Taliban militants have established control of a strategically important area only 70 miles from the capital, law enforcement officials said Wednesday. The move is part of an unrelenting push by the Taliban toward the heart of Pakistan.
PakistanHeavily armed militants were patrolling villages and local police had retreated to their station houses in much of the city of Buner, a rural area adjacent to Swat, where the Taliban seized control from the Pakistani army in February, they said. Buner is a gateway to a major Pakistani city, Mardan.
“They take over Buner, then they roll into Mardan and that’s the end of the game,” a senior law enforcement official in the North West Frontier Province said.
The expansion of the Taliban into Buner comes 10 days after the government of President Asif Ali Zardari agreed to the introduction of Sharia law in Swat, a move that the Obama administration has criticized as too much of a concession to the Taliban.
On Wednesday Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was concerned that Pakistan was allowing the Taliban to spread and emboldening the militants by giving into their demands.
In testimony on Capitol Hill, Mrs. Clinton criticized Pakistan for being too lenient toward the Taliban. “I think that the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists,” she said.
Adding to the sense of alarm in the Obama administration, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, arrived in Islamabad Wednesday for the second time in two weeks. He was scheduled to meet with Pakistan’s top military and intelligence commanders.
The takeover of Buner is particularly significant because the people there have tried in the past year to stand up to the Taliban by establishing small private armies to fight the militants. Last year when the militants encroached into Buner, killing policemen, the local people fought back and forced the militants out.
But with a beachhead in neighboring Swat, and a number of training camps for fresh recruits, the Taliban were able to carry out what amounted to an invasion of Buner.
“The training camps will provide waves of men coming into Buner,” the senior law enforcement official said.
The Pakistani army, which called for a truce with the Taliban in mid-February, remains in barracks in Swat. There was little expectation that the army would take on the militants in Buner, the official said.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
GM to shut many U.S. plants up to 9 weeks, AP reports
General Motors Corp. is planning to temporarily close most of its U.S. factories for up to nine weeks this summer because of slumping sales and growing inventories of unsold vehicles, two people briefed on the plan said today.
The exact dates of the closures are not known, but both people said they will occur around the normal two-week shutdown in July to change from one model year to the next. Neither person wanted to be identified because workers have not been told of the shutdowns.
GM spokesman Chris Lee would not comment other than to say the company notifies employees before making any production cuts public.
One of the people briefed on the plan said a few plants that make more popular models could remain open for part of the shutdown period, but at reduced assembly line speeds.
Thousands of workers could be laid off but would still get most of their pay because their United Auto Workers union contract requires the company to make up much of the difference between state unemployment benefits and their wages.
GM is living on $13.4 billion in government loans and faces a June 1 deadline to cut its debt, reduce labor costs and take other restructuring steps. If it doesn't meet the deadline, the company's CEO has said it will enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
UAW officials at several factories said they have meetings scheduled Thursday and Friday with plant managers and GM human resource officials to discuss production changes.
The automaker's sales were down 49 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, and GM had a 123-day supply of cars and trucks at the end of March, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. That's down from 162 days worth in January.
But as of March 31, the automaker had a more than six-month supply of several models including the Pontiac G5 compact and Chevrolet Silverado hybrid pickup truck. The lengthy shutdown likely means that GM doesn't see its sales rebounding anytime soon, said Tom Libby, an independent Detroit-area auto industry analyst.
"They must be forecasting a sales level that is low enough between now and the summer that they see their inventories building," he said. "It's sort of an ominous comment on what they see for the industry."
The company could be seeing sales decline because of talk about a potential bankruptcy, Libby added.
GM CEO Fritz Henderson has said the company would prefer to restructure outside of court, but it is preparing for a prearranged bankruptcy as well as one in which good assets would be separated from underperforming ones.
"Just using the word bankruptcy, their (market) share is down a lot just because of this talk," Libby said. "They may be counting on a further decline."
Libby, however, said GM should be applauded for not building too many vehicles and then having to spend big on rebates and other incentives to move them, something the Detroit Three have been guilty of in the past.
Some GM dealers said a shutdown of up to nine weeks is jarring, but not unexpected given the sales slump.
"Nine weeks seems like an awful long time, but the way business is, not an awful lot of cars are being sold anyway," said George Tasker, fleet manager at Martin Chevrolet in Torrance, Calif.
Tasker said the move wouldn't affect business, as dealers would "get together and trade more easily" to find the exact car a customer wanted.
