W O R L D

Xi becomes Prez; emerges as China’s most powerful leader 
Beijing, March 14
Xi Jinping today emerged as China's most powerful leader in decades after he was named President and head of the powerful military, besides being the chief of the ruling Communist Party, smoothly completing a 10-yearly transition of power in the world's second-largest economy.
Hu Jintao (L) with China’s newly elected President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday. — Reuters

Top judge sworn in as Nepal PM 
Kathmandu, March 14
Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was today sworn in as Nepal's Prime Minister to head an interim government that will hold elections by June 21, ending months of political and constitutional crisis in the country.
Khil Raj Regmi’s interim goverment will hold polls by June 21

Chavez’s eternal viewing ‘not possible’
Caracas, March 14
For many Venezuelans, the late Hugo Chavez is deeply etched in their minds and souls. But plans for them to be able to view him in perpetuity may have gone awry.

A file photo of Hugo Chavez

North Korean leader oversees live-fire drill
Seoul, March 14
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has overseen a live-fire artillery drill near the disputed sea border with South Korea, state media said today as the South's Prime Minister visited the flashpoint area. The Yellow Sea border has witnessed bloody North-South clashes in the past and, with military tensions at their highest level for years, is seen as the prime location for another confrontation.

28% of S African schoolgirls HIV+
Johannesburg, March 14
As many as 28 per cent of South African schoolgirls are HIV positive, according to figures from the country's health minister reported by local media today.

Bombers attack ministries in Baghdad; 25 killed
Baghdad, March 14 
Coordinated blasts killed at least 25 persons in the heart of Baghdad today near the heavily fortified Green Zone, where several Western embassies are located, the police and medics said.

Xi becomes Prez; emerges as China’s most powerful leader 

Beijing, March 14
Xi Jinping today emerged as China's most powerful leader in decades after he was named President and head of the powerful military, besides being the chief of the ruling Communist Party, smoothly completing a 10-yearly transition of power in the world's second-largest economy.

The 3,000-member strong China's Parliament, the National People Congress, elected 59-year-old Xi as President and chairman of the Military Commission, four months after he took over as the General Secretary of the Communist Party.

Xi succeeded Hu Jintao (70) and unlike his predecessor who in 2003 started his tenure as party chief and President, he has all the three offices - party, army and state - through which he is likely to wield power for the next decade.

During today's election, Xi was the only candidate for President in the country's rubber- stamp Parliament.

Xi bowed to the delegates after his name was announced. He was elected by 2,952 votes to one, with three abstentions.

The Presidency coupled with the post of the chairman of Military Commission which supervises 2.3 million-strong world's largest standing military, People's Liberation Army, gives him a head start to begin his 10-year stint in power.

Hu got the post of head of the military from Jiang Zemin two years after he took over as the President.

While retiring, Hu ensured that the head of the country and the party has single power structure to ensure stability. — PTI

All-influential

The 3,000-member strong China's Parliament elected 59-year-old Xi Jinping as President and chairman of the Military Commission

Xi succeeded Hu Jintao (70) and he has all the three offices - party, army and state - through which he is likely to wield power for the next decade

Li Keqiang will be chosen as the Premier on Friday to succeed Wen Jiabao

Top judge sworn in as Nepal PM 

Kathmandu, March 14
Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was today sworn in as Nepal's Prime Minister to head an interim government that will hold elections by June 21, ending months of political and constitutional crisis in the country.

Regmi (63) was sworn in as the head of the interim election government as a part of the 11-point deal reached among major parties -- UCPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Joint Madhesi Front -- yesterday during a marathon meeting.

The parties also agreed to conduct polls before June 21 and to defer the date till November in case an unfavourable situation emerges. President Ram Baran Yadav earlier today administered oath of office and secrecy to Regmi at Sheetal Niwas in the presence of top leaders of the major political parties.

Regmi also inducted two former bureaucrats into the Cabinet today. Madhav Ghimire has been appointed Minister for Home and Foreign Affairs, whereas Hari Prasad Neupane was sworn in as Minister for Law and Justice and Labour.

Regmi today attended his office at the Singhdurbar Secretariat. The first Cabinet meeting of the government chaired by Regmi assured to conduct free and fair election within the stipulated time frame.

Regmi thanked the political parties for bestowing the Cabinet the responsibility to hold elections in the transitional phase. — PTI

Chavez’s eternal viewing ‘not possible’

Caracas, March 14
For many Venezuelans, the late Hugo Chavez is deeply etched in their minds and souls. But plans for them to be able to view him in perpetuity may have gone awry.

The process of embalming his remains specially so that he could be viewed like Lenin started too late, acting President Nicolas Maduro said.

Scientists from around the world and countries like Russia and Germany have been summoned and the news is not good, Maduro said.

The government had said it wanted Chavez's supporters to be able to visit the late standard-bearer of the Latin American Left forever in the wake of his March 5 death from cancer after 14 years in power.

