Imagine a 'Bitter Gourd' or 'Karela' without its stinging bitterness

NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES

Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifying Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani from office, dominates the front pages of most papers. 'Pakistan SC unseats Gilani', is the Hindustan Times lead. The Times of India reports, 'Special Assembly Session today to decide new PM'.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's interview to a daily, in which he argued that the NDA's Prime Ministerial candidate must have secular credentials, is highlighted by most papers. Reading it as an attack on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian Express writes, 'Modi as PM : Nitish issues warning, party talks pull-out'.

Political positionings for the forthcoming Presidential polls, are keenly noticed by the press. On the Shiv Sena's decision, to vote with the UPA, the Mail Today writes, 'Sena shocks and humiliates BJP as it backs Pranab'. The Asian Age highlights the NCP's directive to presidential aspirant P A Sangma as it writes, 'Sangma gets 48 hours to withdraw'.

Differences within Joint Parliamentary Committee probing the 2G spectrum allocation scam over calling the Prime Minister as a witness are prominently noticed. '2G scam : PM as witness demand splits JPC', reports the Hindustan Times. The Hindu writes, 'Congress, BJP spar at JPC meeting'.

The Hindustan Times carries two interesting stories on developments in the world of academia. The paper reports that IIT Kanpur has decided to open an office in the US to recruit quality researchers and academecians to the institute. The other story is about Mitra Dutta, a distinguished engineer-physicist being  named the Vice Chancellor of University of Illinois at Chicago.

The Times of India, in a special story quotes the UN Secretary General's annual report on children and armed conflict as saying that Maoists, particularly in Chattisgarh, recruit and indoctrinate children for children's squads.

And finally, a believe-it-or-not kind of story. Imagine a 'Bitter Gourd' or 'Karela' without its stinging bitterness. The Asian Age reports that a team of Indian and Taiwanese vegetable scientists have developed precisely this variety of bitter gourd.