Earlier this year Chrysler LLC, also subsisting on government loans, closed all 30 of its manufacturing plants for a month in an effort to counter the auto sales downturn. The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker extended its traditional two-week holiday shutdown period further into January in order to adjust production to slowing demand and conserve cash.
The exact dates of the closures are not known, but both people said they will occur around the normal two-week shutdown in July to change from one model year to the next. Neither person wanted to be identified because workers have not been told of the shutdowns.
GM spokesman Chris Lee would not comment other than to say the company notifies employees before making any production cuts public.
One of the people briefed on the plan said a few plants that make more popular models could remain open for part of the shutdown period, but at reduced assembly line speeds.
Thousands of workers could be laid off but would still get most of their pay because their United Auto Workers union contract requires the company to make up much of the difference between state unemployment benefits and their wages.
GM is living on $13.4 billion in government loans and faces a June 1 deadline to cut its debt, reduce labor costs and take other restructuring steps. If it doesn't meet the deadline, the company's CEO has said it will enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
UAW officials at several factories said they have meetings scheduled Thursday and Friday with plant managers and GM human resource officials to discuss production changes.
The automaker's sales were down 49 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, and GM had a 123-day supply of cars and trucks at the end of March, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. That's down from 162 days worth in January.
But as of March 31, the automaker had a more than six-month supply of several models including the Pontiac G5 compact and Chevrolet Silverado hybrid pickup truck. The lengthy shutdown likely means that GM doesn't see its sales rebounding anytime soon, said Tom Libby, an independent Detroit-area auto industry analyst.
"They must be forecasting a sales level that is low enough between now and the summer that they see their inventories building," he said. "It's sort of an ominous comment on what they see for the industry."
The company could be seeing sales decline because of talk about a potential bankruptcy, Libby added.
GM CEO Fritz Henderson has said the company would prefer to restructure outside of court, but it is preparing for a prearranged bankruptcy as well as one in which good assets would be separated from underperforming ones.
"Just using the word bankruptcy, their (market) share is down a lot just because of this talk," Libby said. "They may be counting on a further decline."
Libby, however, said GM should be applauded for not building too many vehicles and then having to spend big on rebates and other incentives to move them, something the Detroit Three have been guilty of in the past.
Some GM dealers said a shutdown of up to nine weeks is jarring, but not unexpected given the sales slump.
"Nine weeks seems like an awful long time, but the way business is, not an awful lot of cars are being sold anyway," said George Tasker, fleet manager at Martin Chevrolet in Torrance, Calif.
Tasker said the move wouldn't affect business, as dealers would "get together and trade more easily" to find the exact car a customer wanted.
Earlier this year Chrysler LLC, also subsisting on government loans, closed all 30 of its manufacturing plants for a month in an effort to counter the auto sales downturn. The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker extended its traditional two-week holiday shutdown period further into January in order to adjust production to slowing demand and conserve cash.
'Deeper' recession ahead says IMF
The global economy is set to decline by 1.3% in 2009, in the first global recession since World War II, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.
In January, the IMF had predicted world output would increase by 0.5% in 2009.
It now projects that the UK will see its economy shrink by 4.1% in 2009, and by a further 0.4% in 2010.
But other major economies are predicted to shrink even more, with Germany declining by 5.6%, Japan by 6.2%, and Italy by 4.4% in 2009.
The prospects for the advanced economies are not much brighter in 2010, with an overall forecast of zero growth.
IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard on the bleak economic outlook
The IMF says this represents "by far the deepest post-World War II recession" with an actual decline in output in countries making up 75% of the world economy.
Currently, output is falling by an "unprecedented" 7.5% annual rate in the rich countries in the last quarter of 2008, and the IMF expects the same rate of decline in the first quarter of this year.
Only a recovery in developing and emerging market countries will propel the world economy back into positive growth in 2010, albeit at a relatively weak level of 1.9%.
The prospects for world trade are even gloomier, with the IMF now forecasting world trade volumes to decline by 11% in 2009, and barely grow at all in 2010.
After 60 years as the engine of world growth, the sharp fall in trade is now hitting many of the leading exporting nations, particularly in Asia.
Gloomy UK
The IMF says that "the recession is expected to be... quite severe in the United Kingdom, which is being hit by the end of the boom in real estate and financial services".
ECONOMIC GROWTH FORECAST 2009
UK: -4.1%
US: -2.8%
Germany: -5.6%
France: -3.0%
Japan: -6.2%
source: IMF
It is predicting that UK unemployment will rise to 9.2% by the end of 2010, compared to 6.7% at the moment.
