President Barack Obama Friday again backed controversial plans to build an Islamic centre near the site of 9/11 attacks in New York reminding critics that the US was at war against terrorism not Islam. "All men and women are created equal, they have certain inalienable rights, and one of those is to practice their religion freely," he said at a White House press conference. "You can build a church on a site, you can build a synagogue on a site, if you could

The Yamuna continued to swell, crossing the danger mark by over a metre as flood-hit Haryana released more water Friday into the river from a barrage upstream. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, however, maintained that the situation was "under control" and people living in low-lying areas had been shifted to safer places. The Delhi government maintained that breached river embankments in Haryana had lessened the impact in the national capital though the Yamuna level crossed 206 metres Friday evening. According to the chief minister, the breach in embankments at

The Congress Friday dismissed speculation over differences between party chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on issues of environment protection and development. "The prime minister said there should be a balance between environment and development. What the prime minister has said, Congress president has said the same thing," Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said here while replying to questions. The prime minister said during his interaction with editors earlier this week that environmental concerns have come to stay and

A Florida pastor who wanted to burn Qurans to protest Islamic extremism reiterated Friday that he would not go ahead with the plan. Since pastor Terry Jones first announced that he would not burn Qurans Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the Sep 11, 2001 terrorist attack, he appears to have changed his mind several times, causing widespread confusion. "We are seriously, seriously, seriously considering not burning the Qurans. That is absolutely right," Jones told reporters Friday outside his Dove World Outreach Center, which has a congregation of about 50 people. Late Thursday

Middle East-settled non-resident Indian industrialist B.R. Shetty Friday announced plans to start an ayurveda medical college at the upcoming Herbal City in Abu Dhabi in the UAE in collaboration with Santhigiri Ashram in Kerala. Shetty said this while inaugurating a one-day conference on "Health and Research in The Middle East Asian Countries", organized as part of the Parnasala Dedication Celebrations at Santhigiri Ashram here. "The healthcare model practiced by Santhigiri is an exemplary one and the people in the Arab countries should also get the benefit of this system.