Meanwhile, the US State Department has send a worldwide caution to Americans fearing that supporters of Al-Qaeda may retaliate against US citizens.

The news of Bin Laden being killed has created a joy like atmosphere in the United States with hundreds of people gathering outside White House chanting “USA, USA”. They also sang America’s national anthem. The news has also brought relief to the family of the decesed killed in the 9/11 attacks.

The earthquake has caused power cut in about 4 million homes in Tokyo and has caused issuing of tsunami warnings in Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hawaii, Guam and Philippines too. According to experts, earthquake of the aforementioned magnitude has the potential to generate dangerous tsunamis.

Earlier on Thursday too, an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck off Honshu’s coast. As soon as the news of quake was announced the stock market has taken a tumble. It is to be noted that earthquakes are pretty common in Japan as seismically it is one of the world’s most active areas

September 30 — A three-judge bench of Allahabad High Court Thursday ruled the disputed land in Ayodhya to be equally divided into three parts between Hindu Mahasabha, Nirmohi Akhara and Sunni Central Waqf Board. The majority of the bench ruled the central dome to be retained to the Hindus where the idols of Lord Ram are presently kept.

The entire bench had the same view that the central dome of the disputed structure to be alloted to Hindu Mahasabha. The idols of Lord Ram was installed here in 1949 and then again in 1992 after the demolition of the Babri Mosque. Nirmohi Akhara gets the sita rasoi and ram chabootara of the disputed structure.

After the announcement of the verdict, the Sunni Waqf Board lawyer Zafaryab Jillani said, “We are party disappointed. We will approach the Supreme Court.”

On the other side, the two lawyers representing the Hindu litigants told to media that the bench had decided that in the place where Babri mosque was built later, Lord Ram was born.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, lawyer and BJP leader, said after the verdict, “All the three judges, including S U Khan, are unanimous in accepting that the idol of Ram cannot be removed from the place where it is installed right now.”

The verdict was delivered in court no 21 in the presence of only 47 persons including the litigants and their counsels. The court was fully fortified today and the state almost came to a virtual halt at the time when the historical judgement was scheduled to be declared, 3:30 p.m.

Six time councilor of ward number 131, Shovan Chatterjee is the 37th mayor of Kolkata. Mamata Banerjee along with her councilors and party leaders today elected Shovan Chatterjee as the mayor of Kolkata and Farzana Alam as his deputy.

Shovan Chatterjee who has represented ward number 132 for five times before contesting from ward 131 was the mayor in council of the water supply department during the Trinamool board in the year 2000-2005. But Mamata made Farzana Alam another council member as the deputy mayor.

Shovan Chatterjee who had earned the nick name of Jal Shovan during his earlier tenure as the mayor in council today after his nomination said, “ My priorities in Kolkata are to attend to water crisis during the summer and water logging during the rains”.

But to keep her flocks together Mamata has made Subrata Mukherjee, former mayor of her party who had changed sides after losing in last municipal elections to join Congress and had rejoined back with fresh hopes of becoming the new mayor again, as the head of the chairman of the monitoring committee to oversee the city’s civic development. This could be a wise move to assess loyalty and reward loyalists.

Mumbai, May 06 — The lone surviving gunman of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks Ajmal Amir Kasab was sentenced on Thursday to death by hanging.

The convicted Pakistani man was one of the ten attackers of the 2008 attacks in the financial capital that killed more than 160 people. The crimes of Kasab were so reprehensible, the judge ruled, that “the court has no option except going with the death penalty.”

Kasab, 22, looked ill today and spent the hearing with lowered head, covering face with his right hand. He did not react to the death sentence. Before the reading of the sentence, judge asked if he would like to say anything. He was silent, shook his head and flicked his hand.

Kasab and one co-terrorist, killed in the attack, were responsible for about 60 deaths and most of it took place at the CST Railway station. Pictures and CCTV video footage showed Kasab firing indiscriminately at passengers in a waiting area in the station.

Judge M.L. Tahaliyani sentenced Kasab to four death sentences and about two dozen lesser sentences ranging from life imprisonment to a month in jail.
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Kasab Convicted in 26/11
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The emergency landing was made in an isolatedand it stirred the situation by making a high terror alert in the city. The plane was taken off from Delhi.

The two suspects were caught from the aircraft and they are detained for questioning under the Central industrial Security Force (CISF). One of the suspect was dressed like a woman, the flight crew said.

All passengers are being troubled by the hijack alert. Two foreigners among the travelers are also being cross-examined by the squad. Around 123 passengers were on the airliner when it happened.

The Trinamool Congress and Congress alliance that won the first non Left Lok Sabha Elections in West Bengal in thirty years has broken up for the Kolkata Municipal Elections. The Congress and the Trinamool Congress alliance have decided to go their own way in the KMC elections scheduled for May 30^th. The KMC elections described as the ‘semifinals’ in Mamata Banerjee’s own words, will see the Trinamool Congress contesting alone as the Congress Party declared a list of their eighty eight candidates today. Mamata Banerjee had earlier declared the Trinamool Congress list of candidates leaving just twenty seven seats for her alliance partner,  the Congress party in the 141 seats of the Municipal Corporation. This comes as a major sign of relief for the ruling Left coalition at the KMC board that seems to be almost losing out to the growing mass support of the anti left alliance in the state.