And it is warning that the UK budget deficit will rise to 11% of GDP, "reflecting mainly automatic stabilisers and asset-price related revenue shortfalls rather than discretionary stimulus".
The UK is also facing the cost of paying for the banking bail-outs, which the IMF estimated in an earlier report at 9.4% of GDP, or £130bn, after correcting an earlier figure of £200bn.
Financial problems
At the heart of the crisis is the continuing overhang of losses in the financial sector, which the IMF now estimates at $4tn, four times higher than it projected just one year ago.
And it warns that the current outlook is "exceptionally uncertain, with risks still weighting on the downside."
It says the main risk is that "policies may be insufficient to arrest the negative feedback between deteriorating financial conditions and weakening economies in the face of limited public support for policy actions."
Developed economies such as Japan, the US and UK are in recession
Among the risks are that rising household and corporate debt cause further falls in asset prices and losses by financial institutions.
And it says that any recovery will be slower than in the past.
There will be a smaller financial sector, with financing harder to come by than in the past, especially for developing countries, which will cramp their growth.
And rich countries will face the burden of reducing their budget deficits which have soared during the crisis, at a time when their ageing populations means they will have lower tax revenues.
In addition, households may be reluctant to resume their previous spending habits, as saving rates have risen sharply in the US and the UK.
The IMF says it is important to take urgent action to shore up the banks, and to continue with short-term fiscal stimulus plans, in order to shorten the length of the recession
In January, the IMF had predicted world output would increase by 0.5% in 2009.
It now projects that the UK will see its economy shrink by 4.1% in 2009, and by a further 0.4% in 2010.
But other major economies are predicted to shrink even more, with Germany declining by 5.6%, Japan by 6.2%, and Italy by 4.4% in 2009.
The prospects for the advanced economies are not much brighter in 2010, with an overall forecast of zero growth.
IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard on the bleak economic outlook
The IMF says this represents "by far the deepest post-World War II recession" with an actual decline in output in countries making up 75% of the world economy.
Currently, output is falling by an "unprecedented" 7.5% annual rate in the rich countries in the last quarter of 2008, and the IMF expects the same rate of decline in the first quarter of this year.
Only a recovery in developing and emerging market countries will propel the world economy back into positive growth in 2010, albeit at a relatively weak level of 1.9%.
The prospects for world trade are even gloomier, with the IMF now forecasting world trade volumes to decline by 11% in 2009, and barely grow at all in 2010.
After 60 years as the engine of world growth, the sharp fall in trade is now hitting many of the leading exporting nations, particularly in Asia.
Gloomy UK
The IMF says that "the recession is expected to be... quite severe in the United Kingdom, which is being hit by the end of the boom in real estate and financial services".
ECONOMIC GROWTH FORECAST 2009
UK: -4.1%
US: -2.8%
Germany: -5.6%
France: -3.0%
Japan: -6.2%
source: IMF
It is predicting that UK unemployment will rise to 9.2% by the end of 2010, compared to 6.7% at the moment.
And it is warning that the UK budget deficit will rise to 11% of GDP, "reflecting mainly automatic stabilisers and asset-price related revenue shortfalls rather than discretionary stimulus".
The UK is also facing the cost of paying for the banking bail-outs, which the IMF estimated in an earlier report at 9.4% of GDP, or £130bn, after correcting an earlier figure of £200bn.
Financial problems
At the heart of the crisis is the continuing overhang of losses in the financial sector, which the IMF now estimates at $4tn, four times higher than it projected just one year ago.
And it warns that the current outlook is "exceptionally uncertain, with risks still weighting on the downside."
It says the main risk is that "policies may be insufficient to arrest the negative feedback between deteriorating financial conditions and weakening economies in the face of limited public support for policy actions."
Developed economies such as Japan, the US and UK are in recession
Among the risks are that rising household and corporate debt cause further falls in asset prices and losses by financial institutions.
And it says that any recovery will be slower than in the past.
There will be a smaller financial sector, with financing harder to come by than in the past, especially for developing countries, which will cramp their growth.
And rich countries will face the burden of reducing their budget deficits which have soared during the crisis, at a time when their ageing populations means they will have lower tax revenues.
In addition, households may be reluctant to resume their previous spending habits, as saving rates have risen sharply in the US and the UK.
The IMF says it is important to take urgent action to shore up the banks, and to continue with short-term fiscal stimulus plans, in order to shorten the length of the recession
Clinton concern for Pakistan fate
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the Taleban are "within hours of Islamabad"
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused Pakistan of abdicating to the Taleban by allowing them to control parts of the country.
Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan posed a "mortal threat" to the security of the US and the world.
She said extremists were being allowed to control territory such as the Swat Valley, in north-western Pakistan.
She also called Pakistan's judicial system corrupt, adding that it has only limited power in the countryside.
Earlier this month, Pakistani President Ali Zardari signed a law implementing Islamic law - or Sharia - in the Swat Valley region as part of a deal to end a two-year Taleban insurgency there.
Once one of Pakistan's most popular holiday destinations, the Swat Valley is now mostly under Taleban control.
Thousands of people have fled and hundreds of schools have been destroyed as a result of a Taleban-led insurgency.
The Swat Valley is only about 100km (62 miles) from Islamabad, and reports suggest the Taleban are trying to expand the area under their control.
'Existential threat'
Giving evidence in Washington to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan "poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world".
"I think the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taleban and the extremists," she said.
She called on the Pakistani people to speak out "forcefully" against their government's policy, in what the BBC's Richard Lister in Washington called an unusual move.
The government's policy was conceding "more and more territory to the insurgents , to the Taleban, to al-Qaeda, to the allies that are in this terrorist syndicate", Mrs Clinton said.
US President Barack Obama has put new emphasis on trying to resolve the security problems in Pakistan, our correspondent says, offering billions of dollars in aid but demanding greater co-operation from the government.
Using stark language, Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan needed urgent attention.
"I think that we can not underscore the seriousness of the existential threat posed to the state of Pakistan," she said, describing the rebels as a "loosely-confederated group of terrorists and others seeking to overthrow the Pakistani state".
The presidents of both Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan - where international forces are battling the Taleban - are due to come to Washington for talks next month.
During her hearing Mrs Clinton also answered questions on Cuba and Iran, warning that Tehran faces "very tough sanctions" if it rejects offers of engagement over its nuclear programme.
The US was "laying the groundwork" for such measures if Iran refused dialogue or the process failed, said Mrs Clinton.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused Pakistan of abdicating to the Taleban by allowing them to control parts of the country.
Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan posed a "mortal threat" to the security of the US and the world.
She said extremists were being allowed to control territory such as the Swat Valley, in north-western Pakistan.
She also called Pakistan's judicial system corrupt, adding that it has only limited power in the countryside.
Earlier this month, Pakistani President Ali Zardari signed a law implementing Islamic law - or Sharia - in the Swat Valley region as part of a deal to end a two-year Taleban insurgency there.
Once one of Pakistan's most popular holiday destinations, the Swat Valley is now mostly under Taleban control.
Thousands of people have fled and hundreds of schools have been destroyed as a result of a Taleban-led insurgency.
The Swat Valley is only about 100km (62 miles) from Islamabad, and reports suggest the Taleban are trying to expand the area under their control.
'Existential threat'
Giving evidence in Washington to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan "poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world".
"I think the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taleban and the extremists," she said.
She called on the Pakistani people to speak out "forcefully" against their government's policy, in what the BBC's Richard Lister in Washington called an unusual move.
The government's policy was conceding "more and more territory to the insurgents , to the Taleban, to al-Qaeda, to the allies that are in this terrorist syndicate", Mrs Clinton said.
US President Barack Obama has put new emphasis on trying to resolve the security problems in Pakistan, our correspondent says, offering billions of dollars in aid but demanding greater co-operation from the government.
Using stark language, Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan needed urgent attention.
"I think that we can not underscore the seriousness of the existential threat posed to the state of Pakistan," she said, describing the rebels as a "loosely-confederated group of terrorists and others seeking to overthrow the Pakistani state".
The presidents of both Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan - where international forces are battling the Taleban - are due to come to Washington for talks next month.
During her hearing Mrs Clinton also answered questions on Cuba and Iran, warning that Tehran faces "very tough sanctions" if it rejects offers of engagement over its nuclear programme.
The US was "laying the groundwork" for such measures if Iran refused dialogue or the process failed, said Mrs Clinton.
Parties divided on general strike on Sri Lankan Tamils issue
The general strike called by ruling DMK on Thursday on the Lankan Tamils issue has evoked a mixed response with its allies including Congress backing it but AIADMK and its partners refusing to take part, slamming it as a "farce".
Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi, under mounting pressure ahead of the Lok Sabha polls for not doing enough on the Lankan issue, last night gave the strike call to protest the 'killings of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka' and to demand immediate steps for a ceasefire.
Mr. Karunanidhi's appeal for support by all parties was rejected outright by AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa who said the strike would only cause hardship to people and her party would not participate and would go ahead with election campaign.
