L A T E S T      N E W S

NDA defers meet to decide stand on presidential polls

New Delhi: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which was likely to hold a meeting today to decide on its presidential candidate, has deferred it. Sources say the NDA is waiting for the Left Front to decide its candidate. During its last meeting on June 17, the BJP-led coalition had failed to arrive at any consensus.

Senior BJP leader LK Advani has said there must be a contest but the party has not been able to come up with a candidate for the July 19 election. Mr Advani and others are determined to use presidential election to prove the Opposition is strong.  They know the math favours UPA's Pranab Mukherjee, but are not comfortable supporting the UPA ahead of the general election of 2014.

The NDA is divided over presidential candidate - yesterday the NDA coalition partner Shiv Sena openly supported the candidature of Mr Mukherjee for President, JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar and the Shironami Akal Dal (SAD) are also not happy to put up a fight against Mr Mukherjee.Sources say the BJP finds itself isolated within the NDA and is trying to find a way to convince its partners to put up a contest and choose a candidate against Mr Mukherjee.

After former president APJ Abdul Kalam pulled out of the race despite West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's very vocal support for him, the NDA will now have to decide whether to support NCP leader PA Sangma or name its own candidate.

Pak: PPP nominates Shahabuddin for PM's post

Islamabad: The ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has nominated senior leader Makhdoom Shahabuddin for the post of Prime Minister following the Supreme Court's disqualification of Yousuf Raza Gilani, according to a media report.

The decision was reportedly made at a meeting of senior PPP leaders chaired early this morning by President Asif Ali Zardari, Geo News channel quoted its sources as saying. The meeting further decided to convene a session of the National Assembly or lower house of parliament on Thursday to formally elect the new leader of the House, the report said.

There was no official word on the development from the PPP or the presidency. The move came in the wake of two separate meetings of the PPP's central executive committee and the leaders of the ruling coalition led by the PPP.Both meetings had authorised Zardari, the head of the PPP, to choose the new Prime Minister. A formal announcement about the nominee for the post of premier is expected after a meeting of the PPP's parliamentary party scheduled for this afternoon.

Reports said former premier Gilani had expressed reservations over the candidature of Shahabuddin during the meeting of the PPP and its allies last night. Both Gilani and Shahabuddin belong to the southern part of Punjab and political rivalries were believed to be the reason for Gilani's reservations.

Leaders of parties in the ruling coalition have assured Zardari of their full support for the election of the new Prime Minister, sources told PTI. The leaders further advised Zardari not to confront the apex court over the disqualification of Gilani, the sources said.

Egypt: Hosni Mubarak on life support

Cairo: Egypt's Hosni Mubarak was on life support after suffering a stroke in prison Tuesday, deepening the country's uncertainty just as a potentially explosive fight opened over who will succeed him.

The 84-year-old Mubarak suffered a "fast deterioration of his health" and his heart stopped beating, the state news agency MENA and security officials said. He was revived by defibrillation but then had a stroke and was moved from Torah Prison to a military hospital in Cairo.

MENA initially reported he was "clinically dead" upon arrival, but a security official said he was put on life support. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Maj. Gen. Mohsen el-Fangari, a member of the ruling military council, told the Al-Shorouk newspaper website that Mubarak was in a "very critical condition," but denied he was dead. Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, came to the hospital, where Mubarak was in an intensive care unit, another security official said.

The developments came amid threats of new unrest and political power struggles, 16 months after Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising demanding democracy.

Earlier Tuesday, both candidates in last weekend's presidential election claimed victory.

The Muslim Brotherhood, emboldened by its claim that its candidate won the election, sent tens of thousands of supporters into the street in an escalation of its confrontation against the ruling generals who invoked sweeping powers this week that give them dominance over the next president.