Chennai, Apr 27 : Pushing forward his demand for an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has gone on an indefinite fast here on Monday morning.

The 84-year-old Chief Minister sat on fast at the memorial of late C N Annadurai.

"Let me be one of Sri Lankan President Rajapakse''s victims. This is my sacrifice on behalf of all Tamils," Karunanidhi said.

Karunanidhi also said he did not want the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) men to go on a fast.

Raigunj (West Bengal), Apr 26 : West Bengal Chief Minister and Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPM) stalwart Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Sunday expressed confidence on Third Front forming a government at the Centre.

Bhattacharjee also said the Front would keep `communal forces' like Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at bay.

Vadodara, Apr 25: After Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Shourie, party general secretary Arun Jaitley on Saturday said that he would like to see Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to occupy the top post after Lal Krishna Advani.

"I will be very happy if Shourie''s wishes would come true," he said when asked to comment on Arun Shourie''s comment hinting Modi as next prime ministerial candidate.

Jaitley further said that Gujarat would have the opportunity to elect PM in next general elections also.

New Delhi, Apr 25: The Congress on Saturday attacked senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh for his latest claim that BJP''s primeministerial candidate L. K. Advani had opposed the decision to free terrorists during the Kandahar hijack crisis.

Talking to reporters here, party spokesperson Rajiv Shukla termed Jawant Singh''s attempt to defend Advani as a "complete farce" and said that he was "unnecessarily blaming" former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Berlin  - German legislators banned secret paternity tests Friday, setting a fine of up to 5,000 euros (6,500 dollars) for men who swab a baby's saliva and send it for DNA testing without telling the mother.

The new offence is part of a new statute on genetic tests which has been 10 years in the making because many of the ethical issues are so controversial.

The legislation adopted by the Bundestag lower chamber of parliament also bans testing of embryos to discover their sex or physical characteristics. The legislation does permit prenatal testing for medical purposes.

Mumbai, Apr 24: Samajwadi Party (SP) General Secretary Amar Singh on Friday said his party would support Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar as Prime Minister.

“The NCP is expected to win at least 15 of 21 seats in Maharashtra. Nobody can become Prime Minister with support of 15 MPs. But Pawar is one such person who has friends and supporters in all political parties. The SP will extend support to Pawar as Prime Ministerial candidate,” Singh said during a roadshow here.