Chennai, Nov 25 : Top leaders from Tamil Nadu will meet Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on December 04 to discuss the Sri Lankan issue.

The decision was taken at an all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in Chennai today.

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party boycotted the meeting.

Political parties in Tamil Nadu have been reiterating their demand for ceasefire between the Sri Lankan forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Jamshedpur, Nov 25 : Tata Motors again shuts its commercial vehicle plant in Jamshedpur in Jharkhand for five days amid slowing demand.

The plant, which had already shut for three days from November 6, will be closed again from November 25-29.

The officials of the plant cite the low sales volume as the primary reason for this block closure.

Rome/Accra - Africa could be taking more carbon out of the atmosphere that it releases, thus helping to counter the effect of greenhouse emissions on global warning, a UN agency said Tuesday.

The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is basing its observations on a research project, CarboAfrica involving 15 institutions from Africa and Europe, including FAO.

Wuerzburg, Germany - Conductor Jin Wang, 48, has been sacked from his post in Germany after an allegation that he sexually harassed a young woman musician, municipal authorities said Tuesday.

Chinese-born Wang, who was director of music at the Mainfranken Theatre and conducted the Wuerzburg Philharmonic Orchestra, had resisted pressure to resign after the city of Wuerzburg suspended him on full pay.

A municipal spokesman said he was sacked last Friday after fruitless efforts for a negotiated solution.

Brussels - The European Commission is to allow member states to reduce their value added tax (VAT) rates to boost consumption during the recession, officials in Brussels said Tuesday.

The European Union's executive arm will also propose increasing investments in infrastructure and in key sectors such as cars, construction and green technologies as part of its economic stimulus package, due to be unveiled on Wednesday.

Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Nov. 25 : A temple dedicated to the Sun God and having a number of old idols here, is close to losing its grandeur because of continued official apathy.

Located in Turkpatti Village, the Sun Temple is about 18 kilometres from Kushinagar. It was built by the local villagers after a huge and exquisitively carved idol of Surya
(the Sun God) made of black stone, was discovered while tilling a piece of land.

The temple has idols belonging to the 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th centuries and is visited by villagers and tourists with deep respect and revernce.