12 Andhra MPs suspended in LS 
Anti-Telangana protest: 8 Cong, 4 TDP MPs told to stay away for five consecutive sittings
New Delhi, August 23
After 12 wasted sittings, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar eventually suspended 12 anti-Telangana MPs on Friday for causing grave disruption of House proceedings and thereby stalling crucial legislative business.

Nation page: BJP ready for discussion on five Bills listed for today

India inks pacts with energy-rich Iraq
New Delhi, August 23
India and Iraq — which has emerged as the second largest exporter of oil to India after Saudi Arabia, displacing Iran — today signed four MoUs, including those for cooperation in the field of energy and water resources management.

PM Manmohan Singh with his Iraqi counterpart Nouri al-Maliki in New Delhi on Friday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal

Hooda meets Sonia aide amid talk of new PCC chief
New Delhi, August 23
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda met Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel here today amid indications that the decision on the leadership of state Congress would be taken soon. The meeting took place a day after Shakeel Ahmed, Congress general secretary in charge of Haryana, met both Sonia and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi yesterday.

Haryana page: Rao Inderjit may form new party

One held for photojournalist’s gang rape
Mumbai, August 23
The police today arrested a jobless youth and was looking for four other suspects, solving within 24 hours last night's gang rape of a photojournalist here amid massive public outrage and protests as it brought back memories of a similar incident in Delhi last year.

Photojournalists stage a protest in Mumbai on Friday. — PTI

7 coal files missing, says Jaiswal
New Delhi, August 23
As the BJP-led Opposition blocked the functioning of Parliament over missing files pertaining to coal block allocations, Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal today said that his ministry has handed over all important files to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Cash crunch: Punjab to mortgage buildings
Move a desperate attempt to raise money for disbursing salaries, pensions
Chandigarh, August 23
Faced with a severe cash-crunch and on the verge of being declared delinquent for its inability to clear its huge overdraft, the Punjab Government has been forced to mortgage its buildings.

Punjab page: Bajwa to raise issue with Pranab