AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

        US President George W Bush has said he was strongly opposed to partition of Iraq and renewed his support for embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Asked by the satellite channel Al-Arabiya if partition was bad news for Iraqis on Friday, the President responded: 'Yes, it is.' Bush, whose term in office ends in January 2008, expressed confidence that his successor will have the same view about Iraq's future. 'I don't think it will happen,' said Bush when asked if the next US President could support Iraq's partition. The idea of dividing Iraq into three parts along sectarian lines is gaining support in the US Congress. The US Senate passed a non-binding resolution last month proposing to decentralise Iraq into a federal system, dividing the country into Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni entities, with a federal government in Baghdad. Bush is optimistic that his successor would go his way.

        Singapore, which currently heads ASEAN, has sought intervention of international community to tackle the on-going crisis in Myanmar but strongly rejected plans to impose sanctions on that country calling such measures 'counter-productive'. The Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong said that sanctions will be counter-productive as they will hurt the people of Myanmar and not the ruling junta and that Myanmar might shut itself off. 'If you do have sanctions and it works, I think those who would be hurt by the sanctions will not be the regime or the SPDC, the government, but the people of Myanmar, so it would be counterproductive,' Lee said in an interview with CNN. Singapore's Myanmar people's concern.

        Shortly after winning a landslide victory in a controversial presidential election, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Saturday asked the opposition parties to accept the outcome. 'I bow my head in front of God almighty and thank him for giving me such a great victory. I call on opposition parties to accept the outcome and urge them not to destabilise the country,' Musharraf told reporters. Wearing civilian clothes instead of his military uniform, the military ruler said, 'I appeal to the people for a conciliatory approach, let sanity prevail'. However, he declined to comment on what he would do if the court overturns the results. 'Let them come to their decision, then we will decide.' No more that tough the president.

        The country received 936.9 mm of seasonal rainfall due to Southwest monsoons this year, an increase of five per cent from the normal. 'Out of 513 meteorological districts for which data is available, 72 per cent received excess or normal rainfall and the remaining 28 per cent received deficient rainfall,' a report issued by the Meteorological department said. The report said that 77 districts (15 per cent) experienced moderate drought and 30 districts (six per cent) experienced severe drought conditions at the end of the season due to rainfall deficiency of 26-50 per cent. The report also cited the uneven distribution of rainfall 'in space and time' as the reason behind the floods in many states. Record rainfall this year.

        In the wake of JD(S) refusing to hand over power to it in Karnataka, BJP is likely to withdraw support to the government headed by its southern ally in the state, sources in the saffron party said in New Delhi on Friday night. The BJP Parliamentary Board meeting in New Delhi on Saturday was to have apprised by party chief Rajnath Singh of what transpired at his meeting with JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda Friday night. The sources indicated that the Parliamenary Board is likely to come endorse withdrawal of support to the government headed by H D Kumaraswamy. Gowda bluntly told Singh during the meeting held at the residence of independent MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar that JD(S) would not transfer power to BJP, reneging on a power-sharing agreement reached between the two parties 20 months ago. JD (S) going back on its words.

        A three-member enquiry team Friday began investigations into Wednesday's stampede in Mughalsarai station, where 15 women were killed and 48 people injured. H K Kala, divisional railway manager of Mughalsarai, told press that the team constituted by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, reached the mishap site in the morning and started its enquiry. The team, led by Chief Commercial Manager Rajendra Prasad Bharadwaj, has CMO R P Singh and Deputy Chief Security Officer Tariq Ahamed as its other members. The incident occurred when there was a sudden surge of people who came out of two trains, arriving almost simultaneously, on the staircase of an overbridge. Fasting women had alighted from trains to go to Varanasi, 20 km away from Mughalsarai, for a bath in the Ganges on the occasion of 'jivit putrika vrat', a local festival. It's pathetic that stampede caused deaths.

        Protesting the merger of 79 km stretch of Pollachi-Kinathukadavu section with the Palakkad Railway Division, MDMK general secretary Vaiko would observe a fast in Pollachi on 1 November, coinciding with the inauguration of the Salem Railway Division. Announcing this at a public meeting at Pollachi Friday night, he condemned both the Centre and the Tamilnadu governments for transferring the section, part of Madurai Division, 'to mollify' Kerala, which had opposed inclusion of Coimbatore, Podanur and Tirupur sections in the Salem division. MDMK, which has launched a campaign against 'giving the 79 km of Tamilnadu on a platter to Kerala,' and seeking its retention would continue to protest till the goal was achieved, he said. Accusing Chief Minister M Karunanidhi of remaining a silent spectator on the issue, Vaiko alleged that the former had betrayed the people of the region for political reasons, because the area was a citadel of AIADMK and MDMK. For Tamilnadu's cause.

