New Delhi, May 18, 2009
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Prabhakaran's
body yet to be identified
Colombo:
Liberation of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran has reportedly been
shot dead along with his son Charles Antony and other Tiger commanders. Unofficial
reports said Prabhakaran was ambushed and shot dead while trying to flee Special
Forces who closed in on the last rebel fortification. A Sri Lankan military spokesman
said that there has been no identification of Prabhakaran as yet. There
were reports that only DNA verification would confirm Prabhakaran’s death, as
he was known to move around with two doubles. Earlier in the day, the Sri Lankan
Army had claimed that Prabhakaran was alive and surrounded by government troops.
On Sunday, four senior rebel leaders were killed in fighting, the army said. They
included the head of the Tigers' political wing, Balasingham Nadesan, the head
of rebels' peace secretariat Seevaratnam Puleedevan, and a military leader known
as Ramesh. The latest claims cannot be verified as reporters are barred from the
war zone. If confirmed, Prabhakaran’s death could signal the end of the nearly
three decade-long civil-ethnic war that cost the island nation the lives of thousands
of innocent civilians. Meanwhile, injured civilians continue to leave Sri Lanka's
war zone to get medical care. The movement of civilians out of the war zone comes
as the LTTE conceded defeat after sending out suicide attackers as part of a last-ditch
attempt to keep the military''''s final assault at bay on the square kilometre
they control. "This battle has reached its bitter end. We have decided to silence
our guns," the LTTE's diplomatic chief, Selvarajah Pathmanathan, said in a statement
posted on the pro-rebel web site www.TamilNet.com on Sunday A day before, Sri
Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa had declared victory after troops seized the
entire coast for the first time since the war erupted in 1983.
SP ready to sit in opposition: Mulayam
Top
Mainpuri: Samajwadi
Party (SP) Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday said that his party was ready to
sit in the opposition if its offer of ‘constructive support’ was not accepted
by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). “We will continue to give constructive
support to the UPA government. We have already made it clear to UPA chairperson
Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. But if the UPA does not want
our support, we have no choice but to sit in the opposition,” Yadav told reporters
here. His statement came after some Congress leaders opposed the inclusion of
the SP and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the new UPA Government. Meanwhile,
the Congress has said that the UPA allies will meet on Wednesday to discuss the
future course of action. However, nothing was said on whether the RJD and the
SP would be attending the meeting or not. “On May 20, there will be a meeting
of the UPA where all our pre-poll alliance partners are invited. That day we will
sit together and discuss our future steps,” Congress Spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi
told reporters in the national capital. The meeting will take place at UPA chairperson
Sonia Gandhi''s residence at 10, Janpath.
Lalu
says Congress leaders humiliating him Top
New
Delhi: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad on Monday complained to
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh that some Congress leaders had been humiliating
him and some other coalition leaders during television debates. Lalu gave the
example of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s statement that
the Congress should go it alone in the Assembly elections in the state. “It is
an insult of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar,” he added. Earlier
in the meeting, Lalu and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) Chief Ram Vilas Paswan complimented
Manmohan Singh, saying he had done a good job in his five-year term as Prime Minister
and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) would reach its pinnacle in the coming
years the way it is progressing. “The mission of the coalition is to finish the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which it
has achieved in the Lok Sabha elections,” Lalu added.
Stock
market surges on decisive vote result Top
Mumbai:
India’s main stock market is booming after the people gave a thumping mandate
in favour of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in the Lok Sabha
polls, dispelling fears of a fractured mandate. The main stock market leapt by
nearly 15 percent on Monday, triggering a temporary trading halt, after the ruling
coalition sealed a decisive election victory that calmed fears of political uncertainty.
The Indian rupee gained by moving more than two percent to four-month highs against
the dollar while the benchmark bond yields fell as the win boosted hopes a strong
coalition would be able to push through economic reforms that would boost the
much needed foreign investment in the country. The investors and market analysts
are upbeat and believe that the Congress-led UPA government will push the reforms
needed to boost the economy in times of recession and will provide a stable government.
