New Non-Violent Group Should Replace LTTE: Tamil Leader by Dipankar De Sarkar
A new democratically-minded and non-violent group is needed to win the aspirations of Tamils in Sri Lanka following the defeat of the LTTE, a leading member of the Tamil diaspora in Britain said Monday. Read On

Prabhakaran:
From Catapult Killer to Ruthless Insurgent
by M.R. Narayan Swamy
His first victims were squirrels and birds, and his first weapon a humble catapult. From such beginnings, Velupillai Prabhakaran -- who died ignominiously Monday -- grew to be the world's most shadowy and ruthless insurgent who at one time lorded over vast areas in Sri Lanka's northeast. Read On
► Velupillai Prabhakaran:
    His Life, Times and Death
► Body of Prabhakaran's Son Found

Death Blow for LTTE
as Prabhakaran, Aides Killed in Sri Lanka
Velupillai Prabhakaran, the feared leader of Sri Lanka's ruthless Tamil Tigers, was killed Monday while trying to flee the battle zone in the island's north with two top aides, ending one of the world's longest running insurgencies that bled the island nation for over a quarter century. The death -- which came hours after his elder son Charles Anthony, who headed the group's IT wing and was being groomed to succeed him, was also killed -- marks the collapse of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Read On

Years of Democracy Brought Dividends to India: Pakistani Media
Years of democracy have brought dividends to India, something Pakistan too can learn from, an editorial in a leading English daily said Wednesday on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) decisive victory in the Indian general elections. The editorial, as also a leader in another English daily, sounded upbeat on improved India-Pakistan ties in the wake of the election results. Read On

Extremists Within Pose Danger,
But India a Military Threat: Musharraf
by Arun Kumar
Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf has said Islamabad was keeping its forces on the border with India because of a threat perception and not because it was less focused on the threat from Taliban extremists. Read On

Is LTTE in Secret, Indirect Talks with US
to Surrender? by M.R. Narayan Swamy
Sri Lanka's embattled Tamil Tigers may be engaged in secret though indirect talks with the United States for a face-saving formula to save its militarily-cornered leadership. It has been known that the LTTE has reached out to the new US administration, courtesy Norway, one factor why an upset Colombo stripped Oslo of its role as the peace facilitator. Read On
► LTTE 'Silences' Guns,
    Says War has Reached 'Bitter End' 

Nepal Parties Inch Closer to Forming Government
Nepal's two main political parties, the Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and the Nepali Congress, announced Sunday that they have the majority necessary to form a new government without the Maoists. The announcement came after 32 politicians from a key ethnic party, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF), said they would support the government led by CPN-UML. Read On

Pakistan Army Approaching Urban Warfare
in Swat
Ground troops made advances towards Taliban-held towns in Pakistan's Swat valley Sunday, as aid agencies renewed calls for "massive support" to help out more than one million refugees. Read On

Pakistan Could be a Friction Point
in Warming India-US Partnership: US Experts
by Arun Kumar
As President Barack Obama declared his intent to enhance the warm partnership with India following the return of a Congress-led government, analysts suggested that Pakistan could emerge as a point of friction. Read On

RSS Persuades Advani to Continue
as Leader of Opposition
Advani, 81, agreed to lead the BJP in the 15th Lok Sabha after the RSS suggested he should prevent politicking among party leaders for the post, BJP sources said. Read On

RJD, SP Offer Support to New UPA Government
With their vote tally having plummeted, former UPA allies RJD and SP Monday sounded chastened as they offered the new UPA government their unconditional support and said they were not interested in being part of the new ministry. Read On

Poll Debacle Collective Responsibility,
Karat to Stay On: CPI-M
Meeting for over eight hours Monday, the CPI-M Monday refused to hold any individual responsible for its worst poll drubbing and ruled out general secretary Prakash Karat's resignation over it. Read On

Indian Markets Toast UPA Win
as Sharp Surge Halts Trading
Indian equities markets Monday gave a resounding welcome to the electoral victory of the Congress-led alliance as investor frenzy forced the suspension of trading for the day after indices hit upper circuit filters twice within seconds. If Sensex rose an unprecedented 2,099.21 points, or 17.24%, the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange did even better, gaining 636.4 points, or 17.33%. Read On

PM Meets Patil, Submits Resignation of Cabinet
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday met President Pratibha Patil and submitted the resignations of the members of his council of ministers. Manmohan Singh, who also formally stepped down as prime minister, was asked to continue till the formation of the next government. Officials at Rashtrapati Bhavan said President Patil, who hosts a dinner for the outgoing cabinet later in the evening, will invite Manmohan Singh to form the next government on Tuesday. Read On

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Left-Free, New Government to Focus
on Volatile Neighbors by Manish Chand
Armed with a renewed electoral mandate that liberates it from the pressure tactics of the anti-US Left parties, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is set to pursue a more robust foreign policy that will deal with a restive neighborhood, tackle the China challenge and have a more vigorous engagement with the US. Read On

Muslim-Peasant Factor, Alliance Arithmetic
Sink Left in Bengal by Sirshendu Panth
Singed by Muslim anger and mauled by peasants' rage, the Left citadel in West Bengal gave way in these Lok Sabha elections, unable to withstand the determined onslaught of an opposition alliance stitched by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. Read On
► Left Behind - Bengal Can't Believe It!

India Readies for New Government,
Knives Out in Opposition
India's victorious ruling coalition Sunday prepared to usher in a new multi-party government under the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as opposition parties, decimated by the electoral rout, began a familiar blame game. Read On

India Inc has Wish List Ready for Next Government
Tabling a regular national budget will top the economic agenda of the next government, with India Inc hoping for fair doses of policy reform since the ghost of Left support - the main hurdle to change - has finally been stamped out by the electoral verdict. Read On