Describing the strike call as a "farce and drama", Ms. Jayalalithaa said when the entire world was demanding an immediate ceasefire, Mr. Karunanidhi has called for a strike.
Noting that the Supreme Court had held that general strike was illegal, she asked whether the strike would in any way help to bring about a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Karunanidhi, however, hit back at Jayalalithaa for describing the strike as a 'drama', saying it was she and her party members who did not take part in any pro-Sri Lankan Tamils activities including the human chain and all-party delegation that met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Meanwhile, transport authorities in the state said they would maintain normal bus services.
Southern Railway said it would operate "full services" on the suburban lines in south and north Chennai routes.
All domestic and international flights would be operated on Thursday, Chennai Airport Director K Natarajan said.
Congress, which has come under fire, from pro-Eelam parties and outfits for its alleged failure to ensure a ceasefire in Sri Lanka, however, backed the 12-hour strike from 6 am.
TNCC president K V Thangkabalu and Congress Legislature Party leader D Sudarshanam said the party would participate in the strike.
The Congress-led UPA was making efforts to mitigate the suffering of the Sri Lankan Tamils, they said.
DMK's allies, the pro-Eelam Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Dravida Kazhagam have also extended support.
The AIADMK allies, PMK and CPI(M), slammed Karunanidhi for the strike call. CPI(M) state secretary N Varadarajan said such "farcical drama" would not yield any result.
Questioning the necessity for the strike, CPI state secretary D Pandyan said Karunanidhi wanted to make last-ditch efforts to appease Tamil people with an eye on elections. CPI would neither support nor oppose it, he said at Coimbatore.
The PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss described the strike call by Karunanidhi as a "sudden waking up from slumber".
The pro-LTTE MDMK founder Vaiko said his party would not take part in it and go ahead with electioneering.
Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi, under mounting pressure ahead of the Lok Sabha polls for not doing enough on the Lankan issue, last night gave the strike call to protest the 'killings of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka' and to demand immediate steps for a ceasefire.
Mr. Karunanidhi's appeal for support by all parties was rejected outright by AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa who said the strike would only cause hardship to people and her party would not participate and would go ahead with election campaign.
Describing the strike call as a "farce and drama", Ms. Jayalalithaa said when the entire world was demanding an immediate ceasefire, Mr. Karunanidhi has called for a strike.
Noting that the Supreme Court had held that general strike was illegal, she asked whether the strike would in any way help to bring about a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Karunanidhi, however, hit back at Jayalalithaa for describing the strike as a 'drama', saying it was she and her party members who did not take part in any pro-Sri Lankan Tamils activities including the human chain and all-party delegation that met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Meanwhile, transport authorities in the state said they would maintain normal bus services.
Southern Railway said it would operate "full services" on the suburban lines in south and north Chennai routes.
All domestic and international flights would be operated on Thursday, Chennai Airport Director K Natarajan said.
Congress, which has come under fire, from pro-Eelam parties and outfits for its alleged failure to ensure a ceasefire in Sri Lanka, however, backed the 12-hour strike from 6 am.
TNCC president K V Thangkabalu and Congress Legislature Party leader D Sudarshanam said the party would participate in the strike.
The Congress-led UPA was making efforts to mitigate the suffering of the Sri Lankan Tamils, they said.
DMK's allies, the pro-Eelam Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Dravida Kazhagam have also extended support.
The AIADMK allies, PMK and CPI(M), slammed Karunanidhi for the strike call. CPI(M) state secretary N Varadarajan said such "farcical drama" would not yield any result.
Questioning the necessity for the strike, CPI state secretary D Pandyan said Karunanidhi wanted to make last-ditch efforts to appease Tamil people with an eye on elections. CPI would neither support nor oppose it, he said at Coimbatore.
The PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss described the strike call by Karunanidhi as a "sudden waking up from slumber".
The pro-LTTE MDMK founder Vaiko said his party would not take part in it and go ahead with electioneering.
India, China drivers of global economic growth: World Bank
At a time when the world is reeling under financial crisis, India and China have emerged as drivers of global economic growth, the World Bank said on Wednesday.
"China and India have emerged in recent years as drivers of global economic growth, accounting for 2.9 percentage points of the five per cent growth in global output in 2007," the World Bank said in its latest World Development Indicators (WDI) 2009.
While low- and middle-income economies now contribute 43 per cent of global output, up from 36 per cent in 2000, the report said China and India account for five percentage points of that increased share.
According to the report Brazil, China, India, and the Russian Federation attracted the largest shares of capital flows among developing economies.
