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Hillary under pressure to
quit
Pakistan testfires Hatf-VIII missile
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Pak EC reverses decision to defer bypoll
Now, President Putin becomes PM
Indian charged with Andhra student’s murder
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Hillary under pressure to
quit
On the heels of a huge loss to Sen Barack Obama in North Carolina and a narrow victory in Indiana’s primary on Tuesday, Sen Hillary Rodham Clinton has come under intense pressure to quit the race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
Clinton suffered another political setback on Wednesday when former Sen. George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee who had backed her candidacy, switched his support to Obama and urged the former first lady to concede. But Clinton remained unfazed. “I’m staying in this race until there’s a nominee and obviously I am going to work as hard as I can to become that nominee,” she said at a press conference in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, on Wednesday. Only six primaries, with a total of 217 delegates at stake, remain: West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Montana and South Dakota, and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. West Virginia votes first on Tuesday. Clinton insisted she would be “the stronger candidate against (Republican) Senator (John) McCain and I believe I would be the best president among the three of us running.” McCain is the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Obama leads in the popular vote and was 178 delegates shy of the 2,025 that the national Democratic Party says he needs to secure the Democratic nomination. But Clinton now insists the delegate mark should be 2,209 delegates, a number that would include delegates from Michigan and Florida. Clinton won the votes in those states, but the Democratic Party voided the results because the primaries were held ahead of the schedule set by party rules. Obama didn’t campaign in Florida and his name was not on the ballot in Michigan, giving Clinton an unfair advantage should those results be counted. The Democratic National Committee will take up the request at the end of the month. “I think that there are a number of ways to resolve this but it does need to be resolved,” Clinton insisted. Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign on Wednesday revealed she had loaned her campaign $6.4 million, pushing her personal investment in the campaign to over $11 million as her campaign struggles to raise money. Obama has outraised and outspent Clinton during the course of the campaign. According to the latest campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Obama began the month of April with $42 million in the bank for the primary to Clinton’s $9.3 million. In a spot of good news for her campaign, Clinton won the backing of superdelegate, Heath Shuler, a congressman from North Carolina. The Obama camp pulled out its big guns on Wednesday. Sen John Kerry, himself a former presidential candidate in 2004, said, “In my judgment, last night Barack Obama took a giant and a decisive stride toward the nomination.” Political pundits, meanwhile, urged Clinton to quit before a bitter nomination contest splits apart the Democratic Party. The Washington Post’s Dan Balz wrote, “The irony is that she produced the split decision in Indiana and North Carolina that everyone said would be enough to keep her candidacy alive. The cruelty is that the ‘experts’ were wrong. By the time she was declared the winner in Indiana, it was clear she had lost virtually all room to maneuver.” Balz said a “loyal supporter” of Clinton’s told him, “She has only one option. Gracefully exit and help unify the party to beat (John) McCain.” How quickly, Balz asked. “I would advise them to figure out how to do it as soon as this weekend,” he replied. Balz wrote: “Two other Democrats described Clinton’s options in dire terms. ‘Withdraw with honor and grace, or lose without either, forever cementing her-their-image as selfish, indifferent to party or cause,’ wrote one of them.”
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Pakistan testfires Hatf-VIII missile
Islamabad, May 8 The test of the Hatf-VIII or Raad missile, which has a range of 350 kilometres, was part of a "continuing process of validating the design parameters of the weapon system", said a statement from the military. The statement did not say where the missile was tested. India yesterday successfully tested its long range Agni-III ballistic missile with a range of 3,000 km. Describing the launch of Raad, which means "thunder" in Arabic, as successful, the statement said the indigenously developed missile had "special stealth capabilities". It said the Raad was a low-altitude, terrain following missile with high manoeuvrability and could deliver all types of warheads "with great accuracy". The Raad, exclusively developed for launch from aerial platforms, "has enabled Pakistan to achieve a greater strategic stand-off capability on land and at sea", the statement said, adding such complex cruise missile technology has been developed by "only a few countries of the world". In a message, President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani congratulated scientists and engineers on their success in the test. The Raad was tested for the first time in August last year. Officials earlier said that the missile had a very low probability of detection due to its stealth design and the materials used in its construction. — PTI
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Pak EC reverses decision to defer bypoll
The Election Commission has reversed its earlier decision to delay the polls by two months in response to popular uproar and rescheduled them for June 26.
According to the revised schedule announced here, the dates for filing nomination papers have been fixed for May 8 to 13 while polling would be held on June 26. Earlier, the commission sprang a big surprise by postponing the bypolls to eight national assembly and 30 provincial assembly seats by two months. The decision to defer the polls for two months had intrigued everybody and most political leaders blamed President Musharraf for manipulating the EC to foster cracks within the ruling coalition. Mystery shrouding the postponement as to who actually ordered the delay and for what purpose persists despite sensational disclosure that adviser on interior, Rehman Malik, had called the NWFP chief minister on telephone urging him to request the delay as other three provincial governments have already agreed. Later, secretary, EC, Kunwar Dilshad also confirmed that Malik had telephoned him advising postponements.
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Now, President Putin becomes PM
Moscow, May 8 The State Duma approved Putin in a 392-56 vote after Medvedev told lawmakers that Putin had restored the world’s respect for Russia and improved the lives of its citizens in eight years as president. Medvedev said he would sign a decree making Putin prime minister later in the day. Putin’s unprecedented move from the Kremlin to the No. 2 post will keep him politically prominent for the foreseeable future and could serve as a springboard back to the presidency. It has Russians wondering who will really hold the country’s reins. The switch comes after months of political maneuvering by the popular Putin to maintain a role in ruling Russia after stepping down. Barred by term limits from running in the March presidential vote, he anointed Medvedev as his favored successor in December and pledged to serve as his prime minister. Medvedev formally nominated Putin in one of his first acts as president on Wednesday. His confirmation was never in doubt in the Duma, the lower parliament house, where his United Russia party holds 315 of the 450 seats and two of the other three parties also support him. Presenting his nominee to a rare full house at the Duma on Thursday, Medvedev said lawmakers’ applause “means that Vladimir Vladimirovich needs no special recommendation” and credited his mentor with recharging Russia’s economy and raising its global stature. “Russia is respected once again,’’ Medvedev said. He suggested Putin would have a strong influence on Russian policy for years to come. He said Putin had been involved in setting goals for the country’s development through 2020 and “as Cabinet chairman will play a key role in their realization.’” Russia’s president is the undisputed head of state and sets policy on all fronts, while the prime minister heads the Cabinet and is responsible for running the economy. But Putin is expected to have strong influence on Medvedev. Putin is expected to play a far stronger role as prime minister. He will also control the Duma and wield power nationwide as chairman of United Russia, a position he assumed last month after leading the party to a sweeping victory in December parliamentary elections. — AP
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Indian charged with Andhra student’s murder
London, May 8 Nagaraja Kumar Nalluri, also an Indian student, had sustained injuries in the incident on Tuesday and was admitted to a city hospital from where he was discharged today. He has been charged with murder and would appear before the Birmingham Magistrates Court tomorrow morning, officials told PTI. The police today named the 23-year-old woman from Vijayawada as Samrajyo Jyothirmai Vempala. A post-mortem examination has established that she died as a result of head injuries.
— PTI
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