“I am overjoyed for the simple reason that we have been facing a lot of problems
for the last two years when the market was down. The government has come with
a thumping majority and the government will come up with further reforms. They
will come up with banking reforms, they will come up with infrastructure benefits,
and they will come up with public sector divestment. So the overall trends for
the long term market are bullish, because the government will rule for five years,”
observed Manish Debrawal, a Market Expert. The investors are hopeful that the
Congress led UPA will now fast track the process of economic reforms without any
pressure, which in turn will boost the economy. “When in 2004 the UPA government
was formed with the Left Front support, then because of the Leftists, the markets
had fallen by over 800 points. The picture is completely different in today''s
scenario. The new government will be without the Lefts'' support. So the reform
bills in the insurance, foreign direct investment and banking sector which had
been blocked by the Left will now be tabled and passed in the parliament, which
is very good for the overall economy and from the market point of view,” opined
Siddharth Kuwala, an investor.
Manmohan
Singh submits Cabinet's resignation Top
New
Delhi: The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has met President Pratibha
Devisingh Patil and submitted the resignation of the Union Cabinet and recommended
the dissolution of the 14th Lok Sabha. Dr. Singh has stepped down formally as
Prime Minister. Earlier in the day, a meeting of the Union Cabinet was held at
the Prime Minister’s official residence and ended with the passing of a resolution
to dissolve the 14th Lok Sabha. The Council of Ministers submitted their resignations
to the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, before the passing of the resolution
to dissolve Parliament. The Ministers also congratulated Dr. Singh on the UPA''''s
victory in the 2009 general elections. President Patil is expected to call on
Dr. Singh to form the next government. She will host a dinner for the outgoing
Cabinet on Monday night. On Sunday, a crucial meet of the Congress Working Committee
(CWC) was called to deliberate on government formation and the possible support
to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) from like-minded parties.
Union
Cabinet passes resolution to dissolve Parliament Top
New
Delhi: The Union Cabinet meeting ended here today with the passing of a resolution
to dissolve the 14th Lok Sabha. The Council of Ministers submitted their resignations
to the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, before the passing of the resolution
to dissolve Parliament. The Ministers also congratulated Dr. Singh on the UPA''s
victory in the 2009 general elections. Dr. Singh is to meet President Pratibha
Patil shortly after noon to submit the resignation of the cabinet. President Patil
is expected to call on Dr. Singh to form the next government. President Patil
will host a dinner for the outgoing Cabinet. On Sunday, a crucial meet of the
Congress Working Committee (CWC) was called to deliberate on government formation
and the possible support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) from like-minded
parties.
President
Patil dissolves 14th Lok Sabha
New
Delhi: President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on Monday dissolved the 14th Lok
Sabha with immediate effect. The President is expected to invite the Prime Minister,
Dr. Manmohan Singh, to form the new government on Tuesday. Earlier in the day,
Dr. Singh met the President and submitted the resignation of the Union Cabinet
and recommended the dissolution of the 14th Lok Sabha. The President has asked
Dr. Singh to continue as interim PM till a new government is formed. In the morning,
a meeting of the Union Cabinet was held at the Prime Minister's official residence
and ended with the passing of a resolution to dissolve the 14th Lok Sabha. The
Council of Ministers submitted their resignations to Singh, before the passing
of the resolution to dissolve Parliament. The Ministers also congratulated Dr.
Singh on the UPA's victory in the 2009 general elections. On Sunday, a crucial
meet of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) was called to deliberate on government
formation and the possible support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) from
like-minded parties.
Pakistan
rapidly expanding its nuclear capability: US Top
Washington:
Amid political turbulence in Pakistan , and heightened fears about the Taliban
and other extremist groups seizing the country's nuclear assets, there has been
a rapid expansion of Islamabad 's nuclear armaments. US Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, in a confidential briefing, told members of Congress
that there are certain reports which confirm that Islamabad is rapidly adding
to its nuclear arsenal. When enquired whether he had seen evidence of an increase
in the size of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal, Admiral Mullen just said: "Yes".