"But foreign domestic investment flows to low-income economies also increased in recent years-- some of them coming from developing economies with large current account surpluses-- drawn by rising commodity prices into the oil, mineral, and other commodity sectors and into infrastructure projects," it said
"China and India have emerged in recent years as drivers of global economic growth, accounting for 2.9 percentage points of the five per cent growth in global output in 2007," the World Bank said in its latest World Development Indicators (WDI) 2009.
While low- and middle-income economies now contribute 43 per cent of global output, up from 36 per cent in 2000, the report said China and India account for five percentage points of that increased share.
According to the report Brazil, China, India, and the Russian Federation attracted the largest shares of capital flows among developing economies.
"But foreign domestic investment flows to low-income economies also increased in recent years-- some of them coming from developing economies with large current account surpluses-- drawn by rising commodity prices into the oil, mineral, and other commodity sectors and into infrastructure projects," it said
Security tighter for Round II
Anticipating Naxal violence in the second phase of polling, the Election Commission and the home ministry dispatched additional security forces and helicopters to Bihar and Jharkhand, from where attacks were reported on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Enforcing their 24-hour bandh call in the states, Naxals ‘hijacked’ a train in Latehar district, blew up the main building of the Untari Road railway station in Palamu, burnt down five bauxite-loaded trucks in Garhwa, and razed a village school and a health centre in Chatra district of Jharkhand.
In Delhi, home secretary Madhukar Gupta said after Wednesday’s attacks, the home ministry decided to provide better helicopters to the two states for aerial surveillance and to launch counter-attacks against Naxals.
Two helicopters have been provided to Bihar and three to Jharkhand.
“As a large number of the polling booths are located in Naxal-affected areas, aerial surveillance is required,” said R.S. Bhatti, IG (Muzaffarpur zone).
Deputy election commissioner J.P. Prakash said election staff would get full security cover and polling in the Naxal-affected constituencies would end at 3 pm so that they can return to their base stations before dark. In all, more than 1.7 lakh security personnel have been deployed for election duty in the two Naxal-affected states.
At the Hehegara station in Latehar, Naxals hijacked the Barkakana-Dihari-Mugalsarai passenger train around 7.30 am on Wednesday. Supported by villagers, plain clothes Naxals took the engine driver hostage for over four hours. The Naxals raised anti-police and anti-government slogans. They did not harm any of the about 500 passengers. The train began it onward journey at 11.40 am after the Maoists released the driver.
In the Untari Road incident, more than 100 armed Naxals reached the railway station around 11.15 pm on Tuesday and blew up its main building by triggering two blasts. The first explosion was reported five minutes before the Ranchi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express was due to cross the station. The train was delayed by an hour because of the blasts.
In Bihar, Naxals blew up a government building at Dev block headquarters under Aurangabad district and set 10 trucks on fire on the national highway passing through Gaya district. They shot dead a truck driver who tried to flee.
The Naxals had called a 24-hour bandh from Tuesday midnight to protest the recent killing of five youngsters at Barhania village in Latehar by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel. The CRPF said the youths were Naxalites and died in an encounter. But villagers said they were innocent and were killed after being picked up from the village in full public view.
Backed by the Maoists, the villagers have been demanding the arrest of the CRPF jawans behind the killings and a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the family of each of the deceased
Enforcing their 24-hour bandh call in the states, Naxals ‘hijacked’ a train in Latehar district, blew up the main building of the Untari Road railway station in Palamu, burnt down five bauxite-loaded trucks in Garhwa, and razed a village school and a health centre in Chatra district of Jharkhand.
In Delhi, home secretary Madhukar Gupta said after Wednesday’s attacks, the home ministry decided to provide better helicopters to the two states for aerial surveillance and to launch counter-attacks against Naxals.
Two helicopters have been provided to Bihar and three to Jharkhand.
“As a large number of the polling booths are located in Naxal-affected areas, aerial surveillance is required,” said R.S. Bhatti, IG (Muzaffarpur zone).
Deputy election commissioner J.P. Prakash said election staff would get full security cover and polling in the Naxal-affected constituencies would end at 3 pm so that they can return to their base stations before dark. In all, more than 1.7 lakh security personnel have been deployed for election duty in the two Naxal-affected states.
At the Hehegara station in Latehar, Naxals hijacked the Barkakana-Dihari-Mugalsarai passenger train around 7.30 am on Wednesday. Supported by villagers, plain clothes Naxals took the engine driver hostage for over four hours. The Naxals raised anti-police and anti-government slogans. They did not harm any of the about 500 passengers. The train began it onward journey at 11.40 am after the Maoists released the driver.
