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New York: The independent commission tasked with looking into the facts and circumstances surrounding the 2007 ssassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will begin its work on 1 July, the United Nations has announced.

A vicious catfight has broken out in the Bharatiya Janata Party over blame-sharing for its second consecutive defeat in the national elections. The infighting has acquired great ferocity with former finance minister Yashwant Sinha joining former foreign minister Jaswant Singh in raising the banner of revolt by attacking the LK Advani camp for the failure of its election strategy and for rewarding those who devised it.

Lalgarh represents one of the worst political and administrative failures in recent memory. The responsibility for the collapse of the state machinery and normal political functioning in the area has to be borne by both the CPI(M) and the Trinamool Congress, for they both played into the hands of the Maoists by their highhandedness and cynicism.

JAIPUR: The meeting of the Rajasthan unit of the BJP, which was convened to discuss the debacle the party suffered in the Lok Sabha elections from the state, was noted more for what it left unsaid than for what it discussed.

Has a defining moment come in Punjab's ruling Akali Dal and BJP's relations? Is Akali Dal being overtaken by the culture of violence? The questions may appear half-baked but last week's two events justify their rationale.

NEW DELHI: Union Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge has indicated that expansion of skill development in a big way and promulgation of a National Employment Policy were uppermost in the list of priorities of his Ministry.

The BJP and the CPI(M), the most vehement opponents of the Manmohan Singh government, are in the midst of a severe post-defeat political turmoil. It is difficult to say which of the two is in deeper trouble. But the way the two rival parties have responded to their existential crisis provides a study in contrast.

India entered the global swine flu map with the first detection of a confirmed case on May 17, 2009. A 23-year old non-resident Indian who flew from New York to Hyderabad via Emirates Airways to meet his grand parents was tested positive for the deadly Influenza A - H1N1 - virus.

It is a budget document that few finance ministers would love to construct. The preparation of a fresh budget document which will simultaneously address the concerns of large fiscal deficit and steer the economy on to a higher growth path in the midst of a global and domestic recession must have robbed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his key advisers of many a night's sleep.

NEW DELHI: India has been able to significantly steer the course of discussions at the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) summit in Yakaterinburg, Russia towards a cautious approach on the replacement of US dollar as the international reserve currency.