Saturday, 4 December 2004, 1200 hrs

TOP STORIES
India, Russia move closer,
sign 10 agreements
With Putin visiting, India and Russia vowed to reconcile their positions on two contentious issues: Russian entry into the WTO and New Delhi according market economy status to Moscow

ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Indian Airlines soars
into profit zone 
Despite rising fuel prices, the state-owned domestic carrier showed profits for the first time in four years 

What is India feature
Pillar of Hinduism
History is replete with stories of great saints and prophets being tormented and tortured. In the wake of the Shankaracharya's arrest, SUNIL FOTEDAR wonders why truth prevails only after it is crushed

Asia Times
Foreign bulls set Indian stocks on FIIre
India's benchmark share index is at an all-time high. The remarkable turnaround in just six months has been made possible by the newfound confidence of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in the Indian market, aided in part by a falling dollar and rising Indian corporate fortunes, says INDRAJIT BASU 

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India Together
Persistent and tenacious struggle
2004 saw many victories for the survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy, giving them and their supporters more hope. Both courts in India and the US ruled to bring justice closer and campaigners pressured a reluctant Central government to finally act on their behalf. KAVITHA KURUGANTHI reports

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Indian Express
Boys do cry 
If soldierly and manly qualities are to be judged by an absence of sensitivity to human conditions in combat zone, it would be a travesty of the values dear to Indian Army. Today’s military leaders must be as humane as they are brave, says V R RAGHAVAN 


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Hindustan Times
Mountain out of a molehill, courtesy Lalu 
As far as Lalu is concerned, there are no limits, no standards, and no right or wrong in politics. All is fair in love and Bihar, writes VIR SANGHVI

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Economic and Political Weekly
A new transnational capitalist class?
The transnational, middle class founders of India's new software firms are more globally integrated and thereby relatively free from the domination of the 'old' Indian economy. This makes them among the most outspoken votaries of globalisation

TOP PICKS

OPINION

Aids: Women at risk (Hindu)
TN politics: Formalising a merger (Hindu)
Right to information (Deccan Herald)
 Sorry end (Deccan Herald)
Kanchi seer case: legal bind (Times of India)