Obama calls up PM, discusses Af-Pak
New Delhi, December 1
Just a week after the leaders met in Washington, US President Barack Obama telephoned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this morning to discuss his Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy and the forthcoming UN summit on climate change to be held in Copenhagen.

Holds video conference with Karzai
Editorial : Growth picks up speed

World AIDS Day
Focus on early diagnosis of HIV in infants
700 centres to come up across India next year
New Delhi, December 1
On the 21st World AIDS Day today, India has some reason to rejoice. The good news is that children, the most vulnerable of all to the epidemic, are now much higher on AIDS agenda in the country, with the government receiving extended support from the Global Fund for Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission.

Doctors participate in a walkathon as part of an awareness drive to mark the day in Mumbai on Tuesday. — PTI
Nation Page: Sonia flags off second phase of Red Ribbon Express

Hooda takes umbrage at Badal’s stance
Says HC building can be shared
Chandigarh, December 1
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said here today that it was the constitutional right of the people of the state to have a high court of their own in Chandigarh, which was the capital of the state.

4 jawans killed in battery blast
Jalandhar, December 1
Four Army personnel of the Motor Transport Section of 20 SATA battalion were killed when the battery they were recharging exploded in the Jalandhar Cantonment area around 8.30 p.m. this night.

Rao’s flip-flop on fast triggers confusion
Footage shows TRS chief taking juice; party dubs it a govt plot; it’s a letdown, feel students
Hyderabad, December 1
The maverick Telangana protagonist K Chandrasekhar Rao’s flip-flop on his much-publicised fast has led to confusion in Andhra Pradesh political circles. Barely a day after calling off his indefinite fast on the advice of doctors following deterioration of health condition, Rao, the president of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), changed his mind and announced today that he would continue the hunger strike demanding creation of separate Telangana state.

Scribes can make world better: Prez
Hyderabad, December 1
Noting that journalists have a stake in building a better and safer world, the President Pratibha Patil today advised them to strike a balance between portrayal of negative and positive happenings in the society. “There is a tendency in some sections of media to focus excessively on news which is negative.

Pak editor: Media a spoiler in Indo-Pak ties