New Delhi/Jaipur, Jan. 8 : An emergency meeting was called at Jaswant Singh''s residence on Thursday to douse out an intra-party crisis that erupted after former Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat took the rebellious path and alleged widespread corruption in the party and slammed the BJP president for misdemeanour.

The meeting, held in the national capital, went on for two hours, but ended inconclusively.

BJP President Rajnath Singh, who was in the line of fire after he ruled out chances of Shekhawat contesting the elections, was also present in the meeting.

Mumbai, Jan. 8 : The strike called by officials of state-run oil firms in the country is affecting the aviation industry badly.

On Thursday, around a dozen flights were delayed for between 45 minutes to an hour, leaving several passengers stranded at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

Passengers were harried and troubled as they waited for their flights.

Expressing anger at the state of affairs, some of the passengers said the strike should be called off immediately.

Chennai, Jan. 8 : External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said that overseas Indians could take to the world stage some of India’s key concerns such as terrorism, education and trade agenda.

In particular, he said, they could convey the message to their respective countries that India is fully committed to free and fair trade.

Expressing appreciation for diaspora sympathy for the Mumbai terror attacks, he called upon the overseas Indian community to raise its voice against sponsored terrorism, as terrorism ‘diminishes mankind’.

London, Jan. 8 : Former England cricketer Ian Botham has said that in the last 24 hours, the incidents related to England cricket and its immediate future, are probably the most embarrassing that he has seen, both as a player and as a commentator on the sport.

In an article for the Sunday Mirror, Botham squarely blames the fiasco relating to the Pietersen-Moores disagreement on the "chinless wonders who rule Lord''s from behind a desk".

New Delhi, Jan 8 : Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma today said that New Delhi is looking at what action Pakistan will take against the Mumbai terror attackers and whether it will dismantle the terror infrastructure on its soil.

"Pakistan must take effective action. Pakistan has unfortunately been for long in a state of denial. They should have accepted it soon after these organisations based in Pakistan were named and proscribed by the United Nations Security Council and the individuals who had masterminded the dastardly terror attack in Mumbai were also identified and named,” said Sharma.

Amman - Hundreds of Jordanians, some of them carrying flowers, demonstrated outside the Venezuelan embassy Thursday to thank Caracas for severing ties with Israel in protest over the high casualty toll of civilians in the ongoing attack on the Gaza Strip.

The participants chanted slogans and raised placards praising the step taken by President Hugo Chavez and urging Arab countries with diplomatic ties with the Jewish state to follow Venezuela's lead.