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GCC seeks transfer of power to Iraqis

          Kuwait City, Apr 8: Gulf Cooperation Council on Tuesday sought transfer of power to the people of Iraq in the post-Saddam period. In a joint statement, the GCC also called for regional integrity of Iraq and a key role for the United Nations in the future Iraqi set-up.

US says Saddam, sons may have been killed

          Washington, Apr 8: US warplanes struck a building in Baghdad where intelligence information led them to believe that Iraqi leaders, including Saddam Hussein and his sons, were staying, a US official said Monday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, could not say whether the Iraqi leaders were killed in the attack. Earlier, the US television news channel MSNBC reported that US officials believed that Saddam and his two sons may have been killed in an airstrike on Monday on Baghdad, according to MSNBC.

           US administration officials told the channel that reliable intelligence information from a source on the ground had provided details on the location of a meeting of top Iraqi leaders. Saddam and his two sons were among those at the meeting, prompting US officials to order the building bombed, MSNBC said. Defence officials could not confirm the report. "There was an emerging leadership target bombed during the day," the officials said, without identifying the bombs used. "We have been doing that throughout the war, going after any kind of leadership target, whether regime or military leadership," the official said. But, according to Saddam Hussein's former protocol officer Hashim Rashid, the Iraqi President fled Baghdad and was now hiding in Tukrit.

US attacks key Baghdad sites (Go To Top)

          Baghdad, Apr 8: US forces on Tuesday launched an all-out assault on key government buildings in the heart of Baghdad, a day after raiding Saddam Hussein's main palace in the centre of the city. They were trading machine-gun, rocket and mortar fire with Iraqi forces since before dawn around the palace compound.

           Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf remained defiant, telling reporters that Iraq was going to "tackle and destroy" the invaders. "They are going to surrender or be burned in their tanks," he said.

           As the battle raged, US President George W Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair reaffirmed their commitment to allowing Iraqis to govern their country after the war ends.

Coalition forces take control of atomic energy sites in Iraq (Go To Top)

          Baghdad, Apr 8: The coalition forces on Tuesday took control of atomic energy sites in Iraq amid explosions and machine gun fire in Baghdad, a report said. The machine gun fire was coming from the direction of a presidential palace, according to a correspondent for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation. US forces took over at least two of Saddam's palaces in Baghdad on Monday, sending a message, in the words of a top US general, that Saddam's regime "is gone."

Parliament deplores US-led war on Iraq (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Apr 8: Parliament on Tuesday agreed on a resolution deploring US-led war on Iraq and demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of coalition forces. "This House deplores the attack by the coalition forces led by United States against sovereign Iraq", the resolution said "expressing national sentiments." "Change of regime in Iraq through military action is unacceptable," the resolution said.

           Meanwhile, the Congress Party welcomed the resolution but said the federal government should have condemned the attacks instead of deploring it.

SARS suspect in Mumbai hospital (Go To Top)

          Mumbai, Apr. 8: An American woman, initially suspected of being the first case of SARS in India, is believed to be suffering from a throat infection rather than the deadly flu-like virus, her doctor said on Tuesday. Rebecca Raleigh, 23, was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai on Monday on suspicion of suffering from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, triggering nation-wide alarm. She was travelling with a friend when she landed in New Delhi earlier this month before flying alone to Mumbai. She had previously been to China, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Dr Subhash Salunke, Director-General of Health Services, Maharashtra, said Raleigh was responding to treatment.

           "She is isolated, we are taking care, following the guidelines of World Health Organisation (WHO) with all barrier- nursing and all necessary precaution to be taken. She is responding to the line of treatment that we have started. Very senior professors of medicine and also that of respiratory diseases from KEM hospital are managing this case. They are treating her. She is on antibiotics and also on anti-viral drugs with the supportive ibu-fluid therapy and other treatment whatever is required. Her fever has come down, her cough has come down. She is much confortable and she looks to me definitely in a better state of mental health," Salunke said.

