News in Brief

Indonesia holds legislative  polls
Afp, Jayapura

Indonesia's main opposition party was on course to win most votes yesterday in parliamentary elections and strengthen the chances of its popular candidate, Jakarta governor Joko Widodo, in an upcoming presidential poll. The legislative elections, the fourth in Indonesia since the downfall of the three-decade Suharto dictatorship in 1998, are important because they decide who can run at presidential polls on July 9.

INS Vikrant auctioned for Rs 60 crore
Our Correspondent, New Delhi

A decommissioned warship of Indian Navy, which played a key role during the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971, has been auctioned for Rs 60 crore. Earlier, the government of western Indian state of Maharashtra had expressed its inability to maintain Vikrant, the Indian Navy's first aircraft carrier. The ship purchased from Britain in 1957, had played a key role in enforcing the naval blockade of East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.

Garcia Marquez leaves hospital
Afp, Mexico City

Nobel literature laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez returned to his Mexico City home on Tuesday after a week-long hospitalization for pneumonia, but officials said he remains in "delicate" condition. Garcia Marquez overcame a lung infection after "quite severe pneumonic symptoms," Health Minister Mercedes Juan told Radio Formula.

British minister quits over expenses claims
Afp, London

Maria Miller, the minister who oversaw future regulation of Britain's newspapers, quit her cabinet post taking “full responsibility” yesterday following a row over expenses linked to a mortgage. She had faced a week of pressure from the main opposition Labour Party, and growing criticism from her Conservative Party colleagues, over payments she had claimed were linked to a loan on a home in Wimbledon, south London.

Myanmar vows to protect aid agencies
Afp, Yangon

Myanmar yesterday promised to protect international aid groups targeted by Buddhist mobs in a violence-torn western region, after a chorus of concern from foreign governments and the United Nations. Following an unusually swift investigation, Myanmar's reformist government conceded it had been slow to respond to unrest that forced humanitarian workers to flee Rakhine state last month, leaving thousands facing looming food and water shortages.