Labour sweeps general election in Australia

Promising a major policy change on Iraq and climate issues, the Labour party today swept to power in Australia, beating the coalition led by conservative Prime Minister John Howard, which had ruled the country for 11 years.

“A few minutes ago I telephoned Rudd and congratulated him and the Australian Labour Party on a very emphatic victory,” Howard said in a nationally televised concession speech.

:”I accept full responsibility for the Liberal party campaign, and I therefore accept full responsibility for the coalition’s defeat in this election campaign the leader said.

Voters turned to Labour party leader Kevin Rudd’s pitch of fresh leadership and new ideas over Howard’s record of economic management and unprecedented years of growth under his government.

The historic victory has put Rudd into the company of Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke as Labour’s only modern leaders to take government from opposition.

Exit polls has consistently put the Labour party ahead since Rudd took the reins from Kim Beazley last December.

US plan to restructure aid to Pak

The Bush administration is in the final stages of a plan to restructure assistance to Pakistan in the face of intense pressure from several quarters to cut aid to the country following imposition of emergency, officials said here.
The plan is also looking at ways in which the assistance to Pakistan is further controlled or made subject to additional oversight, without actually reducing the aid, media reports said. Ever since Musharraf clamped emergency, the administration has been saying that its aid package is under tight scrutiny but at the same time senor officials have been emphasizing on the importance of Islamabad and Musharraf in the US-led war on terror.