New Delhi - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday expressed deep shock and sorrow over the bomb attack in Islamabad in a letter to his Pakistan counterpart Yousef Raza Gilani.

Singh said India strongly condemned the act of terrorism and said the attacks were a grim reminder of the challenges posed by "destructive forces" which had pitted themselves against the values of democracy, pluralism and the voices of moderation.

New Delhi, Sept 21 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will leave on a ten-day visit to the United States and France on Monday. During the visit the Prime Minister will address the UN General Assembly on September 26.

According to sources, the Prime Minister will take up the expansion and reforms in the UN Security Council so that the world body reflects the current global realities.

He is also expected to take up the issues of global food crises, combating terrorism, promoting disarmament and global economy with world leaders on the side lines of the UN General Assembly. 

Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh asked for all preventive measures to deal with the global financial crisis in US. He said that the Indian domestic banks are almost insulated to the global financial crisis and we don’t need to worry much. He was addressing the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in New Delhi. He asked his ministerial colleagues to stay alert on the global financial situation. 

Finance minister, P Chidambaram explained the global crisis in US in detail. 

New Delhi, Sept 20 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh chaired a meeting of the Planning Commission today to discuss a draft Integrated Energy Policy document.

Describing that energy is a crucial input in development and growth of the country, Dr. Singh said: “With very large energy requirement, we are likely to be increasingly import-dependent. This makes us vulnerable to uncertainty of international prices and also reliability of supplies.”

New Delhi, Sept 20: Armed with a permit for global nuclear trade, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will leave next week for the United States and France hoping to seal atomic energy deals and discuss cooperation in defence and counter-terrorism.

Dr. Singh will fly out on Monday for what will be India''s first top-level diplomatic engagement since a global nuclear cartel allowed it access to nuclear fuel and technology, overturning a 34-year-long ban for testing nuclear devices.

New Delhi, Sept 20: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will convene a meeting of all members of the Planning Commission here today to discuss the integrated energy policy and take stock of the country''s nuclear energy programme.

The meeting comes ahead of Dr. Singh’s U. S. visit, to which he will leave on Monday to attend the meeting of the 63rd session of UN General Assembly in New York.