        Ram Sethu issue has led to a 'political polarisation' in Tamilnadu and a BJP-AIADMK alliance is likely, L Ganesan, the state president of the saffron party, said on Thursday. 'There are chances of BJP joining hands with the AIADMK for the next election,' Ganesan told reporters in Tiruchirapalli. He said there was a 'political polarisation' in the state now on the Ram Sethu issue. Leaders including Puthia Tamizhagam leader Dr Krishnaswamy, DMDK leader Vijayakanth and actor Sharath Kumar were all for protecting the Ram Sethu. 'They have similar view on the issue that is opposed to the view of the ruling party (DMK),' he said. The BJP would support the rally organised by Puthia Tamizhagam leader Krishnaswamy against giving reservation for minorities from the share of the Hindu backward classes. The state vice president of the party Kumaravelu would participate in the rally in Chennai on 6 October, he said. The DMK is adamant, refuses to lend their ears to opposers.

        The Madurai Bench of the Madras high court has modified the punishment awarded to a constable, who was dismissed for taking Rs 100 as bribe from a TASMAC shop supervisor and directed that he be given compulsory retirement. Justice K Chandru asked the constable K Periyasamy, who had put in 29 years of service without any complaints against him, to submit his pension papers within four weeks and directed the officials to process it within eight weeks. The judge said the Commissioner of Police had issued a show cause notice on the findings, recorded evidence and accepted the evidence before removing him from service on 19 Aug. Though the said order was a well reasoned one, it was unclear why the Commissioner chose to remove him from service when there were other major penalties available to punish him. HC came to his rescue.

        The Special Court for CBI cases Friday convicted and sentenced one Sarfraz Nawaz to five years Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) in the multi-crore fake stamp paper scam, in which Abdul Karim Telgi is the prime accused. Special judge N Velu, who awarded five years RI to Nawaz, lodged in Bangalore prison, however said the sentence would be set off against the period spent by him in prison as an undertrial. During the earlier hearing prior to framing of charges on 16 August, the accused, arrested by the CBI in February 2003, had filed a petition, pleading guilty in the case. However, the court did not pass any order on his petition since the charges were not framed against him till then. They have their stamp on the fake stamp paper scam.

        Sri Lankan government on Saturday expressed concern over the killing of its national in a shoot-out in a prison outside Madurai. Sri Lanka had deputed one of its officials to Madurai last night to ascertain facts regarding Friday's incident with the concurrence of the Tamilnadu government, a statement released by Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission said on Saturday night. Legal assistance had also been secured to protect the interests of the family of the deceased — Canicius Fernando, it said. The release said the Deputy High Commission was officially informed by the Tamilnadu government that a Sri Lankan National had been shot by a security guard at the prison and later pronounced dead by doctors at Government hospital at Madurai. Fernando, a representative of the All Ceylon Fisher People's Trade Union for Migrant Fishermen in Sri Lanka and was in Chennai on behalf of an owner of a Sri Lankan fishing vessel which was apprehended by Indian authorities on 13 June. It is unfortunate.

        Coming down heavily on the DMK for terming as 'fascist', the efforts to stop the proposed demolition of the Ram Sethu, the BJP on Tuesday said that it was only trying to save a heritage structure. 'Saving the Ram Sethu, which symbolises the belief of crores of people, is not fascism. Its a feeling of pride of saving a heritage structure and as appreciable as trying to discover Poompuhar or the city of Dwaraka from underneath the sea by way of undersea expedition,' state unit president L Ganesan said in a statement in Chennai on Tuesday. Every country takes care to save its heritage structures, he said, adding that the Centre should expedite measures to identify alternative routes for the project. The DMK has to ponder over Ganesan's statement.

        Tamilnadu government has signed up with 11 companies, including the Caparo group, since it took charge in May 2006 for a total investment of Rs 11,083 crore to provide employment to Rs 1.25 lakh persons in the State. This was informed by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi at the inauguration of Caparo's production unit at Sriperumbudur on Thursday. 'Our government lays emphasis on giving quick clearances for actual implementation of these projects and the single window mechanism has been fully activated,' he said. He said the new industrial policy to be unveiled would focus on infrastructure growth in backward regions and all the recommendations of stakeholders and trade chambers were being incorporated in the policy guidelines. The UK-based Caparo group had set up its new facility spread over 120 acre at an investment of Rs 400 crore. The modern plant would have a stamping unit, R&D lab, tool room, aluminium foundry and a forging unit. The facility would provide jobs to 1,000 people and would achieve an income of Rs 1,000 crore by 2010.

        Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik was picked on Friday to replace off-spinner Ramesh Powar in the Indian team for the fourth and fifth ODI against Australia, signalling his comeback after 20 months. This was the only change in the 15-member squad announced by board secretary Niranjan Shah in Hyderabad following a meeting of the five-man selection committee. 'This is the only change made in the team for next two matches,' Shah said during the third ODI at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Kartik last played an ODI against Pakistan in Peshawar on 6 Feburary, 2006. The fourth match will be played in Chandigarh on Monday and the fifth in Baroda on Thursday. Virender Sehwag will have to wait for some more time to stage a comeback to the ODI team.