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May 10, 2008

Saturday

Jamadi-ul-Awwal 4, 1429

Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)

India importing Pakistan cement to ease price Ludhiana, May 10 (PPI): India is importing 56,000 tonnes of cement from Pakistan to ease its price in the country. State Minister for Industries Ashwani Kumar said 16,000 tonnes had already been received and remaining would arrive in next two months. Freight charges hit Pakistani cement exports: NEW DELHI: Pakistan's cement exports to India have slowed down because of rising freight charges and non-availability of railway wagons despite increasing orders, Pakistani cement manufacturing companies officials told Indo Asian News Service (IANS). (Posted @ 23:48 PST)

12 labourers injured in road accident near Karachi KOTRI, May 10 (PPI): Twelve workers were injured in a road accident near Kotri on Saturday. A van carrying labourers from Karachi overturned on the National Highway when one of its tires burst. Twelve labourers were injured. (Posted @ 23:06 PST)

Venezuela and China boost ties with refinery deal CARACAS, May 10 (Reuters): Venezuela and China have agreed to build a refinery in China to process Venezuelan oil, advancing President Hugo Chavez's push to boost ties between the two countries. In a ceremony late on Friday, Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and the largest Chinese oil and gas company PetroChina agreed to build a 400,000 barrel per day refinery in China's Guandong province. China's deep pockets and its need to ensure future energy supplies, along with Chavez's desire to diversify Venezuela's trade away from the United States, have brought Caracas and Beijing together. (Posted @ 22:54 PST)

Shell pulls out of Iran gas deal LONDON, May 10 (Reuters): Oil major Royal Dutch Shell has pulled out of a planned gas project in Iran, after coming under pressure not to participate from U.S. lawmakers who were concerned about Iran's nuclear programme. A spokeswoman said on Saturday that the world's second-largest non government-controlled oil company by market capitalisation was pulling out of Phase 13 of the giant South Pars gas field but may yet join later stages of the field's development. (Posted @ 22:28 PST)

Tsvangirai to fight Mugabe in Zimbabwe election run-off PRETORIA, South Africa, May 10 (AFP): Zimbabwe's opposition leader said Saturday he would contest a presidential runoff poll in his violence-wracked country, but he called for peacekeepers and observers to ensure a fair vote. Morgan Tsvangirai, who beat President Robert Mugabe in a first round of voting in March by 47.9 to 43.2 percent, also demanded an end to violence to enable the as yet unscheduled second round to take place adding that he would return home in the next two days despite the threat of a treason charge. (Posted @ 21:45 PST)

Incoming Taiwan interior minister dies TAIPEI, May 10 (AP): An incoming cabinet minister in the government of Taiwanese President-elect Ma Ying-jeou died Saturday after collapsing during a hiking trip in a Taipei suburb, a hospital said. A spokesman of Wan Fang Hospital said incoming Interior Minister Liao Feng-te, 57, was pronounced dead more than four hours after arriving at the hospital without a heart beat. He said the hospital carried out resuscitation attempts on Liao to no avail. (Posted @ 21:10 PST)

Two dead, 8 injured in Ukraine amusement park accident KIEV, May 10 (AP): Emergency officials say two people died and eight were injured when a carousel broke down in an amusement park in Ukraine. Channel 5 television reports that the centrifugue-style carousel slammed into its supporting pole in a park in the eastern city of Luhansk on Friday. As it continued spinning, passengers were flung away and many fell on the ground. Two victims, a man in his early twenties and a young woman in her late teens, died on the spot from the injuries they sustained. Eight others were hospitalized. (Posted @ 19:46 PST)

Pakistan to send two planeloads of relief to Myanmar: officials ISLAMABAD, May 10 (AFP): Pakistan on Saturday decided to send two plane loads of emergency aid to Myanmar for survivors of last week's cyclone, the foreign office said. The relief includes tents, mosquito nets and medicines, it said in a statement. “The aircraft are expected to leave on Sunday,” the statement said, without giving further details. (Posted @ 19:30 PST)

