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Saddam's son Uday negotiating his surrender? (REPORT)

All five RLD ministers quit Mayawati Govt (REPORT)

Vajpayee re-inducts Rajnath in Cabinet reshuffle

          New Delhi, May 24: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Saturday reinducted former UP Chief Minister Rajnath Singh in his Cabinet in place of Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh who had resigned ahead of the 13th reshuffle. Rajnath Singh, who had served as Surface Transport Minister earlier, was moved to Lucknow to replace Ram Prakash Gupta as Chief Minister before the last Assembly elections. With an eye on the elections, Vajpayee accommodated BJP ministers from key states in the north.

          Shiv Sena member Subodh Mohite is a first time member of the Lok Sabha and perhaps has the unique distinction of becoming a Union Minister after serving as personal secretary of a minister in Maharashtra. Swami Chinmayananda from Uttar Pradesh is another new entrant. A VHP member, Chinmayananda was an important figure in the Ramjanmabhoomi campaign. Prahalad Singh Patel of the BJP is a third time member of the Lok Sabha from Madhya Pradesh. He started his political career as President of the Jabalpur University Students' Union in 1980-81. Two other new ministers, PC Thomas and Nagmani, were among the eight new entrants in the Council of Ministers who belong to small political groupings. President APJ Abdul Kalam administered the oath of office and secrecy to all of them in the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Angry Mamata cancels Delhi trip (Go To Top)

          Kolkata, May 24: In an urgent meeting of the Trinamool Congress on Saturday morning, party chief Mamata Banerjee discussed the issue of senior party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay's inclusion in the Union Cabinet without consulting her. Earlier, the NDA had indicated the probable Cabinet ministries for TMC leaders, but apparently had dropped the idea due to internal differences in the party over the matter. Mamata, though willing to accept Cabinet berth for herself, was reluctant to consider the same for party colleague Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who has fallen out with her.

          Mamata, who was to leave for Delhi on Saturday morning, postponed her trip. She passed on a letter to Vajpayee, terming as "incorrect" the move. Meanwhile, Sudip's name has been dropped for the moment. "It is decided , as first of all it was discussed, that the way the Union government was going to be reshuffled is against the policies and the standing practices of an allied group or allied government. In an allied government, all the parties have got their separate identity and entity. Prior to taking any decision regarding any party, the said party is to be consulted with and the consent of the party chief and party as a whole, a certain decision is to be taken. As there was something reverse to that, so we communicated our sentiment that this is not the right process", informed senior party leader, Pankaj Banerjee.

          Party members alleged that the move amounted to "a direct attempt to cause defection in Trinamool Congress." "Being convinced on our own suggestion and communication, we have decided that so far as the inclusion of Trinamul representative in the Cabinnet (is concerned), the intention has been dropped for the time being and in later course Prime Minister will discuss with Shrimati Mamata Banerjee, the leader of Trinamul Congress and then he will take his decision in proper time. Miss Banerjee along with her colleagues will be reaching Delhi in a suitable, appropriate time to discuss", added Pankaj Banerjee.

          Mamata and Sudip had fallen out over the bifurcation of the Eastern Railway during which the latter had supported the NDA government against Miss Banerjee's views. Following this a section of the NDA government was interested to reward Sudip for his loyalty, but for Mamata's intervention, it could not materialise. According to reports, Mamata Banerjee was also unhappy with the portfolio of coal offered to her.

No threat to Mayawati Govt: Naidu (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, May 24: Amidst the possibility of the Rashtriya Lok Dal withdrawing its support to the BSP-BJP coalition government in UP, the BJP parliamentary party called a meeting in the Capital to take stock of the situation. Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Venkaiah Naidu said "There is no problem in UP government. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh spoke to me in the morning and she said we have sufficient numbers and there is no problem to government as such."

          The lone member of the RLD in the Union Cabinet Ajit Singh resigned on Friday after the NDA convener George Fernandes reportedly asked him to step down. The Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee has also refused to join the government. She is apparently upset about the possible induction of Sudip Bandhopadhya, a rebel in her party.

          Naidu refused to throw any light on the confusion. He said, "Expansion of the ministry is the special privilege of the Prime Minister and I do not want to make any statement in this regard. There is no problem as such, there appears to be some communication gap which will be sorted out pretty soon. The discretion who to keep and who not to keep in the ministry lies with the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will talk to the Trinamool Congress members and whatever problem is there will be sorted out."

Record victory for Shinde (Go To Top)

          Solapur, May 24: Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has won the byelection from South Solapur Aassembly constituency, polling 85,329 of the 93,739 votes. The senior Congress leader romped home by a record 91.02 per cent votes, while his three opponents managed only 8,410 votes among themselves. His nearest rival Sanjeev Sadafule (BSP) secured 5,896 votes followed by Vishnu Kumbhar (Ind) 1571 and Sunil Waghmare (Prabudh Republican Party) 943 votes. The chief minister has thus established a new record, but the record of highest margin is still in the name of former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who had won the Latur seat by a margin of over 85,000 votes in the 1998 Assembly elections.

