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Cricketer Jayasuriya wins
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Indian with knife shot by cops in US gurdwara
Chinese army to recruit 1.5 lakh grads
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Rajapaksa’s UPFA returns to power
Colombo, April 9 With results for 45 seats for the 14th Parliament yet to be declared, pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance got 12 while Fonseka's JVP-dominated Democratic National Alliance (DNA) received just five seats so far, officials said. The ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) won the polls comfortably with 117 seats against a fractured opposition but appears unlikely to secure a two-third majority. Former Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe's main opposition
UNP-led United National Front received 46 seats. "We have already won this election," Information Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said. "People have given the President a strong Parliament as never before." A party needs 113 seats to get a simple majority and form government. In Sri Lanka, the general elections directly decide 196 seats while the remaining 29 members are chosen based on the percentage of votes secured by each party. Tissa Attanayake, general secretary of the United National Party (UNP), the main constituent of the UNF, earlier in the day alleged that there were obstructions towards the conduct of a free and fair general election. Countering his charges, Maithreepala Sirisena of the Sri Lankan Freedom Party, which is the key part of UPFA, said all necessary measures were taken for a free and fair election. He claimed a high number of people turned up to vote for the UPFA while supporters of the opposition largely did not cast their ballots. Sirisena attributed the low voter turnout at the general election as against the January 26 Presidential polls in which Rajapaksa defeated Fonseka, to the opposition not actively engaging in
the campaigning. General Secretary of Fonseka-led opposition Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Vijitha Herath said his group was hopeful of making its presence felt in new Parliament. More than 14 million people were eligible to vote in yesterday's polls in which 7,620 candidates from 36 political parties and 310 independent groups took part. According to independent poll monitors, around 50 per cent people cast their ballots. The 13th Parliament was elected for a six-year term in 2004, when the UPFA had come to power after securing 105 seats against Wickremesinghe-led UNP's 82. In the 2004 polls, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had bagged 22 seats while the Buddhist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) had got nine. Those elections saw a voter turnout of over 60 per cent. The tenure of the present Parliament was scheduled to end on April 22, but it was dissolved by the President two months ahead
of schedule. — PTI
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Cricketer Jayasuriya wins
Veteran cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya has won the Mataraa seat for the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The 40-year-old batsman and political novice was given special permission to cast his ballot on Wednesday, a day ahead of the nationwide election, so he could play the ongoing IPL tournament in India. Jayasuriya garnered 74,352 votes, an official with the Lankan Election Commission said. Lanka's 1996 World Cup winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga was also a candidate in the elections, representing the opposition Democratic National Alliance. He entered politics after retiring from cricket. With counting still in progress, it was still unclear if Ranatunga would join Jayasuriya in Parliament.
— AFP
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Indian with knife shot by cops in US gurdwara
Chicago, April 9
Upon entering the temple, the police noticed Najjar coming down some steps brandishing the knife. He approached them and was shot when he kept moving towards them and did not drop the weapon despite the warning. "The officer yelled, ‘Stop, drop the knife, drop the knife’," Bedford Police Chief Greg Duber said. "The individual kept coming towards him and he shot him." A total of five shots were fired, three of which hit Najjar. He was pronounced dead at the Bedford Medical Centre. The officer was placed on the standard three-day administrative leave. Najjar was a member of the temple but had no religious motivation for his threatening behaviour, Duber said. Gurdwara member Baltek Singh termed the incident disturbing. “It happened in a place of worship. It is disturbing for anyone or everyone," he said. Najjar, who has a police record, was arrested in 2008 for disorderly conduct. He had been involved in incidents of intoxication, fighting and acting strangely. While in jail, he was even referred for a mental-health consultation. The gurdwara, too, had been in trouble previously. In 2004, factions in the gurdwara disagreed over how to run the place and whether leaders should wear beards and turbans. The feud led to fistfights and brought the police to the location 11 times in nine months.
— PTI
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Chinese army to recruit 1.5 lakh grads
Beijing, April 9 The People's Liberation Army (PLA) along with the Ministry of Education plan to open an online recruitment service for the first time to mobilise college graduates this year, a move seen as an effort to sharpen "the army's high-tech edge," state run Xinhua news agency reported. The new plans to step up recruitment for the PLA which comprises the ground forces, the Navy, the Air Force, the police and the PLA Reserve was announced after a meeting between the Army officials and the Education Ministry. Moreover, the age limit has been extended to 24 years for those with a Bachelor's degree changing the earlier age limit for men between 18 and 20 and women aged 18 or 19, it said. Last year, China announced a series of "preferential policies" to encourage more young people with higher education to serve in the Army, including a one-off payment of up to 24,000 yuan ($3,500) for the student-turned soldiers. The money, paid by the government, roughly equals the tuition cost of a four-year university education in China. Some 130,000 college graduates applied to join the Army in 2009 and more than 100,000 were recruited.
— PTI
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Indian is High Sheriff of Greater London Son sues mom for hacking Facebook account 
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