14 killed in Lebanon clashes, army revokes govt moves against Hezbollah TRIPOLI, May 10 (AFP): Fourteen people were killed in fierce clashes in north Lebanon on Saturday between supporters of the Western-backed government and the opposition, a security official told AFP. In Beirut, the Lebanese army said on Saturday that it was revoking measures taken by the government against the Hezbollah movement and called for all armed militants to withdraw from the streets. (First Posted @ 16:25 PST Updated @ 19:12 PST)

Heavy gunfire heard west of Sudan capital KHARTOUM, May 10 (Reuters): Heavy gunfire was heard in the west of Sudan's capital on Saturday and helicopters and army vehicles rushed through the streets towards the area, witnesses said. The gunfire follows heavy battles between Darfur rebels and Sudan's army in North Kordofan province bordering Khartoum on Friday and Saturday, according to a local government official and witnesses. (Posted @ 19:08 PST)

Turkish opera diva Leyla Gencer dies at 79 ISTANBUL, May 10 (AFP): Turkish soprano Leyla Gencer, one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century, has died of heart failure in Italy at the age of 79, a Turkish arts foundation announced Saturday. Born in Istanbul in October 1928, Gencer won international recognition after her debut in 1957 at La Scala theatre in Milan as Madame Lidoine in the world premiere of Poulenc's “Les Dialogues des Carmelites”. Known as “La Diva Turca,” she performed at La Scala and other leading world theatres until 1985, accumulating a repertoire of more than 70 roles, notably the great heroines of Donizetti. She was the artistic director of La Scala Singing Academy when she passed away Friday in her home in Milan. (Posted @ 18:52 PST)

UN says Myanmar junta impounds two more aid flights BANGKOK, May 10 (AFP): The UN food agency said Saturday that Myanmar's military regime has impounded two more plane-loads of cyclone aid, making a total of four that have been seized. “It's all under the same conditions,” said Marcus Prior, a spokesman for the World Food Programme, referring to the first two flights which landed Friday and have been held at customs. The junta has refused to allow in foreign aid experts to direct the relief effort and said that, although it will accept money and aid, it must distribute all supplies itself. (Posted @ 18:48 PST)

Myanmar junta's aid curbs driving up death toll: opposition YANGON, May 10 (AFP): Myanmar's pro-democracy opposition said Saturday that the cyclone death toll is rising daily because of the junta's aid restrictions and called on the UN to send help “by any means. The authorities are putting in place many kinds of restrictions on international assistance, including the United Nations, so the death toll is increasing day by day,” the National League for Democracy (NLD) said. ICRC sends first aid flight: GENEVA: The international Red Cross sent its first aid flight to Myanmar to provide thousands of prisoners affected by last week's cyclone with clean drinking water and medical help, an official said Saturday. The U.N. refugee agency also sent its first land convoy. The International Committee of the Red Cross plane with 35 tonnes of relief goods left Geneva on Friday evening, said spokesman Marcal Izard. (Posted @ 18:44 PST)

10 injured in NWFP road accident TAIMARGARA, May 10(APP): At least ten people including a policeman were injured in a road accident at Taimargara, police said Saturday. Two cars collided when the driver of one vehicle lost control of his vehicle and rammed into another car. Police said the driver suffered from epilepsy. (Posted @ 18:40 PST)

Indian forces kill 11 militants in northeast GUWAHATI, May 10 (Reuters): Indian security forces killed at least 11 tribal militants in a fierce gun battle on Saturday in the northeastern state of Assam, a police officer said. The fighting took place in a mountainous region, where 30 armed militants were intercepted by security forces during a patrol, said the officer, who did not wish to be named. “Eleven of them were killed and several others injured,” he said. The injured were taken away by other militants who escaped, he said. Police suspect the dead rebels to be members of a breakaway group of the little known Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) group, fighting for regional autonomy in the region, police said. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)

