India's embattled ruling Congress party geared up Monday for next year's elections with a cabinet revamp, boosted by a bitter split in the opposition over the elevation of a Hindu hardliner. Four veteran Congress politicians were sworn into the cabinet, as the party readied for a tough battle to try to win a third term in office amid a slew of graft scandals, policy malaise and the slowest economic growth in a decade. Four other party loyalists were given junior posts in the three-tier ministerial council headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

By Sruthi Gottipati NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Veteran Indian politician Lal Krishna Advani on Tuesday backtracked on his decision to quit senior posts in the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, a move that may convince potential partners to stick with the BJP in upcoming elections. The Hindu nationalist BJP has been crippled by infighting among its leaders, several of whom harbor ambitions to become India's next prime minister.

A court in India remanded the boyfriend of the late Bollywood actress Jiah Khan in custody Tuesday over accusations that his behaviour had helped drive her to commit suicide. Suraj Pancholi, a 22-year-old aspiring actor, was brought before a court in Mumbai after police arrested him on Monday for "abetment to commit suicide", a week after his girlfriend's body was discovered at her home. Additional Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangre-Patil told AFP that the charge was based on the contents of a suicide note found at Khan's Mumbai and from a statement by her mother.

Veteran Indian opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani resigned Monday in apparent protest at the elevation of hardliner Narendra Modi to lead his party into next year's elections. Advani, an 85-year-old stalwart of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a former deputy prime minister, resigned from all his positions in the party which he helped build into a national force. "He has submitted his resignation letter to the party chief," a source in his office said on condition of anonymity.