Top global news for the week Apr 10-16

Saturday

Moscow: Poland's President Lech Kaczynski and some of the country's top military and civil leaders are killed along with all 96 people onboard the Presidential plane that crashed in dense fog, trying to land against advice by air controllers, in western Russia.  

Washington: Amid talk of the US looking for a strategy to exit Afghanistan, India makes it clear that it would continue to play a role in the war-torn nation "with or without America" as it has crucial stakes in the stability of country on its periphery.  

Sunday

Washington: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raises the issue of India getting access to 26/11 plotter David Headley with President Barack Obama, who said the US was fully supportive of the request and working through legal processes for giving it.  

Moscow: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin bids farewell to the body of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who died in a crash, at a solemn ceremony with full military honours.  

Monday

Peshawar/Islamabad: Fifty militants and three soldiers were killed and seven soldiers injured in fierce clashes in the restive tribal region of northwest Pakistan.  

Washington: After some plain speaking by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, US President Barack Obama has leaned on Pakistan to rein in LeT. Singh, who met Obama here last night, emphasised that Pakistan needs to take "convincing action" against those responsible for Mumbai attacks.  

Tuesday

Washington: Pakistan has made another pitch for access to civil nuclear technology from the US and other atomic powers based on "non-discriminatory" principles, claiming that it has a "robust" security regime for the safety and security of its nuclear assets.  

Washington: Taking cognisance of the threat of nuclear terrorism, 47 countries, including India, vows to prevent non-state actors from obtaining information or atomic technology and effectively cooperate globally to advance security in the field.  

Wednesday

Beijing: A massive earthquake in a remote northwestern Chinese province kills 589 people and injures 10,000, as thousands still lay buried under flattened buildings, and soldiers and civilians joined efforts to save lives.

Washington: As a fresh controversy explodes over Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says that he may take action if warranted.  

Thursday

London: Flying ash from Iceland's erupting volcano cripples air traffic across northern Europe as hundreds of flights were grounded in Britain, Ireland and Nordic nations.  

Moscow: A week after he was ousted following bloody riots, deposed Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev leaves the country for neighbouring Kazakhstan apparently under a deal with the new interim government.  

Friday

London: Britain's first ever US style pre-election live television showdown has thrown a surprise winner, Nick Clegg leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats who many had written off, before the three contenders hit the airwaves.  

United Nations: The death of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto could have been prevented, according to an UN-appointed independent panel, which slammed the Musharraf government for "failure" to protect her.  

Beijing: The death toll crossed the 1000- mark in China's quake-hit Qinghai province, where rescuers raced against time to save hundreds of people buried under the rubble, three days after the 7.1 magnitude temblor flattened the remote northwestern region.