Falling for the fifth straight day, the BSE benchmark Sensex today closed 20 points lower after wiping out initial gains on a bout of profit-selling in bluechips like NTPC, CIL, ICICI Bank and L&T.

Serial killer Chandrakant Jha was today sentenced to death by a Delhi court in another case of murder and dumping the body near Tihar Jail after beheading and chopping off body parts of the victim, as his case fell in the “rarest of rare” category.

New US secretary of state John Kerry has called up external affairs minister Salman Khurshid who said India was looking forward to take the bilateral ties to a higher level encompassing diverse sectors.

Viewing with concern incidents of acid attacks, the Supreme Court today directed the Centre to convene in six weeks a meeting of chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories to address the menace and discuss framing of a law for treatment and compensation to victims.

Singer Katy Perry is reportedly planning to launch her own fashion range.

Lamenting that standard of teachers in not up to the mark and learning outcomes are below expectations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said “major concerns” in the field of education need to be addressed.

The government has received applications from 17 firms, including McKinsey, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Deloitte and Crisil, in response to the bids for the appointment of advisors to restructure Coal India Ltd (CIL).

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and expressed his unhappiness over the Centre’s refusal to provide gas to the state at the same price at which it is given to Mumbai and Delhi.

A five-month-old-baby girl from Bikaner, whose father had bitten off parts of her lips, nose and cheek in a fit of rage, died at a government hospital here today.

Pregnant Duchess of Cambridge has jetted to the Caribbean for a holiday with husband Prince William after recovering from her severe morning sickness, a media report said.