AP Interview: CEO says GM can still avoid bankruptcy despite daunting restructuring list

DETROIT — With just a month left to check off an almost insurmountable list of restructuring moves, General Motors Corp.’s new CEO says it’s still possible that the company can finish everything and avoid following Chrysler into bankruptcy.

Common man heads to the PM

It began with a candlelight vigil and a peace assembly at the Gateway of India in Mumbai recently to demonstrate solidarity with the victims of the 26/11 terror attack. Now the escalating resentment and annoyance against failures of successive governments to crack down on terror, has given birth to a rally from Mumbai to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s residence in Delhi.
 
This initiative has been taken up by a group called ‘Staying Alive - A Civil Societies Revolution’, jointly with another group called ‘WE Inc’. People are being asked to join in cars, bikes, or any other means, if they are in search of some answers as well, informed public relations officer Dale Bhagwagar through a press release.
 
Starting from the Gateway of India at 6 am, Friday, December 12, the rally will be flagged off by survivors of the terrorist attacks. It will be passing through the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana. After stops at Ahmedabad and Jaipur, the rally, joined by various other groups on the way, will reach Delhi on December 14. Before the Mumbai terror attacks, these cities too had been victims of a series of terror attacks in the last few months.
 
In Delhi, there are plans to hold a demonstration before the Prime Minister’s residence demanding an audience and presenting him with a 10-Point Agenda.
 
The groups have also got together Silk Road Records and music directors Arco and Dev to create a special anthem called "Ye haque hamara hai" which they will perform in Delhi with the renowned music band Stereo Nation.
 
The 10-Point Agenda:

Nepal church steps into fight between school, teachers

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s Catholic church has become embroiled in the row between St Xavier’s, the country’s oldest and best-known school run by Jesuit fathers, and the teachers’ union over the dismissal of a staff member.

IMF may boost-up additional funding to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) may jack up additional funding to Islamabad by 4.5 billion dollars, The News has reported.

NCAA hopes new draft rule takes guessing game out of coaches’ offseason repertoire

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA is trying to end the continual guessing game for college basketball coaches.

GM’s Asia chief says regional operations to stay in company fold

SEOUL, South Korea — The Asia-Pacific operations of General Motors Corp. will stay within the company fold regardless of whether GM ends up declaring bankruptcy or not, the U.S. automaker’s regional chief said Friday.

Voting mostly peaceful in Bihar, 10 percent turn out in first 3 hours

PATNA - Voting was mostly peaceful but slow in the third phase of parliamentary elections in 11 of Bihar’s 40 constituencies Thursday, barring a few incidents of violence and attempt to capture polling booths. The turnout by 10 a.m. was over 10 percent.

Ukraine and Russia appear close to deal on reducing Ukraine’s imports of Russian natural gas

MOSCOW — Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko promised Russia a role Wednesday in the upgrading of its aged pipeline system after Moscow agreed to let its neighbor off from penalties for taking less gas than agreed.

Prestige battle for Nitish Kumar in third phase of Bihar polls (Poll Curtainraiser - Bihar)

PATNA - Bihar conducts the third and penultimate phase of Lok Sabha elections Thursday with the prestige battle getting increasingly intense for Janata Dal-United (JD-U) Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, pitted against the combined might of Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan.

Iraq wants US forces out of cities by June deadline and return only with permission

BAGHDAD — Iraq wants American troops to withdraw from urban areas and only return with government approval, a defense ministry spokesman said Monday, casting doubt about whether the U.S. can maintain troops in certain trouble spots even as they withdraw elsewhere.

South Africa’s ANC wins voter majority, parliament expected to elect Jacob Zuma president

PRETORIA, South Africa — South African elections results released Saturday show the African National Congress might have fallen short of winning its cherished two-thirds parliamentary majority. But the tally affirmed the ruling party’s overall victory and set the stage for the controversial Jacob Zuma rise to the presidency.