India returns body of Pakistani who died in custody after crossing border LAHORE, May 10 (AP): India on Saturday returned the body of a Pakistani man who died in Indian custody after accidentally crossing the border, according to his family. Colonel Tariq Janjua, a spokesman for Pakistani border guards, said relatives of Mohammed Akram, 34, received his body at Wagah border crossing near Lahore. Later, Pakistani police sent the body to a hospital for an autopsy, Janjua said. Akram's brother, Muhammad Aslam, said his brother had gone missing Feb. 9 from Kasur, a Pakistani town near the border. “Akram mistakenly crossed the border,” he said. Aslam said officials informed the family two weeks earlier that Akram had been in Indian custody and had died at a hospital. The cause of death was unclear. (Posted @ 17:25 PST)

Lebanese PM calls on army to restore order; accuses Hezbollah of staging coup BEIRUT, May 10 (AP) Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora Saturday called on the army to restore law and order across Lebanon and remove gunmen from the streets. He said Lebanese government can no longer accept that Hezbollah freely hold on to its weapons. Hezbollah has carried out ''armed coup'' against Lebanese democracy, Saniora said. He earlier said the state would not fall to Hezbollah. “Your state will not fall under the control of the coup implementers,” Siniora said in a televised address to the Lebanese. Saniora is holed up at his government headquarters protected by Lebanese troops after Hezbollah and its allies swept through the Muslim sector of Beirut after sectarian clashes. (First Posted @ 16:45 PST, Updated @ 17:15 PST)

Cricket- Supreme Court of Pakistan to hear Malik's life ban appeal LAHORE, Pakistan, May 10 (AFP) Former Pakistan captain Salim Malik Saturday said he hoped to overturn his life ban for alleged involvement in match-fixing after the country's top court granted him an appeal hearing. Malik was banned by a match-fixing inquiry in 2001 after top Australian players Shane Warne, Tim May and Mark Waugh, accused him of offering bribes to them to underperform during Australia's 1994 tour of Pakistan. But after Saturday's decision by the Supreme Court the 44-year-old told AFP: “It is a sort of a win for me.” He said he was told he could start proceedings on May 19. (Posted @ 17:05 PST)

Lebanon's PM says state will not fall to Hezbollah BEIRUT, May 10 (Reuters) Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Saturday the state would not fall to Hezbollah after the group took over the Muslim part of Beirut. Your state will not fall under the control of the coup implementers,” Siniora said in a televised address to the Lebanese. It was his first comment since Hezbollah and allied fighters routed pro-government gunmen in west Beirut Friday. (Posted @ 16:45 PST)

Six Palestinians injured in stonethrowing clash with Israeli soldiers JENIN, West Bank, May 10 (AP) Six Palestinians were injured in stone-throwing clashes with Israeli soldiers Saturday, medics said. Palestinian security officials said Israeli army jeeps entered the northern West Bank town of Jaba in Jenin district. Palestinian youths threw rocks and firebombs at them, and the army fired rubber-coated steel pellets and live rounds. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)

11 killed in new Lebanon violence BEIRUT, May 10 (AFP) Violence raged in Lebanon for a fourth straight day leaving 11 people dead Saturday. Five people were killed in north Lebanon in clashes between supporters of the government and of the opposition, a security official told AFP. In Beirut, six people were killed when gunmen opened fire at the funeral procession of a civilian killed in earlier clashes. “We have six dead and 20 injured, six of them in critical condition,” an official at Beirut's Makassed hospital said. (First Posted @ 15:15 PST, Updated @ 16:25 PST)

Five killed in clashes in north Lebanon BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 10 (AFP) Five people were killed in fierce clashes in north Lebanon Saturday between supporters of the government and of the opposition, a security official told AFP. He said the casualties included civilians. The fighting erupted in the town Halba, in the Akkar region, pitting a pro-Syrian party allied with the Hezbollah-led opposition against members of the ruling bloc, the official added. (Posted @ 15:15 PST)

Somali militants ambush troops outside Mogadishu MOGADISHU, May 10 (Reuters) Militants killed five government soldiers in an ambush in Yaqbaraweyne, a small town west of Mogadishu, Saturday, witnesses said. Separately, insurgents also fought with Ethiopian forces in Towfiq, north of the city, residents said. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)

