One arrested for Israel embassy car blast in Delhi

An Indian national has been arrested in connection with the February 13, 2012 blast in an Innova car belonging to the Israeli Embassy in Delhi. The 50-year-old man, claiming to be a journalist and identified as Syed Mohammed Kazmi, is the first person to be detained in the case in which the wife of Israel's defence attache, Tal Yehoshua, and the driver of the car were injured. He will be produced in the Tis Hazari court on Wednesday afternoon.

Kazmi has been arrested for allegedly being part of the conspiracy to plant the bomb on the car. He claims to have been writing for an Iranian publication and was arrested up after a probe showed that he had been in touch with the suspect who is believed to have stuck the magnetic bomb on Israeli embassy car.

Sources say police are close to a breakthrough in the blast case, which Israel has blamed on Iran.

According to the police a stick-on bomb was planted on the car by two men on motorcycle.

Israeli authorities pointed out that February 12 was the death anniversary of a senior Hezbollah leader, and the blast may not be entirely coincidental.

Under new trade plan; 40,000 Indians allowed to work in Europe

At least 40,000 Indians may be allowed to work in Europe, including 12,000 in Britain alone, under a secret trade plan between the European Union and New Delhi, a media reprot said, citing leaked documents.

The EU has proposed that 40,000 Indian workers will be admitted to Europe without any labour market test as part of the plan to boost export trade with New Delhi, the Daily Mail reported, quoting a leaked copy of the EU/India Free Trade Agreement , due to be signed later this year.

Central to the agreement is the European Union's offer on what is known as 'Mode 4', which will allow Indian companies to bring temporary workers into the EU, the newspaper said.

According to the leaked papers, out of 40,000 Indians who would be allowed to work in Europe, Britain has been asked to take 12,000, 30% of the total allocation, despite the UK making up 12% of the EU's population.

The 12,000 Indian migrants , who would be able to live and work in Britain for six months, will be in addition to people given visas under Britain's supposedly strict immigration cap, the newspaper said.

A Major terror plot foiled; 2 LeT agents held

A major terror attack was foiled on Tuesday in the capital with security agencies arresting two Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives who had planned to trigger explosions in crowded localities in the next few days.

Police said the attacks were "very imminent" and both the arrested, whose identity was withheld, were Indian citizens, one of whom was trained in Pakistan in bomb-making and using weapons.

"It is a very important breakthrough," Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters today while complimenting security agencies.

Giving only brief details about the case as operation was still continuing to nab more terrorists of the module, Delhi Police Commissioner B K Gupta said the duo were apprehended from Tughlaqabad Extension in south Delhi yesterday following inputs from central intelligence agencies and cooperation of police in Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

"The arrest of LeT terrorists is a good catch," Gupta said adding the police has got "valuable evidence" from the memory card seized from the duo.

The two LeT militants have been identified as Ethisham and Shafaqat.

Investigators have seized a memory card, a matrix (code language used for communication), mobiles and explosives, including sulphuric acide, used for making bombs, P N Aggarwal, Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), said.

Sources said five mobile phones were seized from the accused apart from the memory card which had footages of terror training camps and fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) besides how to fire AK-47s.

However, both Gupta and Aggarwal refused to provide the names of the arrested saying it could affect the ongoing operations to arrest "one or two more terrorists in the module".

They were produced in chambers before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Smita Garg who sent them to ten day police custody. Police ensured that the two did not attract any media attention and used the back door to enter and exit the court.

Aggarwal said one of the arrested persons has gone to Pakistan in December 2011 on valid travel documents and returned last month with a mission to carry out a terror strike in Delhi in the very near future.

Asked whether the arrested persons were involved in the recent attack on Israeli embassy car, he said, he did not think so.

Earlier, Chidambaram said, "there was no VVIP on their target."

"They were planning to detonate a bomb or more than one bomb in crowded localities," he said, adding more details would come after their detailed questioning.

Some more people have been detained in this connection, he said.

Delhi Police arrested Lashkar terrorist mission to target VVIPs

In a major victory in the fight against terror, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police arrested two terrorist belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba from New Delhi railway station early today.

