Dulmatin aka Joko Pitoyo is dead. Indonesia terrorist Dulmatin has been shot dead, his death awaiting identity confirmation.

Dulmatin aka Joko Pitoyo was a senior member of Jemaah Islamiya tied to al Qaeda. He is credited for the 2002 Bali bombings and was a top U.S. wanted terrorist. That bombing took the lives of 202 people.

DNA testing will confirm if it was Dulmatin. President Obama is expected in the region within days. A formal U.S. State Department press conference is expected later today.

• Comments (0)

WINNER SPOILER! - Who won Rahul Mahajan? Rahul Ka Swayamwar’s winners are down to Dimpy, Harpreet and Nikunj.

Rahul Ka Swayamwar is the reality dating show everyone in talking about, just not in the U.S. It airs on NDTV and within moments we will learn the winner. Is it Nikunj Malik, 25, Dimpy Ganguly, 21 or Harpreet Chhabra, 21?

* SPOILER ALERT*

Online spoilers say the winner is Dimpy Ganguly. After 84 days, a meeting with families and friends and constant dating attempts, Rahul is expected to pick Dimpy.

And the honeymoon? Off to Maldives from March 9th to March 30th is where Rahul and his winner are heading.

• Comments (1)

A crater at Chicxulub and its impact on the end Cretaceousa are the subject of a new study. The Cretaceous crater is revisited in a new report published Friday with funding in part from the National Science Foundation.

Did a space rock’s crashing into the earth cause the Chicxulub crater 65 million years ago?

Yes, says the new study.

“We felt it important to present the wealth of data now available about the remarkable and exact correlation between the impact in the Yucatan and the extinction event at the K-Pg boundary,” says geophysicist Sean Gulick.

Marine geologist Tim Bralower writes:

“The impact event triggered tsunami many times the size of the wave that hit the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26, 2004. These waves caused massive destruction on the sea floor, with the multiple sediment layers representing the deposition of impact-derived material, mixed with sand and silt, by waves and currents over periods of days after the impact. As the energy levels gradually decreased, the materials settling down gradually became finer.”

Greg Ravizza adds:

“Reports of multiple horizons with elevated iridium concentrations fairly close to the Chicxulub crater have led to a lot of confusion, and suggestions of multiple impacts. A key point that cannot be ignored is that data from several sites far away from the Chicxulub crater provide no evidence of multiple large impacts. This observation lends very strong support to the careful stratigraphic synthesis in our paper demonstrating the very complex, and frequently disturbed, character of the sections closest to the Chicxulub crater.”

Another adds:

“The precise correlation of this huge impact crater with a worldwide layer of impact debris–one that lies directly above the extinction level of both marine and land animals and plants–is one of the most phenomenal discoveries in Earth history. The science is complex, but the story is simple: a single asteroid impact caused global extinctions at the K-Pg boundary.”

• Comments (3)

VIDEO! Does that video feature Nityananda Swami and Ranjita? A video allegedly of Nityananda Swami and Ranjita is the latest alleged video tape scandal to hit international press.

Here is the latest.

Tamil actress Ranjitha reportedly hasn’t commented on a video tape scandal that began days ago. The video allegedly depicts Swami Paramahamsa Nithyananda.

Reports claim that people have taken to the streets to burn effigies in reaction to the news.

And what is Nityananda’s response? His rep says he will speak to press “when required” and is not in hiding. Excerpts of the tape have reportedly aired on Tamil television. His rep also denies the controversy.

Swami Athmakrubananda reportedly tells press: “Images have been morphed to show that the person in the video is Swami Nityananda. He has not done anything wrong”.

Home Minster V S Acharya reportedly says of the matter: “After receiving the information from Tamil Nadu where his main Ashram is located, we will do the needful” .

• Comments (6)

The junta that took Niger by coup is now calling for new elections and a new constitution. The Niger coup junta wants elections and a new constitution to restore democracy to the country. And it’s the support of the people that the military is getting.

After LALATE broke to you last week that Salou Djibo’s junta successful took control of Niger, people have been reportedly flooding the streets in support of the army’s request for a new election.

Last week LALATE broke that the Niger coup had put junta leader Salou Djibo of the “Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy” in charged of the country, adding that it wanted Niger to become “an example of democracy and of good governance.”

That remark has gotten support. Seized Niger President Tandja brought this upon himself  by “trying to extend his mandate in office” remarks U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

Colonel Djibril Hamidou Hima of the junta says:

“If you want proof, in 1999 we had a similar situation and we handed back power and we had 10 years of stability. We are going to do the same thing.”

Tandja is now under house arrest in a villa in Niamey also with his prime minister, interior minister and finance minister.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas, president of the ECOWAS Commission, tells press:

“They have assured us there will be an opening for everyone here in Niger, for an inter-Nigerien dialogue.

“It is this process that will lead to a new constitution and credible elections. They said they want a short transition that ends as soon as possible, but it is also the political dialogue that will define the timetable.”

Tanja has ruled for over a decade. He’s currently 71. But recently in August 2009 a new rule change allowed him to continue his term longer than normally permitted. Tanja closed down the parliament and the constitutional court.

The country rich in uranium is in West Africa.

The coup began on Thursday as broke by LALATE. Then a senior presidential official for Tandja said “All I can say is that it would appear that Tandja is not in a good position”. Tandja was thereafter taken into custody along with ministers and removed from the Presidential palace.

• Comments (0)

Salou Djibo is the new “leader” of Niger following the coup. The Niger coup has put junta leader Salou Djibo of the “Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy” in charged of the country, the junta announced on TV this morning.

The junta says they want this coup to turn Niger into “an example of democracy and of good governance.”

What’s the U.S.’s response? U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says Niger President Tandja may have brought this upon himself by “trying to extend his mandate in office.”

Tanja has ruled for over a decade. He’s currently 71. But recently in August 2009 a new rule change allowed him to continue his term longer than normally permitted. Tanja closed down the parliament and the constitutional court.

The country rich in uranium is in West Africa.

The coup began on Thursday as broke by LALATE. Then a senior presidential official for Tandja said “All I can say is that it would appear that Tandja is not in a good position”. Tandja was thereafter taken into custody along with ministers and removed from the Presidential palace.

• Comments (0)

HOSTAGE! The Niger coup has taken the President HOSTAGE! The Niger Coup has taken hostage President Mamadou Tandja and his minsters!

The Niger Coup broke earlier on LALATE was described as serious. Now the President has been removed from his palace and taken to a secret hostage location.

THIS IS AN LALATE BREAKING REPORT.

President Mamadou Tandja, 71, has been taken from his Presidential palace after a successful coup stormed in this morning. Tandja is expected to announce his resignation believe insiders.

A source tells Al Jazeera moments ago:

“The rebels have taken the president to a certain place, pending he submits his resignation.

“That’s why the rebels have not announced yet on national television or radio the coup. They want the president to resign by himself from the position.

“Armed soldiers are now controlling the presidential palace and they also took government ministers when they took the president.”

Tanja has ruled for over a decade. He’s currently 71. But recently in August 2009 a new rule change allowed him to continue his term longer than normally permitted. Tanja closed down the parliament and the constitutional court.

The country rich in uranium is in West Africa.