In the Untari Road incident, more than 100 armed Naxals reached the railway station around 11.15 pm on Tuesday and blew up its main building by triggering two blasts. The first explosion was reported five minutes before the Ranchi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express was due to cross the station. The train was delayed by an hour because of the blasts.
In Bihar, Naxals blew up a government building at Dev block headquarters under Aurangabad district and set 10 trucks on fire on the national highway passing through Gaya district. They shot dead a truck driver who tried to flee.
The Naxals had called a 24-hour bandh from Tuesday midnight to protest the recent killing of five youngsters at Barhania village in Latehar by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel. The CRPF said the youths were Naxalites and died in an encounter. But villagers said they were innocent and were killed after being picked up from the village in full public view.
Backed by the Maoists, the villagers have been demanding the arrest of the CRPF jawans behind the killings and a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the family of each of the deceased
Karat says could consider PM's post
CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat on Wednesday said that he could consider accepting the post of Prime Minister under "inevitable circumstances", even as he categorically ruled supporting the Congress in forming the next government.
Though he claimed that he was not at all interested in the post of Prime Minister, Karat told reporters that he would think of it if there was no other option. Regarding the Left parties support to the Congress post-polls, Karat outrightly ruled out any such possibility and said that a non-Congress, non-BJP grouping would emerge as the largest political set up to form the next government at the Centre. The Left parties would not support Congress in forming the next government "under any circumstances", he said. Congress would 'undoubtedly' not be in a position to form the next government and has now become all alone with allies deserting it. Regarding the BJP he said that the saffron party was not going to open its account in several states. Karat, accompanied by TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu, was here to take part in the last leg of campaigning that came to a halt last evening.
Though he claimed that he was not at all interested in the post of Prime Minister, Karat told reporters that he would think of it if there was no other option. Regarding the Left parties support to the Congress post-polls, Karat outrightly ruled out any such possibility and said that a non-Congress, non-BJP grouping would emerge as the largest political set up to form the next government at the Centre. The Left parties would not support Congress in forming the next government "under any circumstances", he said. Congress would 'undoubtedly' not be in a position to form the next government and has now become all alone with allies deserting it. Regarding the BJP he said that the saffron party was not going to open its account in several states. Karat, accompanied by TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu, was here to take part in the last leg of campaigning that came to a halt last evening.
Now, Sanjay says sorry to Maya, calls her sister
In the eye of a storm for his "Jadu ki Jhappi" remarks, Sanjay Dutt apologised on Wednesday for the statement, saying the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister was just like a sister to him.
In the reply sent to the District Magistrate and district election officer Pinki Jowal faxed on Tuesday night, the actor and SP leader apologised for the remarks and said it was a mere dialogue from his Bollywood blockbuster Munnabhai series which were used in the rally to spread a message of love in society.
Saying Mayawati was just like a sister to him, Dutt held that the dialogue was from a brother to a sister to strengthen the bonds.
"Even so, if the dialogue has hurt the sentiments of anyone I apologise for it", Dutt said in his reply.
A show cause notice was served to Dutt for his remarks against the BSP supremo during an April 16 election meeting in Pratapgarh. The district election officer had given him three days time to file his reply
In the reply sent to the District Magistrate and district election officer Pinki Jowal faxed on Tuesday night, the actor and SP leader apologised for the remarks and said it was a mere dialogue from his Bollywood blockbuster Munnabhai series which were used in the rally to spread a message of love in society.
Saying Mayawati was just like a sister to him, Dutt held that the dialogue was from a brother to a sister to strengthen the bonds.
"Even so, if the dialogue has hurt the sentiments of anyone I apologise for it", Dutt said in his reply.
A show cause notice was served to Dutt for his remarks against the BSP supremo during an April 16 election meeting in Pratapgarh. The district election officer had given him three days time to file his reply
Two top LTTE leaders surrender; 95,000 escape war zone
Two key Tamil Tiger officials surrendered Wednesday as Sri Lankan troops pressed a final offensive against the rebels despite an international outcry over the fate of trapped civilians.
Among the top rebels who turned themselves in was the Tigers' main mouthpiece to the outside world, their chief spokesman Velayudam Dayanidi, better known as Daya Master.
Another official, who was an aide to the late head of the Tigers' political wing, S.P. Thamilselvan, also surrendered.
The government's defence spokesman said more than 80,000 people had fled the shrinking patch of territory still controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), saying troops were "rescuing" and not harming civilians caught up in the war.
