DMK to quite cabinet

UPDATED  5/3/2011 8:14:01 PM

Chennai: In a major political development DMK decided to withdraw their ministers from the union cabinet on Saturday. They had six ministers in the union cabinet. DMK took this major decision after seat sharing talks for the forthcoming state assemblyelections between Congress and DMK failed.

Earlier, the fate of the seven-year- old DMK-Congress alliance hung in balance on Saturday following"problems"in seat-sharing in poll-bound Tamil Nadu and all eyes riveted on the regional party which said it will take"proper and appropriate decision"on a tie-up.

Congress on its part said"problems"besetting the alliance with the Dravidian party would be"solved"amid unconfirmed reports that Congress President Sonia Gandhi had a telephonic talk with DMK supremo and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi over the issue of sharing of seats.

A Congress leader who did not want to be named claimed in New Delhi that everything has been sorted out. "I can assure you in our political relationship, we have sometimes some problems. We have the capacity to create problems and at the same time, solve the problems and it will be solved", Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters in New Delhi.

DMK's high-level policy making committee is due to meet this evening with Karunanidhi asking whether it was proper for Congress, which had agreed for 60 seats earlier, to now demand 63 seats over telephone.

The Congress stand that it would decide on the constituencies to be contested was highly improper, he said in a post-midnight statement in Chennai.

The DMK and the Congress have held three rounds of discussions on seat-sharing for the April 13 Assembly elections, but no headway could be made due to differences between the two parties.

Arab museum of modern art opens in Doha

Doha: The Arab Museum of Modern Art opened in Doha on Tuesday, for a preview ahead of its December 30 public opening. Slated as the first institution of its kind in the region, Mathaf (meaning ‘museum' in Arabic) is temporarily being housed in a renovated school building.

The art has been collected by Shaikh Hassan Bin Mohammad Bin Ali Al Thani, Vice-Chairperson of the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA), for the past 25 years.

"Collectors and curators are increasingly drawn to the work of contemporary. Arab artists, which is a very welcome development. But today's artistic activities can truly flourish only if they are connected meaningfully to the important history that lies behind these achievements. Mathaf deepens the conversation about Arab art and helps advance the creativity of the Arab world," Shaikh Hassan said at the opening.

The new museum has opened with an exhibition entitled Sajjil (meaning the ‘act of recording' in Arabic), featuring 6,000 paintings, sculptures and installations by more than 100 artists, representing pivotal moments in the development of Arab modernism throughout the 20th century, from the 1840s to the present day. 

CartttonSpeaks :Crazy Gaddafi

Libyan rebels win battle in west, push on from east

Libyan rebels who are part of the forces against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi hold a pre-Gaddafi flagas they celebrate after fighting against troops loyal to Gadhafi and capturing the oil town of Ras Lanuf, eastern Libya, Saturday, March 5, 2011. Rebel fighters have captured the key oil port of Ras Lanouf from the forces of Muammar Gaddafi, in their first military victory in a potentially long, westward march from the east of the country to the capital Tripoli hundreds of miles to the west.

Zawiyah: Libyan forces closed in on the western town of Zawiyah on Saturday after rebels drove them from the centre in fierce fighting, while in the east, opponents of Muammar Gaddafi pushed towards his home town.

"They entered Zawiyah at six in the morning with heavy forces, hundreds of soldiers with tanks. Our people fought back ...We have won for now and civilians are gathering in the square," said Yousuf Shagan, the rebel force spokesman in Zawiyah, west of the capital Tripoli.

Worli-Haji Ali sea-link to be scrapped?

MUMBAI: THE MUCH-HYPED WORLI-HAJI ALI SEA LINK MAY BE SCRAPPED AS THE MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT SEEMS TO BE INCLINED TOWARDS BUILDING CHEAPER COASTAL ROADS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE EXPENSIVE SEA-LINKS.

"COASTAL ROADS ARE CHEAPER. WHY SHOULD WE GO IN FOR SEA-LINKS (LIKE WORLI-HAJI ALI)? WE ARE DISCUSSING THE COASTAL ROAD PROPOSAL WITH THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS (MOEF)," MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT'S CHIEF SECRETARY, RATNAKAR GAIKWAD SAID AT A SEMINAR HELD HERE ON SATURDAY.

The recent Coastal Regulation Zone norms, which have come into effect, permit construction of coastal (or arterial) roads on stilts. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), had, last year, signed a build-operate-transfer concession agreement with the Anil Ambani-led firm RelianceInfrastructure (RInfra) to construct the 8-lane Worli-Haji Ali Sea-Link.

"Though some work on the project is on, the government can still rethink over it and shift to the coastal road alternative as it is much cheaper," Mumbai Transformation Support Unit (MTSU) Project Director, U P S Madan said at the seminar.

RInfra has formed a consortium with Hyundai Engineering and Construction to construct the 5.5-km Sea-Link at a cost of around Rs 5,100 crore. "If the Ministry (of environment and forests) permits,

then we will take a call on how to execute it," Madan said. (PTI )

 

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Slumdog Millionaire star home destroyed

Mumbai: The home of 'Slumdog Millionaire' child star Rubina Ali and her awards won for the Oscar-winning film was destroyed in a major fire that raged through a slum in suburban Bandra in which at least 21 people were injured and rendering over 2,000 people including her family homeless.

"A total of 21 persons including four firemen were injured while fighting the flames which broke out last night. They have been admitted to the Bhabha hospital here," a fire official said. The fire was controlled a little past midnight, the official added.

However, no fatalities were reported so far, the official said, adding over 2,000 people have lost their homes as hundreds of shanties were destroyed in the blaze. The family of 12-year-old Rubina, who played the role of young poverty-stricken Latika in Danny Boyle's celebrated film, watched helplessly as their tin-roofed shack in the crowded slum went up in flames.

Rubina was an eight-year old during the making of the rags-to-riches blockbuster which won eight Oscars in 2009. "We all were at home watching TV, when a neighbour came to alert us about the fire. We all rushed out. We spent the entire night at the railway station. I have lost everything including books and precious belongings like awards, photographs, newspaper clippings and memorabilia from the success of the film," the child artiste said.

                                            Rubina in despair(Photo:Courtesy Allvoices)

"So far nobody has come to help us," she rued. Rubina's father Rafiq said, "We feel relieved to see that all our family members are safe. But all the good memories of my daughter's fame have been reduced to ashes. We have lost everything." The child star said the family was yet to move into a new apartment paid for by a trust set up by the film's director, Danny Boyle.                       

The fire broke out in Garib Nagar slums near Bandra (East) railway station at around 2020 hours yesterday after which 34 fire engines and 16 jumbo water tankers were rushed to the spot. The flames were doused around 12.30 am. The exact cause of the fire has not been established but initial reports say five gas cylinders exploded in the slums due to which the fire spread quickly, the official said. In June 2009, a similar fire broke out in the vicinity of Behrampada, claiming several lives. (PTI)