New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) A day ahead of the crucial meeting of pre-poll UPA allies, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi amid speculation that the DMK is eyeing meaty cabinet portfolios.

Karunanidhi was accompanied by his son M.K. Azhagiri, daughter Kanimozhi, grandnephew Dayanidhi Maran, a former telecommunications minister, and T.R. Baalu, also a former minister in the UPA government.

Sydney, May 19 (IANS) Australian cricket selectors will announce the Ashes squad

at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) here Wednesday.

Thiruvananthapuram, May 19 (IANS) Leading private carrier Jet Airways Tuesday announced a slew of benefits to students flying abroad, effective from May 26.

The airline said in a statement that it assured benefits of more than Rs.11,000, including excess baggage allowance between 40-60 kg for students flying with Jet to the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Britain, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Colombo, May 19 (IANS) The Sri Lankan government Tuesday displayed the battered body of Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, shortly after the rebels claimed he was still alive, while President Mahinda Rajapaksa formally announced the end of the dragging ethnic conflict and offered a political settlement acceptable to all communities.

Even as Tamils angered by Prabhakaran’s dramatic death protested in Tamil Nadu and some Western capitals, Sri Lankan authorities scotched rumours that the elusive rebel may have escaped by showing his body. It was found near a lagoon in the island’s north where he was apparently holed up when the pursuing military zeroed in on him.

Durban, May 19 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals will look to turn the tide in their favour when they take on a revived Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match at the Kingsmead here Wednesday.

Rajasthan, with their 14-run loss to Delhi Daredevils, are at the fifth position with 13 points from 13 matches and must win here to keep themselves in hunt for a semi-final berth. Kolkata, who won their first match Monday, against Chennai Super Kings, after nine straight losses, are already out of the competition but can spoil the party of other contenders.

Mexico City, May 19 (EFE) The police have found severed heads of three men inside a cooler on a roadside in southern Mexico.

The grisly find was made near a tollbooth in the Union de Isidoro Montes de Oca city, the Guerrero state Public Safety Secretariat said in a statement Monday.

Ahmedabad, May 19 (IANS) A local court Tuesday granted bail to former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani, who has been charged with abetting mobs in the Naroda Gam and Naroda Patia localities of Ahmedabad in the 2002 riots in the state.

Mitesh Amin, counsel for the former women’s welfare and higher education minister, told IANS that the Ahmedabad city sessions court has granted bail to Kodnani in the Naroda Gam case while in the Naroda Patia case, the bail hearing would continue.

Durban, May 19 (IANS) Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab will fight for a semifinal spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here Wednesday.

Super Kings lost their last match to bottom-placed Kolkata Knight Riders which left them on 15 points and requiring a victory in their last league match to make the semifinal cut.