Gen. Petraeus says Pakistan’s leaders should focus on threat posed by Taliban, extremists

WASHINGTON — Pakistan’s leaders should focus on the looming threat posed by a stronger Taliban and extremists within their nation’s borders, instead of their rivalry with India, a top U.S. military official said Friday. Gen. David Petraeus urged Congress to approve $3 billion in aid to Pakistan for training its troops to fight insurgents in tribal areas.

Michael Phelps: I’m not dating anybody

WASHINGTON - Olympic star Michael Phelps has denied reports suggesting that he’s romancing controversial Miss California contestant Carrie Prejean.

Obama faces dilemma on annual day of remembrance for killings of Armenians by Turks

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama faces a dilemma as he prepares to issue an annual presidential statement on the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

Prosecutor: 6 South Fla. men terrorists loyal to Bin Laden; defense says they are FBI victims

MIAMI — Six South Florida men being tried a third time on terrorism charges pledged allegiance to Osama Bin Laden and wanted to wage war against the United States, including blowing up Chicago’s Sears Tower, a prosecutor said during closing arguments Thursday.

Deloitte’s Charu Sehgal recognized as one of the top 20 women achievers in healthcare

NEW DELHI - Modern Medicare, a leading magazine on healthcare business news, has felicitated Charu Sehgal, Senior Director, Strategy and Operations Division and Head, Healthcare Vertical, Deloitte India, as one of the top 20 women achievers of the Indian healthcare industry.

Clinton says it could organize tougher economic sanctions on Iran if diplomatic approach fails

WASHINGTON — By trying to talk Iran out of its nuclear program, the U.S. is in a better position to win tougher international sanctions in the event that diplomacy fails, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday.

Roadside blast kills 5 in Indian Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India — A roadside bomb set off by suspected separatist rebels ripped through a bus in a remote village in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing at least five people and wounding eight others, police said Wednesday.

Most Earthlike planet yet found may have water and life

WASHINGTON - In a new research, an astronomer has suggested that the most Earthlike planet yet found has conditions right for liquid water, and life as we know it.

The economic cost of addressing climate change marks debate; Pelosi vows approval this year.

WASHINGTON — As Congress begins to debate climate change in earnest, the science is taking a back seat to economics: How much will it cost to slow the Earth’s warming because of man-made pollution — and what’s the cost of doing nothing?

Middle class should exercise right to vote: La Ganesan

CHENNAI - With the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) hopes pinned on middle class votes to grab South Madras and North Madras - the two Chennai parliamentary seats that it is contesting, the party’s Tamil Nadu president La Ganesan is urging this section of voters to exercise their franchise.

The way to a lady’s heart is through her stomach - if you’re a chimp

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Why is Sonia silent on Karunanidhi’s LTTE remark: Jayalalitha

MADURAI - AIADMK boss J. Jayalalitha Monday attacked Congress president Sonia Gandhi for her silence on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s open support for the outlawed Tamil Tigers, which was behind the assassination of her husband in 1991.

Goa government survives because of divine intervention: Kamat

PANAJI - The coalition government in Goa has managed to survive only because of ‘divine intervention’, says Chief Minister Digambar Kamat.

US boycotts UN racism conference

WASHINGTON - The US said Saturday that it would boycott a UN conference on racism because of differences over Israel and the right to free speech.

PM flays regional parties, prompts angry response

NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday blamed regional parties for the backwardness of several states, sparking an angry response from regional groupings which accused him of irresponsibility.

Pak intelligence agencies arrest Baitullah Mehsud’s close aide

KARACHI - Pakistan intelligence agencies have reportedly arrested a close aide of the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud.

UN Security Council condemns North Korea’s missile launch

NEW YORK - The UN Security Council Monday spoke with one voice to condemn North Korea for launching a missile, and found the April 5 firing of the rocket violated a 2006 resolution.

A royal friendship!

NEW DELHI - Congress candidate Raninder Singh is the 13th descendant of the Patiala royal family and is contesting elections from the Bathinda constituency in Punjab. But in the heat and dust of campaigning these days, he is being accompanied by another royal - who has come all the way from Bhutan - to extend royal support.

India colts beat Australia in three-day match

HOBART - India under-19 defeated Australia by nine wickets on the final day of their three-day match at the Bellerive Oval here Monday.