Six killed during Beirut funeral BEIRUT, May 10 (AFP) Gunmen killed six people during the funeral procession Saturday of a civilian killed in clashes that have rocked the Lebanese capital over the past four days, a hospital official told AFP. “We have six dead and 20 injured, six critically,” the official at Makassed hospital said. The procession was for Mohamed Shamaa, 24, who was killed in the Corniche al-Mazraa area Thursday night. Hundreds of residents of Tareek al-Jadidah, where the funeral procession was taking place, gathered at the cemetery as the army took up position nearby with gunmen still in the area, an AFP correspondent witnessed. (First Posted @ 15:15 PST, Updated @ 15:55 PST)

PPP, MQM alliance to strengthen Pakistan: Altaf Hussain ISLAMABAD, May 10 (APP) During a meeting with Pakistan People’s Party’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain said an alliance between PPP and MQM is for the stability of Pakistan. Issues like national stability, increasing prices of electricity and flour were also discussed in the meeting. Later while talking to a private television channel, Altaf Hussain said the people's mandate requires three parties to support each other for the progress of Pakistan. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)

Iraqi govt and Sadr fighters agree truce: Sadr aide BAGHDAD, May 10 (Reuters) Iraq's government has agreed a ceasefire with gunmen loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to end weeks of fierce fighting in Baghdad, a spokesman for the cleric said Saturday. “A deal has been made between the Sadr bloc and the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) to have a ceasefire,” Sadr spokesman Salah al-Ubaidi told Reuters, referring to the ruling alliance. “The government has accepted this deal.” Government officials were not immediately available to comment. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)

Beirut shooting kills two after Hezbollah takeover BEIRUT, May 10 (AP) Unknown gunmen opened fire on a funeral procession Saturday in Beirut’s Tarik Jadideh neighborhood earlier seized by Hezbollah gunmen, killing two and wounding two, police said. The attack came as a procession of 200 people headed toward a nearby cemetery to bury a 24-year-old killed in this week's fighting. Witnesses said a car drove nearby and opened fire on the mourners, many of whom ran to take cover. (First Posted @ 15:15 PST, Updated @ 15:30 PST)

One killed during Beirut funeral BEIRUT, May 10 (AFP) Gunmen killed one person in Beirut Saturday during the funeral procession of a civilian killed in clashes that have rocked the Lebanese capital for the past four days, an army spokesman told AFP. The procession was for Mohamed Shamaa, 24, who was killed in the Corniche al-Mazraa area on Thursday night. (Posted @ 15:15 PST)

Three Chinese workers freed in Nigeria BEIJING, May 10 (AFP) Three Chinese construction workers kidnapped on Tuesday in southern Nigeria have been freed, China's foreign ministry said Saturday. The three employees, who were working for the China Civil Engineering Construction Corp., were abducted near the company's compound in Calabar, the state capital of Cross River state. Xinhua news agency earlier said it was not known who was responsible for the kidnapping. (Posted @ 14:20 PST)

Israel raids on Gaza kill five Palestinian militants GAZA CITY, May 10 (AFP) Israeli air raids on Gaza killed five Hamas militants Saturday. The first overnight raid, which killed two Hamas militants near Rafah at the southern end of the strip, was aimed at a police station used by Hamas, the head of Gaza emergency services, Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, said. The second attack targeted another Hamas police base in the city of Khan Yunis in the south of the territory and killed three members of the Hamas-run paramilitary group that polices the territory, he said. The third strike took place east of Khan Yunis, wounding two Palestinian militants from the Islamic Jihad movement, medics said. (First Posted @ 10:40 PST, Updated @ 13:55 PST)

19 Kurdish rebels, six soldiers killed in Turkey clashes, air raid ANKARA, May 10 (AFP) At least 19 Kurdish rebels and six soldiers were killed overnight in clashes and a bombing raid in southeastern Turkey, the Turkish military said Saturday. Militants from the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) attacked a military outpost in the province of Hakkari, which borders Iraq and Iran, killing two soldiers, the army said in a statement posted on its website. Turkish warplanes bombed the area in response, killing at least 19 militants, it said, adding in a second statement that another four soldiers died in ensuing clashes as the army pursued the rebels on the ground. (First Posted @ 10:15 PST, Updated @ 13:50 PST)

