NEW DELHI: A government ally in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu will forge a new regional alliance in a blow to the ruling Congress party's attempts to secure a national coalition, weeks before the general election.The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) party said it would join Congress opponent the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The main national vote battle is between a coalition led by Congress -- the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) -- and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), an alliance led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. The United Progressive Alliance put together by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in 2004 unravelled with the exit of the PMK on Thursday. The formal announcement sent shockwaves through the Congress. This could be a sign that in Tamil Nadu, which proved to be a decisive swing state in the 2004 elections, the ground is shifting from under Congress' feet.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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