DIDI Sheila Dikshit sworn in Governor

Former Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit was sworn in as Governor of Kerala at Raj Bhavan here on Tuesday.

LDF boycott

Chief Justice of Kerala High Court Manjula Chellur administered the oath of office at a function attended by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, his Cabinet colleagues, Speaker G. Karthikeyan, and other dignitaries. Leaders of the Opposition did not attend the function.

Ms. Dikshit arrived for the function dressed in traditional Kerala style, accompanied by the Chief Minister and other dignitaries.

Chief Secretary E.K. Bharat Bhushan read out the warrant of appointment of Ms. Dikshit as the Governor.

As soon as the oath-taking ceremony was over, the band played the national anthem, and Ms. Dikshit and the Chief Justice signed the register.

Ms. Chellur, Mr. Chandy, Mr. Karthikeyan, the Ministers, Deputy Speaker N. Sakthan, KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran and other leaders then presented bouquets to the new Governor.

BJP yet to firm up poll act in Pathanamthitta

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) former State president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, who was tipped to be the party’s candidate from the Pathanamthitta constituency in the Lok Sabha election, has expressed his unwillingness to enter the fray.

Though personal reasons are cited as the reason for Mr. Pillai’s reluctance, the actual reason is understood to be the changed political scenario that makes it difficult for the party to turn the contest into a serious one.

The party had hoped to cash in on the protest against the proposed Aranmula airport project led by Hindu Aikya Vedi leader Kummanam Rajasekharan and others. Many associated with the Aranmula temple had opposed the project besides environmental organisations.

The BJP had estimated that the party would be able to corner at least 15 per cent votes in the constituency, double the percentage of votes won by the party in 2009.

It was expected that Mr. Pillai would be able to win votes beyond the traditional support base of BJP and overcome difficulties caused by the Nair Service Society (NSS) – Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam divide.

The situation has but changed with the entry of Peelipose Thomas as the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate. Mr. Thomas, who was in the forefront of the agitation against the airport project, had quit the Congress to contest as a candidate of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M]-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).

Advantage BJP

The BJP had the advantage that it could blame both the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) and the LDF for giving nod to the airport project.

The UDF government was promoting the project while the previous LDF government had given clearance for the project, sources said.

Though the LDF is also agitating against the project now, it has a credibility crisis as its government had cleared the project and aided land transactions and development. Mr. Thomas faces no credibility problems as he was one who had opposed the project from within the Congress and against its top leaders. So, Mr. Thomas’ candidature would have better appeal among opponents of the project than the BJP’s.

Moreover, the BJP faces dissidence and financial problems in launching an effective campaign in Pathanamthitta. The party has already announced three of its candidates and these would be the contests for which the party would spare no efforts. (As per the list announced from New Delhi on Saturday, former Union Minister of State O. Rajagopal is to contest from Thiruvananthapuram and State general secretaries K. Surendran and A.N. Radhakrishnan from Kasaragod and Ernakulam respectively.) It has not yet shortlisted another candidate for Pathanamthitta, despite Mr. Pillai’s firm stand.

Russian Crimea declared independence from Ukraine

The Parliament in pro-Russian Crimea declared independence from Ukraine as a first step towards joining Russia.

Lawmakers on Tuesday overwhelmingly adopted a “declaration of independence of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea” that will take effect if voters say “yes” to Crimea becoming part of Russia in a referendum set for coming Sunday.

The referendum will ask the people of Crimea to choose between joining Russia and staying with Ukraine as a self-governed autonomy.

The declaration referred to Kosovo's secession from Serbia, which was endorsed by the United Nations International Court of Justice.

Crimean Parliament Speaker Vladimir Konstantinov said the declaration was needed “to make the upcoming referendum legitimate and transparent.”

Ukraine’s Parliament in Kiev hit back threatening to dissolve the Crimean legislature unless it cancels the referendum. In a resolution passed on Tuesday Ukrainian legislators gave the Crimean parliament until Wednesday to comply.

Mr Konstantinov said Crimea will never be part of Ukraine again.

“We are going our own way and we’re trying to do it quickly,” he told reporters in Simferopol, capital of Crimea.

The United States appears to have abandoned hope to persuade Russia to back off on Crimea. Secretary of State John Kerry declined a Russian invitation to visit Moscow this week for talks with President Vladimir Putin.

State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement that Mr Kerry “would welcome further discussions… if and when we see concrete evidence that Russia is prepared to engage on [U.S.] proposals.”

Washington wants Moscow to stop the Crimea referendum and open direct talks with the new government in Kiev. Russia has refused to recognise the new authorities and insisted on rolling back the situation to February 21, when President Viktor Yanukovych signed a West-brokered peace accord with the opposition. The deal fell through the same day as armed protesters stormed government offices and Mr Yanukovych fled Kiev.

Moscow made its point again on Tuesday when Mr Yanukovych reaffirmed that he was still Ukraine’s legitimate President and that power in Kiev had been grabbed by a “band of ultra-nationalists and neo-fascists” bent on starting a “civil war.”