Sources told that intelligence agencies were trailing them for a while and that they had entered Delhi via Jharkhand. One of the two arrested is said to be a native of Jammu and Kashmir.

Although the Special Cell is tight-lipped about the arrests, but sources said that highly sensitive government documents was recovered from their possession. Also, they were said to be carrying arms and ammunition.

As per some other media reports, the two arrested Lashkar men were part of the north India module of the dreaded terrorist group which operates out of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

They were said to be on a mission to target VVIPs and crowded markets of the metropolis.

More details are awaited

Suspected ISI agent arrested in New Delhi

A suspected ISI agent was arrested in the national capital allegedly with defence documents, police said on Tuesday.

Kamran Akbar, based in Kolkata, was apprehended from near the New Delhi Railway Station on February 13 on a tipoff, a senior police official said.

He was allegedly in possession of some defence documents.

Akbar, who originally hails from Karachi, has married an Indian national and also has an Indian passport.

Today black ink thrown at Baba Ramdev's face in Delhi

There was ruckus at a press conference organised by Baba Ramdev in New Delhi today after a man threw black ink at the yoga guru. The attack reportedly left his left eye blackened.

The attacker has been identified as Kamran Siddiqui, a resident of Delhi who is said to be running an NGO named 'Real Cause'. He has been detained by police. Following his attempt, the attacker was beaten up by Baba Ramdev's supporters. His aides claim he had gained entry into the hall posing as a security personnel. His supporters have reportedly blamed the Congress for the attack.

At the press conference, the yoga guru was talking to reporters about his plans to campaign against black money holders in the upcoming Assembly elections. The presser was being held at the Constitutional Club in New Delhi, where he was seated along with Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy.

Trying to put up a brave front, the yoga guru said after the attack, "I spoke about bringing back black money to the country and giving it to the nation. I spoke about eradicating corruption. I spoke about turning it from a 'loot-tantra' to a real lok-tantra (democracy). I don't mind receiving black ink. I was also shown black flags. I did not care even then."

Delhi celebrates 100 years as India's capital

The political and cultural seat of many empires over the centuries, Delhi added another chapter to its glorious history on Monday, marking 100 years of its re-emergence as India's capital.

It was on December 12, 1911, that then Emperor of India George V proclaimed Delhi as the capital of the British Raj, shifting from Kolkata, thereby returning to the city its lost glory.

The centenary of the establishment of New Delhi will be marked by year-long celebrations, being planned by the Delhi government and other cultural agencies like the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Special souvenirs will be released, and specially planned exhibitions showcased in the city.

A book on the history of seven cities of Delhi and detailing the account of how the present city was constructed, will be released by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Besides, a photo exhibition on the city of monuments will be among a series of events that the government agencies have lined up to mark the centenary year.

Though there will be no official ceremony to mark the occasion, Dikshit will release the book in the evening.

'Dastann-e-Dilli' -- an exhibition on the city, will be also inaugurated by her and Lt Governor Tejendra Khanna on Wednesday.

The exhibition will chronicle the culture of Delhi -- right from its ancient days to the modern period -- where both the heritage sites and modern-day buildings co-exist.

The year-long celebrations will actually kick off in January when the Ministry of Culture has lined up a number of events that will showcase the rich cultural heritage of the city.

Delhiites have already began celebrating the centenary year of their beloved city, thronging in large numbers to a food festival at Baba Kharag Singh Marg.

The 'Delhi Ke Pakwan Festival' brings the very soul of Delhi's culture, street food to the people with a variety of kebabs, kulfi and other mouth-watering delicacies.

The foundation stone for the building of a new city in Delhi was laid by King George V and Queen Mary at the site of the Delhi Durbar at Kingsway Camp on December 15, 1911 and New Delhi, as it is called, came out of the architectural brilliance of Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker.

Delhi has traditionally been the seat of a series of empires and regimes that have ruled India since over 3,000 years back.

Each of the empire has left behind an indelible imprint on the heritage of Delhi, that has housed no less than eight cities over the centuries, and the 100 years of the latest city marks an opportunity to celebrate the continuity of this rich habitation.