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        After the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr resurfacing to end nearly four months in hiding and demanding US troops leave Iraq, American forces raided his Sadr City stronghold in Baghdad and killed five suspected militia fighters in air strikes, the US military said in a statement issued on Saturday.

        The military said US and Iraqi forces called in the air strikes after a raid in which they captured a 'suspected terrorist cell leader'. The militia fighters were killed in air strikes on nine cars that were seen positioning themselves to attack American forces after the raid, the military said.

        Exiled former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted from power by President Pervez Musharraf in a military coup eight years ago, has claimed that he was 'technically' and 'Constitutionally' still the Prime Minister of the country.

        'Well the Constitution has been subverted by Musharraf. Technically, constitutionally, legally I think I am still the Prime Minister. And former President (Rafiq) Tarar is the President of the country,' Sharif, who is currently in London, told Al-Jazeera TV in an interview.

        Tamil Tiger rebels on Thursday attacked a strategic naval base in northern Sri Lanka, killing at least 35 sailors, a rebel spokesman claimed

        The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) staged a pre-dawn raid on the naval base at Delft, an islet off the northern Jaffna peninsula.

        'During a search operation, we found 35 bodies of Sri Lankan sailors and weapons. We lost only four of our cadres,' Tiger spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan said from the rebel-held Wanni region.

        The Sri Lankan military confirmed the rebel attack, saying the Tigers had used about 15 boats, including three so-called 'suicide boats', but the army provided no details about casualties. Military sources said they had information about eight or 10 sailors getting killed in the attack and rejected the Tiger claim of 35.

        Climb down

        Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal on Monday said the least that the Dera Sacha Souda chief Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh could do was apologise and seek 'atonement for his sins'. This would not only assuage hurt sentiments of the public but also prevent the law and order situation from deteriorating further. Trouble arose in Bathinda, Punjab after an advertisement in some newspapers last week showed the Dera chief in the attire of Guru Gobind Singh, 10th Sikh guru.

        Former Indian cricketer, Maninder Singh, was arrested along with a Nigerian from his residence at New Delhi on Tuesday for allegedly being in possession of drugs.

        The police recovered 1.5 gm of white powdery substance, suspected to be cocaine from them.

        It is learnt that Singh was arrested when the Nigerian, identified as Sam, was allegedly delivering the stuff. A case under the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances Act was registered. Later, Singh was granted bail in this connection.

        The efforts to have a combined candidate of the UPA-Left-BSP for the Presidential poll gained momentum on Saturday with UP Chief Minister Mayawati holding talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in the ticklish matter.

        Mayawati's luncheon meeting with Singh came close on the heels of the BSP National Executive unanimously authorising her to take a decision in the matter at a time when the party holds the key in the selection of a successor to President A P J Abdul Kalam.

        Twenty eight persons were killed and five injured when a compound wall collapsed on a bar run by state-owned Tamilnadu State Marketing Corporation at Anupparpalayam Pudur in Tirupur on Wednesday night following heavy rain.

        They were trapped when a portion of the wall measuring about 100 feet in length and about 20 feet in height collapsed. It is said that the victims were either sitting or consuming liquor in the bar when the wall collapsed on them. All the bodies were taken to the Tirupur General Hospital. Hundreds of relatives and friends of the victims thronged the hospital.

        The Tamilnadu government dismissed the Superintendent of Police Premkumar on charges of compelling Ravi Subramaniam, approver in the case relating to the murder of Kancheepuram Varadaraja Perumal Temple manager Sankaraman to escape from the police custody.

        The police officer who was sacked on Tuesday hogged the headlines for arresting the Kanchi Seers Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swami and Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamin in connection with the murder on 11 November, 2004 at Mehboob Nagar in Andhra Pradesh where they (Seers) were then camping.

        Chief Minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi confirmed that his party would launch a new television channel to cater to 'the needs and desire of the people'. The channel named 'Kalaignar TV' will be launched on 15 August, he said on Monday. Raj TV which has tow unused sets of transponders in Thaicomm satellite, will host the new channel.

        The Chief Minister also said that neither he or anyone from the party had asked Sun TV to vacate the premises located at Arivalayam, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam headquarters in Teynampet.

        To give a boost to its non-cigarette business activity, conglomerate ITC Ltd has decided to strengthen its FMCG portfolio for which the company board has passed an enabling resolution to form a strategic business unit (SBU). A separate SBU would be formed shortly to look after home and personal care products, a new area where the company had ventured two years ago, an ITC official told PTI.

        'Essenza Di Wills', a brand created by ITC, had been positioned at the premium end of the personal care market, the portfolio of which comprises fragrances and soaps. Asked whether the company was planning to enter the mass market, the ITC official said strategy to be adopted was yet to be decided upon by the board. The company has already opened lifestyle stores (retail units) under the name Wills Lifestyle Stores, through which ITC has been merchandising apparel and personal care products. This division of the company registered a growth of 52 per cent in the last fiscal.

        ITC, which has been considering expansion of its cigarette manufacturing capacity at Kidderpore near Kolkata, has been stuck due to delayed land clearance by the shipping ministry.

        The first cricket Test between India and Bangladesh at Chittagong was a rain-marred affair. Despite the visitors putting up a massive first innings, the weather gods played havoc. Yet, the Indian skipper Rahul Dravid's sporting declaration on the final day to inject life into the proceedings. However, the hosts could not make much headway and the Test petered out into a tame draw. In the ongoing second Test at Dhaka, the Indian batsmen have been on the rampage. The top four — Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar — hammered centuries, the first ever instance of the top four doing so.

        The Tamilnadu government has decided to get up a new greenfield airport at Sriperumbudur, even while the extension of the present Chennai Airport would be taken up at an alternative site.

        Chief Minister M Karuananidhi announced this on Tuesday after presiding over a meeting of the Legislative Party Leaders at the Secretariat wherein a resolution to this effect was passed despite AIADMK's opposition.

        The Chief Minister said the construction of greenfield airport would simultaneously begin at the land identified at Sriperumpudur, Tiruvalluvar taluk. Around Rs 2,000 crore would be spent on acquiring lands as well as for the construction of the airport, the Chief Minister said.

        Green patches

        Local Administration Minister M K Stalin on Monday inaugurated 13 development works of the Chennai Corporation at a cost of Rs 2 crore.

        They included parks in various localities and new class rooms and additional buildings in a few Corporation schools. He opened parks at Ashok Nagar First Avenue and Nesapakkan. The Minister also opened seven additional classrooms in the Corporation school at Maduvankarai, built at a cost of Rs 48.90 lakh and an upgraded dispensary at Teynampet.

        Two accomplices of history-sheeter Vellai Ravi were caught by the police after a hunt was launched for the seven-member gang in the businessman kidnap near Red Hills for a ransom of Rs one crore.

        The incident came to light only when the businessman lodged a complaint with the police on Thursday after escaping from the clutches of the gang. Police said Raj Kumar (30) of Jothi Nagar, Red Hills, running an export firm at Parrys, had encountered on 22 May seven men posing as IT officials who were on a raid. He was asked to accompany them for enquiry and kidnapped.

        CISF personnel on Thursday seized four bullets from a passenger bound for Coimbatore on a Paramount Airways flight at the Chennai airport.

        A PWD contractor from Palayamkottai, Murugesan (47) went into the check-in area with the cartridges. CISF personnel, on on checking his bag, found the bullets. When questioned, Murugesan produced the licence for the cartridges and claimed that he had forgotten to declare them. He was let off after the bullets were seized, airport sources said, adding that Murugesan later cancelled his trip.