Clashes in Baghdad kill 19, wound 116 BAGHDAD, May 10 (Reuters) Nineteen people were killed and 116 wounded in clashes between security forces and militants in Baghdad's Sadr City district in the past 24 hours, the two hospitals in the area said Saturday. Women and children were among the wounded, officials from the hospitals said following a day of sometimes intense fighting between gunmen loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. The U.S. military said Saturday it had killed eight militants in different districts of Baghdad Friday. (First Posted @ 12:40 PST, Updated @ 13:50 PST)

Gaza-Egypt border opens temporarily GAZA, May 10 (Reuters) The main border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was temporarily opened Saturday under a deal between Hamas and Cairo, Palestinian officials said. The crossing at Rafah had been largely closed since early February, when Egypt resealed the border after Hamas gunmen blasted it open in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade of the coastal enclave. Saturday's opening would allow Palestinians wounded in clashes with Israel, and other medical cases, to leave Gaza for treatment, Hamas officials said. They said the crossing would remain opened for two further days, in which Gazans stranded in the Egyptian Sinai since the January border breach would be allowed to return. (Posted @ 13:45 PST )

Protesters clash with police in Afghan east; 2 dead, 7 injured SHINWAR, Afghanistan, May 10 (Reuters) A least two people were killed and seven wounded in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday in clashes between police and demonstrators protesting against civilian deaths at the hands of foreign troops, witnesses said. Several thousand protesters had blocked a highway through Nangarhar province linking Kabul with Pakistan. They said they were demonstrating against the killing of three civilians in the area by foreign forces in an overnight raid. “Two of the protestors have been killed, six more wounded and one policeman has also been hurt by a stone,” said a witness named Mandozai, a retired army officer who was among the protesters. The protesters said five civilians had also been detained in the raid, in the Shinwar district of Nangarhar. The U.S. military said all those killed were militants and the target of its raid was “a foreign fighter network”. “During the operation, several militants were killed when they attacked coalition forces. Nine militants suspected of foreign fighter facilitation were detained,” it said in a statement. Meanwhile, on Friday, a soldier from the U.S.-led force was killed when a roadside bomb hit the vehicle he was traveling in Kapisa which lies to the northeast of Kabul, the U.S. military said. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)

Fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City kills 13 BAGHDAD, May 10 (AFP) Fighting between Shiite militants and US forces in the Baghdad militia stronghold of Sadr City killed at least 13 people and wounded 77 overnight, security and medical officials said on Saturday adding that those killed were all men while there were women and children among the wounded. There was no immediate word from the US military. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)

New outbreak of bird flu hits India: minister KOLKATA, May 10 (AFP) Bird flu has spread to the hilly Darjeeling district of eastern India which has been hit by avian influenza several times already this year, state's animal resources development minister Anisur Rahaman said Saturday.A mass cull of some 20,000 chickens would begin soon, he added. (Posted @ 12:40 PST )

Gunmen kill three in Pakistani town of D.I. Khan PESHAWAR, Pakistan, May 10 (AFP) Gunmen shot dead three Shiite Muslims in suspected sectarian violence Saturday in the town of Dera Ismail Khan in North West Frontier Province, police said. The attackers opened fire on a shop in the city’s main bazaar and fled on a motorbike, local police chief Abdul Ghaffar Qaisarani said. The shopkeeper, his salesman and a visitor were killed in the attack, Qaisarani told AFP adding that the victims were members of the Shiite community, he added. “It might be a sectarian attack. We are investigating the case,” another police official said, adding that no arrests had been made. Shops and markets were closed after the incident, residents said. Around 80 people staged a demonstration outside the local hospital, chanted slogans against the attackers, and fired shots in the air in protest, police said. (Posted @ 12:35 PST )

China's Hu wraps up Japan tour NARA, Japan, May 10 (AFP) - Chinese President Hu Jintao Saturday visited the sights of Japan's ancient capital Nara, wrapping up a five-day tour which has seen the traditional rivals commit to closer future ties. (Posted @ 11:05 PST)