 It can be termed as a major blow to the anti Left alliance that had gained mass support last year in the Lok Sabha elections and was being considered strong enough so as to topple the thirty five year old Left regime in West Bengal in the coming Assembly elections. Though Mr. Pradip Bhattacharya, the working President of the Congress Party termed the KMC elections as ‘mere local elections. He said, ‘ These are local elections and all political parties have their political compulsions. But this does not mean that our alliance for the political elections as the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha has also broken’,. But this break up comes after a phase of constant deliberations between the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Pranab Mukherjee and the West Bengal In-charge Keshav Rao with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee but could not reach to a settlement. It apparently seems viewing her growing support base in the urban Kolkata , Mamata is confident of winning despite going alone.

New Delhi, 27^th April: The UPA could win the cut motion quite easily as the opposition got divided at the last moment. RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav walked out of the Lok Sabha before the proceedings. Their logic was that they cannot stay in a platform which is being shared by the BJP. Incidentally, both these leaders are very much worried about the Muslim vote and hence they preferred to stay away from the cut motion brought forward by the Opposition parties.
This led to absentism of a large number of MP’s and Mayawati has guaranteed support to the UPA government at the center by issuing whips on their MP’s. The Government won the first cut motion by 246 is to 162 votes and that is quite a comfortable margin to stay in power. With the absentism of a large number of MP’s, it became quite easy for the ruling coalition to get the majority in the House. The motion was proposed by the Opposition and it got defeated by a large number of votes.
The Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said that, “The financial business will be cleared. There is no problem at all.” The Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi has categorically stated that, “Where is the question of feeling threatened?”

New Delhi, Feb. 24 — Social responsibility, says Mamata Banerjee, to be top consideration of railways. She adds that railway connectivity is the key to the growth of the country and delayed administration and also delayed prosecution should be addressed. Ms. Banerjee also came up with 10-year plan ‘Vision 2020′.

Mamata Banerjee says it is call of the time for public-pvt partnership in Railways and business firms must join hands with the Railways. She also added that the government won’t privatise the railways.

Railway Budget 2010: Highlights

* Banerjee proposes one thousand kilometers of new railway lines each year.
* 117 of 120 new trains to be flagged off for current fiscal
* 10000-20000 crore rupees to be raised in 2010-2011
* New model promised by Rail Budget to develop network
* Multilayer parking proposed along with cheap drinking water
* e-Ticketing vans planned at hospitals and universities
* New signalling system and special safety for passengers proposed
* Foe ex-servicemen and sportsmen special facilities proposed
* In next five years no unmanned Railway crossing will be there
* During Commonwealth Games special trains for Delhi
* No hike in freight tariff
* Five sports academies to be set up by Railway
* Sports academies at Secunderabad, Delhi, Chennai to be set up by Railways
* Law and order is state concern and not of Railway
* Tagore museums to be set up
* New ant-collission devices to be formed
* Five new coach factories to be set up
* 54 new trains to come in 2010-2011
* For Mumbai 101 new suburban trains to start
* 10 more Duranto trains
* AC service charge reduced to Rs 20 from Rs 40
* Freight rates cut on kerosene and food grains by Rs 100 per wagon
* On 16 routes more tourist trains to start
* No increase in passenger fares

2010/11 PROJECTIONS
* Plan outlay set at 414.26 billion rupees ($9 billion)
* Freight target set at 944 million tonnes

FUNDING
* Indian Railways Finance Corp (IRFC) to borrow 91.2 billion rupees ($1.97 billion) from the market in 2010/11
* Aims to increase earnings from non-core activities to 10 billion rupees from 1.5 billion rupees.

EXPANSION
* To introduce dedicated passenger corridor

NEW MEASURES
* To set up 10 auto, auto-ancillary hubs across India
* To introduce pilot project for fire detection
* To construct more underpasses for safety

Kolkata, Jan. 22 — Lt Gen V K Singh, presently GOC-in-C, Eastern has been appointed the next Chief of the Army Staff,  in the rank of General with effect from the afternoon of March 31, 2010.

Lt General  V K Singh was commissioned into the Rajput Regiment on June 14, 1970. During his distinguished career, he has seved in a variety of Command, Staff and Instruction appointments. He participated in the 1971 operations and IPKF operations.

Besides being an ‘Honours Graduate’ of the US Army Infantry School, Georgia, USA, Lt. Gen Singh studied at the Defence Services Staff College, the Army War College and the US Army War College, Carlisle.

He is recipient of PVSM, AVSM and YSM awards. He is also one the Honorary ADCs of the President of India.

The present Chief of Army Staff, General Deepak Kapoor, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC retires from service on March 31, 2010.