"Our operations to rescue civilians is continuing," Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters, describing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a spent force with just 12 square kilometres (five square miles) of land left.
"The LTTE has lost all its military capabilities. They are fighting a losing battle," he said, adding the government also "strongly believes" that Tamil Tiger leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran, 54, was still in the area.
The defence ministry gave Prabhakaran and his fighters until Tuesday to surrender, but the rebels ignored the deadline and have continued to fight.
The LTTE, who have been fighting for an independent Tamil homeland since 1972, has acknowledged losing ground. But the group has accused the government of killing 1,000 civilians in recent days.
The military insists it has aided the escape of 81,420 men, women and children this week. It said those fleeing were fired on by the rebels, who are alleged to have kept villagers to use as human shields.
The rival claims are hard to verify as independent reporters are not allowed near the conflict zone, but aid agencies have painted a grim picture.
"The situation is nothing short of catastrophic," said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, operations director for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"What we are seeing is intense fighting in a very small area overcrowded with civilians who have fled there," he said.
He estimated there could be tens of thousands more people still inside rebel-held territory, while facilities for those who had reached relative safety were overstretched.
The United States and other nations have urged both Sri Lankan troops and Tiger rebels not to fire indiscriminately, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked that UN staff be allowed to enter the area for relief operations.
"The casualties are certainly in the thousands and have been fairly consistently high running throughout the last couple of months, as the patch of (LTTE) territory has narrowed and really diminished," said Gordon Weiss, the UN spokesman in Colombo.
The apparent endgame in Sri Lanka has triggered protests around the world, with up to 30,000 Tamil demonstrators clogging the Canadian capital Ottawa to press for mediation.
Similar rallies have been held in London and Paris.
The LTTE were once considered as one of the world's most efficient guerrilla outfits, lording over a third of Sri Lanka's territory and running a de facto mini-state.
A Norwegian-brokered truce between the government and the rebels began falling apart in December 2005, and fighting since then has seen the progressive collapse of the rebel army.
Last month the UN's human rights chief said both sides in the conflict may be guilty of war crimes.
Among the top rebels who turned themselves in was the Tigers' main mouthpiece to the outside world, their chief spokesman Velayudam Dayanidi, better known as Daya Master.
Another official, who was an aide to the late head of the Tigers' political wing, S.P. Thamilselvan, also surrendered.
The government's defence spokesman said more than 80,000 people had fled the shrinking patch of territory still controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), saying troops were "rescuing" and not harming civilians caught up in the war.
"Our operations to rescue civilians is continuing," Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters, describing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a spent force with just 12 square kilometres (five square miles) of land left.
"The LTTE has lost all its military capabilities. They are fighting a losing battle," he said, adding the government also "strongly believes" that Tamil Tiger leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran, 54, was still in the area.
The defence ministry gave Prabhakaran and his fighters until Tuesday to surrender, but the rebels ignored the deadline and have continued to fight.
The LTTE, who have been fighting for an independent Tamil homeland since 1972, has acknowledged losing ground. But the group has accused the government of killing 1,000 civilians in recent days.
The military insists it has aided the escape of 81,420 men, women and children this week. It said those fleeing were fired on by the rebels, who are alleged to have kept villagers to use as human shields.
The rival claims are hard to verify as independent reporters are not allowed near the conflict zone, but aid agencies have painted a grim picture.
"The situation is nothing short of catastrophic," said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, operations director for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"What we are seeing is intense fighting in a very small area overcrowded with civilians who have fled there," he said.
He estimated there could be tens of thousands more people still inside rebel-held territory, while facilities for those who had reached relative safety were overstretched.
The United States and other nations have urged both Sri Lankan troops and Tiger rebels not to fire indiscriminately, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked that UN staff be allowed to enter the area for relief operations.
"The casualties are certainly in the thousands and have been fairly consistently high running throughout the last couple of months, as the patch of (LTTE) territory has narrowed and really diminished," said Gordon Weiss, the UN spokesman in Colombo.
The apparent endgame in Sri Lanka has triggered protests around the world, with up to 30,000 Tamil demonstrators clogging the Canadian capital Ottawa to press for mediation.
Similar rallies have been held in London and Paris.
The LTTE were once considered as one of the world's most efficient guerrilla outfits, lording over a third of Sri Lanka's territory and running a de facto mini-state.
A Norwegian-brokered truce between the government and the rebels began falling apart in December 2005, and fighting since then has seen the progressive collapse of the rebel army.
Last month the UN's human rights chief said both sides in the conflict may be guilty of war crimes.
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