Bangladesh Mutiny
Rebels rise again, surrender
50 feared dead in BDR’s 33-hour protest 
Rebel Bangladesh Rifles’ (BDR) troops surrendered on Thursday evening after army tanks rolled into Dhaka to end the bloody 33-hour siege of the headquarters that may have left at least 50 (army) officers dead. “The situation is under complete control of the government,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s press secretary told reporters. "BDR members have completed the surrender of arms."

SIEGE ENDS: A Bangladesh Rifles soldier wears a white cloth around his head to signify surrender as he gestures through the gates of the headquarters in Dhaka on Thursday. — AFP

Sharif to snap ties with Zardari
PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday presided over a top-level meeting of party leadership and decided to snap all communication with President Asif Zardari saying the latter cannot be trusted anymore. The party leaders chalked out future strategy in the wake of Sharifs’ disqualification. It was also decided that a mass mobilisation campaign would be launched with Nawaz addressing first such meeting in Sheikhpura near Lahore on Thursday.

6 pc DA hike for govt staff
New Delhi, February 26
With polls round the corner, it’s raining bonanza for the government employees. The government staffers and pensioners will now get an additional six per cent dearness allowance (DA) and this will be given with retrospective effect from January one this year, as per a decision cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) here.

Mumbai mayhem: Maps reached plotters
via Nepal
Mumbai, February 26
Documents consisting details and maps of targets prepared by alleged LeT operative Fahim Ansari reached conspirators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack via Nepal, said the chargesheet filed by Mumbai police. “The accused Fahim Ansari after reconnaissance and preparation of detailed maps of the target locations, handed over the same to another co-accused Sabauddin Ahmed at Kathmandu in Nepal sometime in January 2008,” said the chargesheet, which was filed yesterday.

Probe army’s role, Pranab tells Pak
No clean chit to ISI: Probe team

Madras HC Clash
CJI appoints probe panel
Asks lawyers to end stir; 4 cops shifted
New Delhi, February 26
The Supreme Court today appointed a committee headed by retired apex court Judge BN Srikrishna to inquire into the February 19 clashes between lawyers and police in Madras High Court and ordered the transfer of four senior police officials — three Deputy Commissioners and a Joint Commissioner.

Omar: Forces’ special powers to go if peace persists
Jammu, February 26
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said today that if the situation in the valley continued to remain peaceful following decline in the number of incidents of violence, he would revoke the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Disturbed Area Act from the state.