Portfolio allocation throws up surprises
Chidambaram gets Finance, Pranab Defence, Patil Home
New Delhi, May 23
The allocation of portfolios by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after intense confabulation till late at night saw P. Chidambaram regaining the crucial Finance portfolio and senior Congress leaders Pranab Mukherjee, Shivraj Patil and Arjun Singh being put in charge of the Defence, Home and Human Resource Development Ministries, respectively.

Who got what
Editorial: Heavyweight Cabinet

Foreign press hails Manmohan, democracy  CMP to be released on May 27  LS convened on June 2  Left to decide Speaker issue on May 26  Nair to be Principal Secretary to PM Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pays homage at the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi before starting his activities in New Delhi on Sunday. — PTI

17 BSF jawans, 18 family members killed Ultras blow up bus in Kashmir Jammu, May 23 In a major strike by terrorist in J&K, 17 BSF personnel and 18 members of their families, including six women and three children, were killed today as the bus, in which they were coming here on annual leave from Srinagar was blown up at Lower Munda on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. Cabinet condemns J&K killings Paramilitary forces search the debris of a bus blown up by militants at Lower Munda on the Jammu-Kashmir highway on Sunday. — Tribune photo by Amin War

SAD to boycott Jagdish Tytler
To apprise PM of Punjab issues
Chandigarh, May 23
The SAD Political Affairs Committee has resolved to boycott Union Minister of State Jagdish Tytler in Parliament and send a party delegation to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to apprise him of the pending issues of Punjab.

Indo-Pak talks on nuclear issue put off
New Delhi, May 23
Pakistan today agreed to India’s suggestion to defer the first-ever talks between the two countries on nuclear confidence building measures, scheduled for May 25 and 26.

CBSE Class XII results declared
New Delhi, May 23
The CBSE today declared the results of over 2.5 lakh students from 27 states and Union Territories, who appeared in the Class XII CBSE examinations.

Rare celestial occurrence Chandigarh, May 23 In a rare celestial occurrence, Venus would be passing in front of the sun on June 8. Called the Venus Transit, the last such event occurred in 1882.

FORUM

The Tribune is the voice of the people. It is always keen to encourage debate on major issues facing the country. We want our readers to participate in the venture. We are starting a new feature called Forum which will provide a platform to our readers to express their opinions on major issues. Beginning this week, their views will be published every Thursday on a page being specially earmarked for this. We invite readers to give their views on the question: What should the government led by Dr Manmohan Singh do in running the affairs of the nation? The letters should not be more than 150 words. They can be sent to the Editor-in-Chief, The Tribune, Sector 29-C, Chandigarh, with the word ‘Forum’ mentioned on the envelope. They can also be e-mailed to: forum@tribunemail.com — H.K.Dua (Editor-in-Chief)