Two Gaza rockets hit seminary, college in southern Israel, no injuries: military JERUSALEM, May 10 (AP) - A rocket fired from Gaza fell next to a Jewish seminary in southern Israel and damaged the building. No one was hurt in Saturday's rocket strike in the border town of Sderot, Israeli army said adding that a second rocket fell in the courtyard of Sapir College in Sderot. The rockets attack came a day after mortar shells fired by Hamas militants killed an Israeli man and the Israeli missile attack at two Hamas police station in relatiation killed five Hamas members. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)

Tennis-Federer ousted by Stepanek, Djokovic through ROME, May 10 (Reuters) - Roger Federer was Friday beaten in straight sets in the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters by unseeded Czech Radek Stepanek who will face Novak Djokovic after Spain's Nicolas Almagro withdrew from their quarter-final with a wrist problem with the score at 6-1, 1-0 to the Serb. -Rome Masters men's singles quarter-final results: Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat Nicolas Almagro (Spain) 6-1, 1-0 (Almagro retired); Andy Roddick (U.S.) beat Tommy Robredo (Spain) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4); Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) beat 1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) 7-6(4), 7-6(7); Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) beat James Blake (U.S.) 6-7(5), 7-6(5) 6-1 (Posted @ 10:30 PST)

Turkish military says it killed 20 PKK fighters TUNCELI, Turkey, May 10 (Reuters) - At least 20 Kurdish separatists and two Turkish soldiers were killed after Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas attacked a military base in southeast Turkey late on Friday, Turkish military sources said. Turkish warplanes bombed rural areas along Turkey's border with Iraq after some 50 PKK members from northern Iraq attacked a gendarme station near the border, killing two soldiers. The bombings killed 20 militants, the military sources said. No further details were available. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)

Sri Lanka accuses rebels of sinking navy ship COLOMBO, May 10 (Reuters) - Rebel Tigers suicide squad sank a Sri Lanka naval vessel in the eastern port of Trincomalee on Saturday, the military said but reported no naval casualties. “The attack was carried out when the supply vessel was loaded with explosives to be transported to Harbour in Jaffna,” Tamil Tigers said. (Posted @ 10:10 PST )

Three Palestinians killed by Israeli air raids on Gaza GAZA CITY, May 19 (AFP) -Three Palestinians were killed and four injured during two Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip late Friday, according to Palestinian doctors and Hamas. The first raid, which killed two Palestinians near Rafah, was aimed at a police station occupied by Hamas, while the second attack targeted another Hamas police base in the town of Khan and killed one Palestinian, sources said. Earlier in the day, an Israeli man was killed by a mortar bomb fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, police said. The victim was hit on a street in the kibbutz of Kfar Aza near the Gaza border. (Posted @ 10:05 PST )

Powerful quake strikes off Guam HONG KONG, May 10 (AFP) - A powerful quake measuring 6.7 on the Richter Scale struck off the coast of Guam Saturday, the Hong Kong Observatory said, but there were no immediate reports of damage. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)

Voting begins in Myanmar referendum, despite cyclone YANGON, May 10 (AFP) - Polling stations opened Saturday in parts of cyclone-hit Myanmar, as the military regime asked voters to approve a new constitution just one week after tens of thousands of people died in the storm. The military delayed the vote for two weeks in the areas hardest-hit by Cyclone Nargis, including former capital of Yangon. The referendum is the first vote here since 1990, when detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi led her National League to Democracy (NLD) to a landslide victory in elections, a result the junta has never recognised. The junta has ignored the NLD's calls to delay the balloting and focus instead on helping the 1.5 million people still in desperate need of aid in the wake of the cyclone. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)

India's software state votes in high-stakes election BANGALORE, India, May 10 (AFP) - The southern Indian state of Karnataka went to the polls amid heavy security Saturday in a crucial election testing the ruling Congress party's popularity amid surging food prices. Home to 60 million people, it is the first of a raft of states to choose governments ahead of national parliamentary elections due before May 2009. An estimated 17.2 million people are eligible to take part in Saturday's first-phase vote -- which also covers Bangalore, the Karnataka capital and India's “Silicon Valley” -- to choose 89 state lawmakers. The remaining seats in the 224-member assembly will be filled May 16 and 22. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)

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