“I declare that presidential elections appointed for May 25 by the clique who seized power in an unconstitutional coup will be absolutely illegitimate and unlawful,” Mr Yanokovych said in a statement he read out in Rostov-on-Don a week after his first press conference in Russia, where he has found shelter.

Contrary to expectations Mr Yanukovych said nothing about the coming referendum in Crimea, apart from mentioning that Crimea was “splitting away” through the fault of the new Ukrainian authorities.

In fresh military muscle flexing Russia launched on Tuesday a second massive war drill this month. The Defence Ministry said 3,500 paratroopers will be dropped from 36 warplanes at an undisclosed location during the three-day “anti-terrorist” exercise, the first such drill in 20 years. Earlier in March Russia held snap war games involving 150,000 troops near Ukraine’s border.

22 killed in Egypt bus crash

22 people were killed and many injured when a bus collided with a parked truck near the Egyptian city of Suez early on Tuesday, state television reported.

The driver of the bus said that he was blinded by the headlights of an oncoming vehicle on the wrong side of the road, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported online.

In trying to avoid the car, the bus driver crashed into the truck parked on the carriageway, Al-Ahram reported.

The bus was reportedly on its way from the tourist resort area of South Sinai to the Nile Delta city of al-Mansoura.

Egypt suffers more than 12,000 deaths in road accidents annually, according to the World Health Organisation.

Russia invites Kerry to Moscow-resolving Ukraine crisis

Russia has invited U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to come to Moscow to discuss counter-plans the two sides have drawn up for resolving the Ukraine crisis.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his U.S. counterpart was expected to arrive on Monday but put off the trip to prepare new proposals for Moscow.

It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Kerry delayed his Russia visit to discuss the crisis with Ukraine’s Interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who flew to Washington on Monday for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama.

Mr. Lavrov said he had received the U.S. plan on Sunday and had prepared a Russian reply.

“Our counter-proposals are aimed at bringing the situation [in Ukraine] into the framework of international law taking into account the interests of all Ukrainians in the deep state crisis in that country,” Mr. Lavrov said, at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin to discuss the Russian proposals before sending them to Washington.

Mr. Lavrov flew to Sochi to meet Mr. Putin who is attending the Winter Paralympic Games.

Mr. Lavrov said he was not happy with an earlier plan Mr. Kerry had sent him on Friday because it was based on the assumption that “there is a conflict between Russia and Ukraine and there are facts on the ground that should be accepted.”

Russia considers the new authorities in Ukraine illegitimate, saying they came to power through a coup.

U.S. officials said they were anxious to hammer out some agreement with Russia before a March 16 referendum in Crimea on its accession to Russia that could become a point of no return.

“It’s not a done deal,” U.S. deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken told CNN on Sunday. “I think the door is clearly open to resolving this diplomatically.”

He warned that the U.S. will not recognise the referendum results if it leads to Crimea’s split from Ukraine. Crimea’s authorities plan to ask voters to choose between joining Russia and staying with Ukraine with greater self-rule powers.

Ukraine’s Interim Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya said on Monday that if Crimea’s leaders “want more rights and authority, then we are ready to do this.” Crimea said Russia had already started giving financial aid to the rebellious region even as Kiev blocked its accounts.

“We have enough money to conduct the referendum and pay pensions and salaries,” said Crimea’s Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temigraliyev.

'probably not terrorists' 19-year-old Iranian, identified by Malaysian police

Interpol has released the names of two Iranians who were travelling on stolen passports aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, saying they were “probably not terrorists.” Addressing a press conference in the French city of Lyon, Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble gave the men’s names as Pouri Nourmohammadi, 18, and Delavar Seyedmohammadreza, 29.

The men first used their Iranian passports to travel from Doha to Kuala Lumpur, and then boarded the Beijing-bound Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 using stolen Austrian and Italian passports, he said.

Malaysian police earlier named the man travelling on the Austrian passport as Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, 19. Interpol gave his birthday as April 30, 1995.

Speculation over a possible terrorist attack and lax security by airlines was waning “as the belief becomes more certain that these two individuals were probably not terrorists” but “might just be people being smuggled or trafficked” Mr Noble said.

Australian GP : Vettel warns Red Bull to improve car or face 'debacle'

Sydney: Four-time Formula One champion and Red Bull racer Sebastian Vettel has warned his team that they might be facing a debacle unless they improve their car before the season opens at the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks.

The German, who is bidding for a fifth consecutive world title when the season kicks off in Melbourne on March 16, endured a frustrating four-days of testing the new Red Bull car in Bahrain , which concluded on Sunday.

According to News.com.au, Vettel said that just getting to the finish in Australia would be a success for them, adding that if half the drivers fail to finish, then Red Bull might take a few points.

Vettel`s mentor and Red Bull`s adviser Helmut Marko echoed his protegee`s concerns, saying that they have not yet reached where they want to be as the start of the season has come at least two months too early for them, adding that they do not yet know whether they would be able to catch up with the other teams ahead of the Australian GP.

Vettel failed to complete a single lap in testing on Saturday due to electrical issues and problems with the car`s Renault engine, the report added.