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Paswan meets Sonia, offers CM's post in Bihar to Cong

      New Delhi: Lok Janshakti Party president Ramvilas Paswan today had an unscheduled meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi during which he offered chief ministership to her party in Bihar if it tied up with his outfit. Paswan said he was invited by Gandhi for the meeting which took place close on the heels of her hour-long parleys with RJD president Laloo Prasad on the seat-sharing issue in Bihar and Jharkhand which remained deadlocked. Paswan said he apprised Sonia Gandhi of the political situation in Bihar and assured her that if there was a tie-up between LJP and Congress, there would be two-third majority for the alliance and Congress would get the chief ministership. He declined to divulge what was Sonia's response to his offer. Replying to questions, he said the issue of any alliance with JD(U) was now a "closed chapter" as the party had already entered into a tie up with BJP.

     Earlier, RJD leader and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had an hour-long meeting with Sonia Gandhi here on contentious seat- sharing issue for next month's Bihar and Jharkhand assembly polls. "I met Sonia Gandhi and told her our alliance will continue. We will fight the elections in Bihar together. These are minor problems and we will sort them out. I told her we should look at our support base in the state and then demand seats. There is no danger to the alliance and no danger to the UPA at the Centre," Lalu Prasad Yadav said. Yadav hinted that there could be some friendly contests in the two states but did not give any figure while replying to a question. "They (Congress) have their own compulsions. We have our own and a way needs to be found out to accommodate everyone to the maximum possible extent," the RJD supremo said.

Date set for Indian tsunami warning system (Go To Top)

     Bangalore: Science and Technology Minister, Kapil Sibal said today, India's tsunami warning system will be operational in two to three years' time. The 27 million dollars system will give the speed of a tsunami and the regions most at risk, reports the BBC.. The announcement came as the Indian navy said chances of finding more tsunami survivors were now remote. More than 10,000 people died in India. Around 5,500 are still missing - almost all in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Speaking here, Sibal said the warning system would involve installing Deep Ocean Assessment Reporting Technology at a depth of six kilometres. The warning system was formally agreed at a cabinet meeting on Sunday. The Andaman and Nicobar islands were hit soon after the earthquake on 26 December but the tsunami took a further two hours to reach the Indian mainland. The navy said on Wednesday it would continue rescue operations but held out little hope of finding more survivors. Naval chief Admiral Arun Prakash said: "Knowing the seas as they are it is unlikely that any more bodies will be recovered and the statistical chances of finding survivors is now very remote." After visiting several affected islands in the archipelago, the admiral said: "I saw with great awe the mind-boggling destruction. Vegetation has been swept clean and habitats totally destroyed."

Madonna to star in special program for tsunami relief (Go To Top)

    London: Madonna is said to have pledged to perform on a US TV special to raise money for the tsunami victims. Stars including Diana Ross,Maroon 5 ,George Clooney, Kevin Spacey and Uma Thurman have also agreed take part in the NBC telethon on 15 January, reports the BBC. Proceeds from the benefit show will go the American Red Cross to aid its relief efforts in Asia.