New Delhi, Nov. 27 : Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal leader  died at the Apollo Hospital here on Thursday after a long illness. He was
77 and is survived by his wife of Sita Kumari and two sons Ajeya and Abhai.

Born on June 25, 1931, Singh was the tenth Prime Minister of the country from December 2, 1989 to November 10, 1990.

Singh gained wide publicity notoriety for his decision to implement the recommendations of the Mandal Commission which suggested that a fixed quota of all jobs in the public sector be reserved for members of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

New Delhi, Nov. 27 : Following is the text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s address to the nation on Mumbai terror attack.

New Delhi, Nov. 27 : The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Thursday strongly condemned Wednesday’s terror strikes across southern Mumbai, describing the incidents as an attempt to destablise the country.

Addressing the nation even as the firefight between security personnel and the terrorists continued in India’s commercial capital, Dr. Singh said the Mumbai attacks were “well-orchestrated” by terrorists, who had chosen high-profile targets.

He said: “These attacks are an act to destablise the nation.”

New Delhi - Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Thursday condemned the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and offered to set up a hotline between the intelligence chiefs of the two countries to strengthen a joint anti-terrorism mechanism with India.

Qureshi, who is in India on a four-day visit, said he was "shocked and horrified" to hear about the attacks in Mumbai that claimed over 100 lives.

He mentioned he had spoken of the need for the two countries to step up their fight against terrorism in his talks with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday.

New Delhi - Well-heeled businessmen, corporate honchos, celebrities dining by candlelight - that is the usual night at Mumbai's Taj hotel, which is as much a symbol of India's economic prowess and its pockets of affluence as the city in which it has stood for more than a hundred years.

But early on Thursday, fire spewed out of the dome-shaped roof of the building after gunshots and grenade blasts rent the air as a group of heavily armed terrorists stormed the building and fired indiscriminately, killing guests and hotel staff.

New Delhi, Nov. 27: Leader of Opposition Lal Krishan Advani is likely to accompany Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Mumbai on Friday to assess the situation prevailing in that city in the wake of Wednesday''s terror strikes that have killed 101 people and injured 287 others.

Advani was originally slated to leave for Mumbai at 10.30 a. m. today, but rescheduled it after Dr. Singh called him and requested him to join him.

The two leaders'' visit is expected to take place only after the ongoing encounter against terrorists holed up in various spots concludes.