A public prosecutor said Saturday there was strong forensic evidence against five men accused of gang-raping a student in New Delhi on a moving bus as their trial began in a city court.

A district magistrate hearing the case took note of the charges including rape and murder on Saturday, signaling the start of the trial, and ordered the men to appear before her for the first time on Monday.

Indian police said Saturday they had filed a case against a cable news channel for airing an interview with the boyfriend of a woman whose gang-rape and murder has spurred protests across the country.

A criminal case was registered late on Friday against Hindi-language Zee News channel over the interview, which police said would lead to the identification of the victim in breach of a law entitling her to anonymity.

From Africa's crowded AIDS clinics to the malarial jungles of Southeast Asia, the lives of millions of ill people in the developing world are hanging in the balance ahead of a legal ruling that will determine whether India's drug companies can continue to provide cheap versions of many life-saving medicines.

The case — involving Swiss drug maker Novartis AG's cancer drug Glivec — pits aid groups that argue India plays a vital role as the pharmacy to the poor against drug companies that insist they need strong patents to make drug development profitable. A ruling by India's Supreme Court is expected in early 2013.

The father of a student in south India has complained to police after Internet users circulated a photo of his daughter on social media claiming it was the Delhi gang-rape victim, officers said Friday.

A picture tribute to the dead Delhi woman, who was repeatedly raped on a moving bus on December 16 and thrown out of the vehicle in a crime that appalled the nation, has gone viral on Facebook.

India's Supreme Court said Thursday that unregulated clinical trials of new drugs were causing "havoc" in the country as it ordered the health ministry to monitor any new applications for tests.

The comments were made during a hearing on a petition detailing deaths and health problems caused by clinical trials carried out on Indians, often without their knowledge or consent.

India's communications minister, already a poet in his spare time, has found another outlet for his creative ambitions: penning a slushy love song for a new Bollywood film.

Despite his challenging role as a minister and government troubleshooter, Kapil Sibal took up an offer by actor-director Aditya Om for the film "Bandook" (Gun) and wrote four songs, one of which made it into the movie.

Lawyers at an Indian court hearing the case of a fatal gang-rape which has shocked the nation said Wednesday they would refuse to defend the men accused of taking part in the assault and murder.

Hearings are expected to begin on Thursday at the Saket district court in south New Delhi, where police will formally present a 1,000-page charge sheet against the six-person gang.

Indian police arrested a man on Tuesday as he tried to plant a crude bomb near the home of one of the suspects in the New Delhi gang-rape case as a backlash against widespread sex crimes gathered steam.

As protests against harassment and violence against women continued, a chart-topping Indian rapper known for his sexually explicit lyrics also became embroiled in a growing campaign against sexism and misogyny in Indian society.

The Indian armed forces on Monday canceled their New Year celebrations while many hotels and bars scaled back parties as the country prepared for 2013 still shocked by a deadly gang-rape.

"The Indian army, air force and navy have decided to cancel all the parties planned to welcome the new year. They want to dedicate the last day of the year to the gang-rape victim," a senior defense ministry official told Agence France Presse.

The family of an Indian gang-rape victim said Monday they would not rest until her killers are hanged as police finalized their investigation before charges are laid against suspects this week.

As the ruling Congress party reportedly pushed for tougher punishments for sex crimes, including chemical castration, authorities in New Delhi launched a hotline to improve safety for women in a city dubbed "India's rape capital".