The reason is that "preparatory steps should have been taken much earlier", Maduro said. "The decision should have been made much earlier. So I have the duty to report on these steps so that everyone knows that there are difficulties that could make it impossible to do what was done with Lenin, Ho Chi Minh or Mao Zedong," Maduro added.

Maduro said he got the idea from his love of Chavez -- and from presidents who came from other countries and suggested the late leader be preserved for permanent viewing.

Chavez's casket has been on view for several days in Caracas, with tens of thousands of supporters filing past to bid farewell. — AFP

North Korean leader oversees live-fire drill

Seoul, March 14
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has overseen a live-fire artillery drill near the disputed sea border with South Korea, state media said today as the South's Prime Minister visited the flashpoint area.

The Yellow Sea border has witnessed bloody North-South clashes in the past and, with military tensions at their highest level for years, is seen as the prime location for another confrontation.

It was not immediately clear when Kim supervised the live-fire drill. He made an inspection tour of the same artillery units last week that was widely covered by the state TV and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). During the latest drill, "shells intensively hit the imaginary targets of the enemy while the roar of the artillery pieces rocked heaven and earth", the KCNA said.

"A modern war is an artillery war," Kim was quoted as saying. — AFP

28% of S African schoolgirls HIV+

Johannesburg, March 14
As many as 28 per cent of South African schoolgirls are HIV positive, according to figures from the country's health minister reported by local media today.

Unveiling statistics that minister Aaron Motsoaledi admitted "destroyed my soul", he added that four per cent of schoolboys have the virus.

Motsoaledi called for an end to the trend of young girls becoming involved with older men. He also revealed that 94,000 South African schoolgirls fell pregnant in 2011, some aged as young as 10. — AFP

Bombers attack ministries in Baghdad; 25 killed

Baghdad, March 14 
Coordinated blasts killed at least 25 persons in the heart of Baghdad today near the heavily fortified Green Zone, where several Western embassies are located, the police and medics said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosions, but Sunni Muslim insurgents have been redoubling their efforts to undermine Iraq's Shi'ite-led government and foment inter-communal conflict this year.

The police said two car bombs exploded in the Alawi district, one of them near the Justice Ministry building, before a suicide car bomber blew himself up near an Interior Ministry office. 

A suicide bomber then walked into the Justice Ministry and militants attacked the building, clashing with Iraqi security forces, who eventually regained control.
Among the dead were at least 7 policemen and 15 civilians, police and medics said. Three militants were also killed. At least 50 persons were wounded. — Reuters

BRIEFLY

Ashraf proposes names for caretaker PM ahead of polls
Islamabad: Two days before the PPP-led government completes its term, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Thursday proposed the names of former finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, economist Ishrat Hussain and retired judge Mir Hazar Khan Khoso for the post of caretaker premier. "The Prime Minister has proposed the names in response to the letter by Leader of Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan," a spokesman for the Prime Minister's House said. — PTI

Right beginning: Pope Francis lays a wreath prior to a prayer at Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore basilica on his first day as the head of the Catholics on Thursday. — AFP

Khmer Rouge ex-minister on war trial dies
Phnom Penh: Khmer Rouge former minister Ieng Sary, who was on trial for genocide and war crimes, died on Thursday, the UN-backed court said, denying Cambodians a verdict over his role in the brutal regime. The death of the former student radical, who as the Khmer Rouge foreign minister was one of the regime's few public faces, heightens fears the remaining elderly defendants may not live to see justice at the much-delayed tribunal. — AFP

God particle found: CERN scientists
Geneva: Scientists on Thursday said the subatomic particle discovered last year by the Large Hadron Collider is indeed a Higgs boson or the elusive 'God particle' - a key building block of our universe. It remains an open question, however, whether this is the Higgs boson of the Standard Model of particle physics, or possibly the lightest of several bosons predicted in some theories that go beyond the Standard Model, The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) said. — AFP

Lanka arrests 34 more Indian fishermen
Colombo: The Sri Lankan navy has arrested 53 Indian fishermen in the last 24 hours for allegedly entering its waters illegally, prompting India to summon Lankan Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi. Thirty-four Indian fishermen were captured on Thursday near islet of Delft in the northern Jaffna district, the navy said. — PTI 

Cops kill suspect in deadly NY shooting 
New York: The police in upstate New York stormed an abandoned building on Thursday where a man suspected of a deadly shooting rampage at a car wash and barbershop had been holed up, killing him after he fired on an FBI dog. Kurt Myers had killed four persons and injured two others on Wednesday. — AP

Khmer Rouge ex-minister on war trial dies 
Phnom Penh: Khmer Rouge former minister Ieng Sary, who was on trial for genocide and war crimes, died on Thursday, the UN-backed court said, denying Cambodians a verdict over his role in the brutal regime. — AFP

Malaysian author wins Asia's top prize 
Hong Kong: Author Tan Twang Eng became the first Malaysian author to win Man Asian Literary Prize on Thursday for his novel set during the aftermath of the Japanese occupation of Malaya. Tan won the $30,000 Asian literary prize with "The Garden of Evening Mists", beating four other shortlisted books. — AFP