This certainly raises questions over the proposed billions of dollars of US military
assistance to Pakistan that might be sidetracked to expand its nuclear capability
rather than utilizing it to counter insurgency. Officials of the Obama administration
have said that they had communicated to Congress that their intent was to assure
that military aid to Pakistan was directed toward counterterrorism and not diverted,
The New York Times reports. Now, that Washington has 'officially' admitted that
Pakistan is expanding its nuclear activities, it still remains to be seen whether
it would reduce or delay the aid to Islamabad promised earlier. The US Congress
is considering proposals to spend 3 billion dollars over the next five years to
train and equip Pakistan 's military for counterinsurgency warfare. This is in
addition to 7.5 billion dollars that the Capitol Hill has promised in civilian
assistance. However, the United States still does not have any detail about the
dimensions of Pakistan 's nuclear expansion programmes. "We see them scaling up
their centrifuge facilities," President of the Institute for Science and International
Security, David Albright said. Albright blamed the previous US regime for the
problem which might aggravate the already tense situation of South-Asia. "The
Bush administration turned a blind eye to how this is being ramped up.And of course,
with enough pressure, all this could be preventable," he said. Senators were of
the view that unless Pakistan commit to fight and eliminate insurgents completely,
and pursue its objectives sincerely, the hefty aid being offered would serve no
purpose. "Unless Pakistan 's leaders commit, in deeds and words, their country's
armed forces and security personnel to eliminating the threat from militant extremists,
and unless they make it clear that they are doing so, for the sake of their own
future, then no amount of assistance will be effective," Senate Armed Services
Committee chairman Carl Levin said.
US
journo claims Bhutto was killed on Cheney's orders Top
New
York: A special death squad assassinated Pakistan 's former Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto on the orders of former US Vice-President Dick Cheney, an Arab
TV channel has reported. "Cheney was the chief of the Joint Special Operation
Command and he cleared the way for the US by exterminating opponents through the
unit and the CIA. General Stanley was the in-charge of the unit," The Nation quoted
US columnist Seymour Hersh, as saying. The US death unit killed Bhutto because
she had told Al-Jazeera TV about the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, Hersh said.
The US leadership did not want Osama to be declared dead. It would have raised
questions about the US Army's presence in Afghanistan , he claimed. According
to Hersh, the former Lebanese PM Rafique Al Hariri and the army chief were murdered
for not safeguarding US interests and for refusing to set up US military bases
in Lebanon . Ariel Sharon, the then prime minister of Israel , was also a key
man in the plot, he said.
Biden
blunders by revealing location of secret Vice President's bunker Top
Washington:
US Vice President Joe Biden, who is well-known for his verbal gaffes, may
have finally outdone himself, by divulging the location of a secret bunker used
by the vice-president in the event of an emergency. A Fox News report said Biden
revealed the location of the bunker at a Gridiron Club dinner here. Biden told
his dinner mates that the bunker was under the old U.S. Naval Observatory. Eleanor
Clift, Newsweek magazine's Washington contributing editor, said Biden revealed
the location while filling in for President Obama at the dinner, who, along with
Grover Cleveland, is the only president to skip the gathering. According to the
report, Biden "said a young naval officer giving him a tour of the residence showed
him the hideaway, which is behind a massive steel door secured by an elaborate
lock with a narrow connecting hallway lined with shelves filled with communications
equipment." Clift continued: "The officer explained that when Cheney was in lock
down, this was where his most trusted aides were stationed, an image that Biden
conveyed in a way that suggested we shouldn't be surprised that the policies that
emerged were off the wall." In December 2002, neighbors complained of loud construction
work being done at the Naval Observatory, which has been used as a residence by
vice presidents since 1974. The upset neighbors were sent a letter by the observatory's
superintendent, calling the work "sensitive in nature" and "classified" and that
it was urgent it be completed "on a highly accelerated schedule." Residents said
they believed workers were digging deep into the ground, which would support Biden's
report of a secret bunker, but officials never confirmed the purpose of the work
performed. The revelation is the latest from Biden, who has a long history of
political blunders.
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