SARS hits economy: Singapore PM (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Apr 8: Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said here on Tuesday that the deadly flu-like disease severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) could reduce economic growth in China, Hong Kong and Singapore by at least one percent. "It is very bad. First air travel has come down. Then, the hospitality industry has been affected. As to the multiplier effect, we have got to work it out. What percentage will it affect the growth in Asia at this stage we don't know. But my guess it's anywhere between half percent to one percent for the economy of China, Singapore, Hong Kong and others who are affected," Goh said when asked about the impact of the epidemic that has claimed more than 100 lives around the world.

           More than nine people have died and at least 40 people are affected by the deadly virus in Singapore, which has the fourth highest number of SARS cases in the world. Goh cancelled on Sunday a trip to China because of the virus, which emerged in Guandong province in November. He will stay in New Delhi for three days. Goh said the purpose of his visit was to improve relations between the two nations.

Rolling Stones sweeps Mumbai off its feet (Go To Top)

          Mumbai, Apr 8: The Rolling Stones presented their second and final show here on Monday in the jam-packed Brabourne stadium. The heat was oppressive. Mike Jagger teased, cajoled, aroused and sang to an audience of 20,000 fans who had come from various parts of the country. The band got tremendous response from the film-crazy crowd of the city. For most of the die-hard admirers, it was a dream come true.

           "I, am a fan of Mick Jagger. So well it's the same thing ... I think its a nice thing because we need different kinds of music happening. Because you cannot have that same kind of old music - pop and things like that. Rock I think is something very old and it has come back, it's nice. I see a lot of young people listening to it which is a nice revolution I guess," said an ecstatic Rolling Stones fan.

           Government restrictions and a weak economy kept major rock groups inaccessible to Indians in the 1960s and 1970s, when the Stones were in their prime. Their Asian tour had to be cut short with cancellation of shows in Hong Kong and China, following a health scare due the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that has so far killed 100 people worldwide, mainly in Asia. Both Indian shows were advanced by a week as a result of the mystery pneumonia virus. The group's first Indian concert was staged on Friday in Bangalore. The Stones will perform in Bangkok on April 10, two days earlier than planned.

INSAT-3A to be launched today (Go To Top)

          Bangalore, Apr 8: The INSAT-3A, India's first multipurpose satellite, will be launched from Kourou in French Guyana early on Wednesday. Late on Monday night, the launcher, Ariane-5, complete with its dual payload of the INSAT-3A and Galaxy XII of the US, emerged from the spaceport's final assembly building. According to Indian Space Research Organisation, which designed and built the 2,958 kg INSAT-3A, the launch window for the 160th flight of Ariane, carrying the spacecraft and its co-passenger Galaxy XII, is fixed between 4.19 am and 5.00 am (IST). It will be telecast live by Doordarshan (DD-1) from 3.59 am.

          The INSAT-3A will provide telecommunication, television broadcasting, meteorology and satellite-aided search and rescue services. It carries 12 C-band, six upper extended C-band, six KU-band and one search and rescue transponders. The final countdown will begin 11-and-a-half hours before the launch window opens.

Five shot dead by NLFT militants (Go To Top)

          Agartala, Apr 8: The banned NLFT militants shot dead five people, including two women and a teenaged boy, and injured eight others seriously at Gandacherra village in Tripura's Dhalai district late Monday night. Police said here Tuesday the NLFT militants swooped down on a tribal wedding function. The injured were shifted to a local hospital where two of them died. The militants fled before the security forces could reach the spot which is about 170 km from here. A massive combing operation has been launched to nab the militants. This is the fourth major militant attack this year.

First Tuesday for Hindus in Bhojshala (Go To Top)

          Dhar, Apr 8: The gates of the Bhojshala shrine were thrown open to Hindu devotees on Tuesday morning as per the order of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). According to Dhar District Collector Sanjay Dubey, about 600 people, some of whom were beating drums, entered the shrine at 9 am., two hours ahead of schedule. There was no tension in the area. The ASI had on Monday sent orders to the Madhya Pradesh government to keep the Bhojshala open for Hindus for the whole day each Tuesday. A spokesman of the local Hindu Jagran Manch announced that the day would be observed as Diwali in the city.

           Meanwhile, Chief Minister Digvijay Singh said that the ASI's decision to send direct orders to the state government on the opening of the Bhojshala only vindicated his stand. "I had all along maintained that innstead of writing a letter to me, the Centre or the ASI should give direct orders on the openiong of the Bhojshala", Singh told reporters.