Blast destroys vital bridge in J-K, 20 villages cut off (Go To Top)

          Sumlar (Jammu and Kashmir), May 24: A blast ripped through a crucial footbridge linking over 20 villages in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir early on Saturday morning. The 80 metre-long bridge at Sumlar provides a crucial link to over 20 villages on the other side of the stream. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the blast. "The bridge was very long. This is a very big nullah (river), it goes through a lot of big districts like Bandipora, Chak etc. At around 3 a.m, there was a big explosion," said Bashir, a villager. The region houses over 20,000 people, all of whom have been cut off. With the bridge gone, they will now have to walk at least six km for a dispensary. It was constructed with community effort, with the villagers themselves contributing both money and labour. "We have spent over Rs 300,000 of our own on it. Each member from every household spent 8-9 hours building it everyday. How the blast happened we do not know. This was our only connecting link," said Morshen Khan, another villager.

New J-K Governor plans to isolate militants (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, May 24: The newly appointed Governor of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday said he would try to isolate militants from mainstream society in the restive state. "The big experiment which succeeded in Assam is to have the people on our side and isolate the militants. We will try and do the same there (Jammu and Kashmir)," Lt.General SK Sinha told reporters in New Delhi after meeting Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani.

          Sinha, who replaces GC Saxena, will assume office on June 4. Sinha was earlier the governor of Assam, home to more than 200 ethnic and tribal groups and plagued by separatist and tribal insurgencies for more than half a century. At least a dozen Muslim militant groups are fighting Indian rule in Jammu and Kashmir, the trigger of two of the three wars between India and Pakistan since 1947.

Iraqi oil exports to resume in June or July (Go To Top)
-by Ioannis Solomou

          Nicosia, May 24: Iraqi oil is set to start flowing again next June or July, following last Thursday's approval of Security Council resolution 1483, which lifts sanctions imposed on Iraq 13 years ago. The resolution gives the United States and Britain authority to control the country until a government is in place and to sell oil for the reconstruction of Iraq. Moreover it extended the oil-for-food programme for another six months.

          Thamir Ghadhban, Interim Chief Executive Officer of the reconstituted Iraqi Oil Ministry, expressed the hope that by mid- July Iraq would be able to export 600,000-700,000 barrels a day and another 300,000 to 400,000 barrels a day for domestic consumption. He also expressed the belief that before the end of the year, Iraq would be able to reach its pre-war level of 2.5 million barrels a day. Furthermore, Ghadhban said that only 40 per cent of domestic gasoline demand has been met so far and the country had to import gasoline from Turkey, Jordan and Kuwait. However, he said he expected that by the end of June, supplies would reach normal levels.

          US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said that although the target of 2.5 million barrels a day could be achieved within a reasonable time, expectations about supply beyond that figure were unrealistic, given the damage and shortcoming of Iraq's infrastructure and the major capital investment needed. It should be mentioned that Iraq has 8-9 million barrels of oil sitting in Turkey, which in the absence of a clear UN decision could not be sold. With the lifting of sanctions, this oil can be sold to international oil companies or major trading firms. The money Iraq can get from the sale of oil, which is really Iraq's only resource, is necessary to help regenerate and rebuild the country. Getting that money flowing with those quick sales, like the sale of the oil that's already there in storage in Turkey, that's going to help a lot.

Saddam's son Uday negotiating his surrender (Go To Top)

          London, May 24: Hidden in the suburbs of Baghdad and talking to US officials via middlemen, Saddam Hussein's son Uday is negotiating a surrender. Though Uday, 40, wants to know the process for his interrogation, US negotiators are refusing to cut a deal because they are convinced they will find him before long, reveals the Wall Street Journal. "I would facilitate his coming on in. But it would be unconditional. We're searching for everybody on the blacklist, including Saddam's family", says Lt Gen David McKiernan, commander of US ground forces in Iraq. Saddam is also hiding in the Baghdad suburbs but is in "questionable mental health", his relatives told US agents. Uday ranks third on the Allied list of most wanted Iraqi fugitives after his father and younger brother Qusay. And he is the ace of hearts in the Deck of Death pack of cards listing the top 55 hunted officials, says a report in the Sun.

          A source said he wanted to surrender because he feared Iraqi citizens would lynch him and will be safer in a US jail. He revealed Uday - notoriously paranoid and violent - keeps changing his mind over whether to hand himself in. And as the source added: "He doesn't have good choices."

All five RLD ministers quit Mayawati Govt (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, May 24: Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh after quitting as Union agriculture minister on Friday, paraded his MLAs before the media. Five RLD ministers of the Mayawati government have submitted their resignation letters to Ajit Singh. RLD's 13 MLAs have been supporting the ruling BJP-BSP combine in Uttar Pradesh. Singh said the ministers had handed over their resignations to him. The Rashtriya Lok Dal on Saturday called a meeting of party executive to decide the course of action . Speaking to media after the meeting, Ajit Singh said, "At the meeting we have decided that 12 MlAs of our party are submitting their resignation to me. And I would give it to the governor. The furthur course of action would be decided only after taking all the party executives into confidence."

          On being questioned about the reason for his resignation, Ajit Singh said, "The psyche of this BJP government is anti-farmer, and that is why I was never in their good books. They never disclosed the reason for the problem with me. I think it was only because BJP was losing ground in UP. And RLD in spite of being in power was winning more and more confidence of the public." Meanwhile, BJP president Venkaiah Naidu and UP Chief Minister Mayawati have claimed there is no threat to the coalition government.