New Delhi: On the eve of his demitting office after 10 years at the head of a UPA coalition government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is to “address the people” in a farewell address. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be demitting office on May 17, a day after the Lok Sabha elections results are announced. He had earlier this year announced his retirement, after a decade at the helm of two successive United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments. “It will be a kind of address to the people.. The process of writing the speech has begun,” a PMO official said. On January 3, this year Manmohan Singh addressed his final press conference, and only his third one in 10 years. He announced his retirement from politics at the press conference.
Rains lash Kerala, two killed
Thiruvananthapuram: At least two people were killed as heavy rain continued to lash Kerala with weathermen predicting more downpour. Heavy rain since Wednesday paralysed normal life in Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur districts. The Met Department here forecast that heavy rain accompanied with thunder would continue to lash the state till Saturday. The department asked fishermen not to venture out into sea as strong winds with a speed up to 60km per hour are expected to hit the coasts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep. Police said two deaths were reported from Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode districts. A Saudi Airline flight from Jeddah to Kozhikode was diverted to Colombo following heavy rain, an official said. Railway tracks at the Ernakulam South Railway station were submerged and many trains are running behind the schedule, an official said. Other districts also received heavy rain. Incidentally, the rain also poured cold water on the Thrissur Pooram, Kerala’s popular temple festival, in Thrissur district. The organisers were forced to call off the sample fireworks display.
One dead in Goa blast
Panaji: One person died and five others, including three members of a family, injured after a crude bomb used to kill wild animals, exploded yesterday evening while it was being assembled at a home in a village near here, police said, ruling out any terror angle. Paplu Mulgund, 31, from Hubli in Karnataka, died in the explosion, which turned even more lethal with a gas cylinder in the one-room tenement in San Jose de Areal village, 40km from Panaji, also exploding. His wife and two children and two neighbours were injured and have been shifted to the Hospicio hospital in Margao. Police claim that forensic examination has revealed that footprint of the explosive was similar to the locally assembled crude explosives, which are used by poachers to kill wild boars and other wild game in Goa’s forests. IANS
