, from where he fled after committing a crime and is not an Indian citizen.