Bringing cheer to the industry and aiming at a marginal relief to the government revenues as well, the government on Tuesday slapped a 5% import duty on specified iron and steel products, and a basic customs duty of 20% ad valorem on crude soyabean oil. However, there is however no change in the import duty on refined soyabean oil.

Signing five key accords, including an extradition treaty, on Tuesday India and Egypt pledged to jointly combat the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The agreements lay a 'sound basis for a vibrant strategic partnership' between the two ancient civilizations - India and Egypt.

One of the five agreements signed was on cooperation in outer space and a MoU for cooperation in trade and economic fields. A MoU on increasing links in health and medicine was also signed, as was another agreement on the abolition of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic, special and official passports.

India's two consecutive wins over England in the ODI series has shuffled the ICC's ODI rankings with the side moving up two places from fifth to third position. Moreover, Yuvraj Singh, with his back-to-back powerpacked knocks - his two centuries - has also been rewarded for his performance as he climbed to the sixth spot of the ICC player rankings for ODI batsmen, gaining as many as 11 places to enjoy the highest rating of his career to date!

Terming the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as"wrong", Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said the perpetrators of the mindless violence should be brought to justice. Though Rahul admitted that "there was a tragedy in Punjab" - after the assassination of his grandmother and former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, who ordered Operation Bluestar - he rubbished all talk of Sikh aversion towards the Congress.

Charged with working against the principles and policies of the BSP - the party they joined in August this year - former external affairs minister, K Natwar Singh, and his son Jagat Singh, have been expelled from the party. BSP general secretary, Satish Chandra Mishra, charged Natwar Singh with "indiscipline" and indulging in "anti-party activities" after being denied Rajya Sabha nomination.

With the future at stake, letting bygones be bygones, it was a forgiving day all around in the world's clubbiest legislative body - the American Senate, when Senate Republicans unanimously re-elected their leadership and the Democrats refrained from turning cannibal on Joe Lieberman.