Summit leads to thaw in Indo-Pak ties
Manmohan, Gilani ask foreign ministers to meet soon for ‘substantive dialogue’
Thimphu, April 29
The ice has started melting. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani today held their first bilateral meeting in nine months to end the diplomatic stalemate in ties between their two nations since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

PM talks of Gilani’s link with India Editorial: Towards Indo-Pak talks Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani prior to their meeting on the sidelines of the 16th SAARC Summit in Thimphu on Thursday. — PTI

SAARC Summit Thimphu, April 28-29
Consensus on climate change, trade
The 16th SAARC Summit ended here on Thursday with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other South Asian leaders adopting the ‘Thimphu statement’ on climate change, signing an agreement on trade in services and expressing their firm resolve to stamp out terrorism from the region.

Indo-Pak activities dominate summit

India rolls out first indigenous stealth warship
Mumbai , April 29
India has effected a generational shift in its warship-building capability by commissioning INS Shivalik — the first indigenously built stealth frigate that is the biggest in its class in the world. The ship, which is 143 metres long, can tactically fire weapons even before the enemy detects it. The hard-to-detect warship will form a crucial component of the Indian Navy. It is equipped with a mix of Indian, Russian, Israeli and western weapons and sensors.

BJP’s volte-face: Overnight, Soren again alliance-worthy!
New Delhi, April 29
A day after castigating outgoing Chief Minister Shibu Soren as unreliable and undependable, the BJP now appears to be coming to an understanding with the JMM to form a government in Jharkhand. BJP parliamentary party spokesman Gopinath Munde said all party MLAs led by state chief and Deputy Chief Minister Raghubar Das are scheduled to meet Governor MOH Farook and submit their letter of withdrawal to this government.

Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill
New Delhi, April 29
Lok Sabha today passed the Finance Bill-2010-11 with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announcing special relief packages for coffee growers, and tax concessions for healthcare and realty sectors, but there is no change in levies on petroleum products or service tax on air travellers.

Hydropower Sharing
SC ultimatum to Centre
Asks govt to hold meeting with HP, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan in 3 weeks
New Delhi, April 29
The Supreme Court today directed the Centre to convene within three weeks a meeting with Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan in an effort to arrive at a “negotiated settlement” of the dispute over the sharing of hydropower generated from the Bhakra and Beas projects.