• Gillani Named PPP's PM Candidate  

Chinese Media Call for 'Crushing'
of Tibetan 'Conspiracy'
China's flagship media Saturday moved into high gear against those opposing Chinese rule in Tibet, saying the "Tibet independence" forces must be "resolutely crushed". The demandcame after the Xinhua news agency said the death toll in violent demonstrations against Chinese rule in Tibet had risen to 19, and more than 600 people were injured. Read On

Busy Beijing's Low-key Approach
to Taiwan's Presidential Election
Preoccupied for the last two weeks with Tibetan independence protests and the diplomatic fallout from its attempts to contain them, mainland China's ruling Communist Party has taken a low-key approach to Taiwan's presidential election. Read On

Hispanic Governor Boosts Obama;
Setback for Hillary Clinton by Arun Kumar
In a major setback to Hillary Clinton's hopes of becoming America's first woman president, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has announced his endorsement of Senator Barack Obama, her rival for Democratic nomination. Read On

South Korea's First Woman Astronaut
Approved for Flight by Alissa de Carbonnel
"I will not fly as So-Yeon, not just as a person but as the first Korean astronaut," said the 29-year-old woman who has officially qualified to be South Korea's ambassador to space. Read On

Obama, Clinton, McCain's
Passport Files Breached
Contractors working for the US State Department breached the passport files of presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain, spokesman Sean McCormack said. Read On

All Nepal Ministers Jump into Poll Fray
By Sudeshna Sarkar
As Nepal gears up for its first constituent assembly elections next month, the nation will also see the unprecedented spectacle of the entire cabinet of ministers vying in the joust, with the prime minister himself leading the fray. Read On

• Gloss Rubs Off Australia's Shiny Economy
• Exiles ask Bhutan King to Defer Monday Polls

Heavy Clashes in Palestinian Camp
in South Lebanon
Heavy clashes erupted late Friday between a Sunni fundamentalist group and fighters of the mainstream Fatah faction in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, prompting civilians to flee the area. Read On

Saudi King Urges US to Press Israel
for Mideast Peace Deal
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia Friday urged visiting US Vice President Dick Cheney to put pressure on Israel to seal a peace deal with the Palestinians before US President George W. Bush leaves office in January 2009, official sources said. Read On

Bush 'Cautiously Optimistic'
over Russia-US Missile Talks
US President George W. Bush has said he hopes an agreement could be reached with Russia on Washington's missile defence plans for Central Europe. Read On

• Rice Apologizes to Obama over Passport Breach
• Iran's Nuclear Pursuits Threat to Europe: Sarkozy
• Iran Wants Nuclear Weapons to Destroy Others:
  Bush

Obama Blames Iraq War for US Economic Woes
US Democratic presidential candidate hopeful Barack Obama has blamed the ballooning defence budget due to the Iraq war for the country's current economic woes. Read On

Subprime Crisis to Persist for Two to Three Years
The impact of the subprime crisis is likely to persist for two to three year before the US economy recovers, Nobel laureate US economist Joseph E. Stiglitz said here Friday. "The Federal Reserve and Bush administration did too little, too late, and did not do the right things to redress the problem," Stiglitz told an audience at Renmin University. Read On

Dalai Lama says Tibet Struggle Will Never Die 
Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has said that it was "much better" for Tibet to join China, but warned the Communist regime that the struggle in his homeland would never die as the younger generation had a stronger spirit to fight injustices. Read On

Holi Festival Colors India
From the prime minister here to the trooper at the Pakistan border and the villager in Orissa, India Saturday celebrated Holi, the festival of colors. Spring was in the air as people shouted "Holi hai", smeared colored powder or worse on one another and danced to Bollywood's Holi songs in neighborhood after neighborhood, city after city. Read On

• Left Blocking Economic Progress: Chidambaram
• Volatility in Market in Truncated Week  
• South Africa Series Challenging: Kumble
• Advani Reaches Out to Manmohan, Sonia  

Bumper Potato Crop Leaves Gujarat Farmers Poor
by V.N. Balakrishna
Potato farmers in the Deesa are at their wits' end trying to tackle a problem of plenty. A bumper harvest has left them worried as cold storages are packed to capacity and now the crop is lying in the open. Read On

Advani Did Meet Mulayam to Trip Sonia 
by Faraz Ahmad
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav did meet secretly in 1999 to prevent Congress president Sonia Gandhi from becoming prime minister, sources close to Yadav and former defence minister George Fernandes have confirmed. Read On

The New Jinnah in India's Parliament
Will be Argumentative by T.S.V. Hari
"I cannot hope to match my debating skills with those associated with my famous name," says S. Amir Ali Jinnah, one of the members elected to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu. Jinnah will be the first MP in the Indian parliament with a name matching that of Pakistan's founder leader, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Read On

River Songs from Assam in Pop Avatar 
by Madhusree Chatterjee
Indian folk music is changing rhythm to please the global village. Boatman's songs and Bihu festival tunes from Assam are being reset to the beats of techno-pop and soft rock, courtesy the EIC band. Read On

IAEA Pact 'Ready',
Mukherjee Heads for Washington 
Ahead of his visit to Washington, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday made it clear that the text of India's safeguards agreement with the IAEA had been finalized but can only be "initialed" after a nod from the government's Left allies. Read On

Montek Singh Ahluwalia Reassures Banks
on Farm Loan Waiver
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has reassured the country's banking sector on the Rs.600 billion ($15 billion) farm loan waiver. "There is no need for the banking sector to panic as meticulous financial correctives are on, to offset the huge burden that will come on the banking sector," ...Read On

China Warns US, Slams Dalai Lama for 'Lies'
On a day Tibetan protesters slipped into the Chinese embassy premises and the Dalai Lama arrived for a week's stay, China urged India not to be misled by the "lies" of the Tibetan leader and warned against any international "meddling" in its "internal affairs" Read On
► Tibetan Youths Storm Chinese Embassy 
► Dalai Lama in Delhi for Buddhist Discourses

Pelosi Hits Out at China, Backs Dalai Lama
by Baldev S. Chauhan
Nancy Pelosi, the US House of Representatives speaker, Friday came out strongly in support of the Dalai Lama and asked China to allow independent monitoring of the situation in troubled Tibet. Read On

• BJP Questions Rahul Gandhi's Political Acumen
• Bhutanese Apprehensive about Democracy

Khalistan Forces Trying to Stir Sectarian Violence
by Sahil Makkar
Three prominent sect leaders in Punjab - Ashutosh Maharaj, Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh and Baba Piara Bhaniarewala - are on the hit list of Khalistan separatist forces that are trying to regroup with the help of overseas funds and the Pakistani intelligence agency, say Indian security officials. Read On