NEW DELHI - A gentle wind of change is blowing through the socio-economic and gender mosaic of Saudi Arabia as the orthodox Islamic kingdom opens up to women's education and allows them to find their identity as professionals, says journalist-turned-politician Louise Khurshid.

NEW DELHI - Expressing "deep distress" over the "shameful practice of manual scavenging" in the country, the National Advisory Council, headed by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Saturday asked the government to "fully abolish" it by the end of 2012.

Hardoi (U.P), - A group of lawyers on Saturday took out a march in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi district to protest police atrocities.

SHIMLA - A local court Saturday asked union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh to be present in court Nov 27 in a corruption case registered against him by the state's vigilance and anti-corruption bureau, officials said.

LONDON - The US government has a moral duty to investigate whether its officials were involved in torture or complicity in torture following the WikiLeaks revelations about Iraq, a top UN official said Saturday.