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Thousands take holy dip in Ganga

          Haridwar, Apr 14: Thousands of devotees took dip in the holy rivers and visited temples on Monday on the occasion of the Hindu new year. In Haridwar, thousands of devotees performed prayers and bathed in the holy Ganga to cleanse and purify their souls. "It is a big day for Hindus. We all come here and take a holy dip and pray to goddess Ganga," said Jagdish, a devotee from Gujarat, who travelled all the way just to be a part of the auspicious occasion. About 1.3 million people took the holy dip. Legends say the Ganga has flown from the heaven to the earth to wash away the worldly sins of mankind. Meanwhile, in Chennai and elsewhere, devotees thronged temples to make offerings of flowers, fruits and sweetmeats.

Saddam's hometown too falls

          Baghdad, Apr 14: American troops on Monday seized control of the centre of the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, the hometown of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Backed by helicopters and war planes, US marines and armoured vehicles took up positions on a central square in what was the last Iraqi city controlled by the former regime. A BBC correspondent in Tikrit said that contrary to predictions there was no dramatic last stand by Iraqi forces. The city looked quiet, with shops boarded up and streets deserted. A military spokesman at US Central Command in Qatar stressed that while the fall of Tikrit would not signify the end of the campaign, its capture would be an important stage in bringing an end to the military phase of the war. The troops moved into position after patchy resistance from supporters of Saddam Hussein, in which 20 Iraqis were killed.

Russia shared intelligence with Iraq: Report (Go To Top)

          London, Apr 14: Russia provided Saddam Hussein's regime with wide-ranging intelligence in the run-up to the war against Iraq, according to the Sunday Telegraph. The paper has cited what it says were secret files found in Baghdad. The documents showed that Moscow provided Baghdad with lists of assassins available for "hits" in the West, details of arms deals with neighbouring countries, and intelligence on private conversations between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other Western leaders, the Telegraph said.

           Iraq and Russia also signed agreements to share intelligence, help each other to "obtain" visas for agents, and to exchange information on the activities of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, the newspaper reported. The documents, which revealed the extent of links between Russia and Saddam, were obtained from the heavily bombed headquarters of the Iraqi intelligence service in Baghdad on Saturday. The files, in Arabic, were mostly intelligence reports from anonymous agents and from the Iraqi embassy in Moscow.

           Meanwhile, the Mail on Sunday reported that "Russian sources" had said that Saddam had been smuggled out of Baghdad in a convoy to Syria led by the Russian ambassador and bombed unsuccessfully by the US last Sunday. Quoting "senior military sources", the tabloid also reported that Moscow envoys held a series of meetings with Saddam before war broke out on March 20 in which the Iraqi president tried to arrange safe passage for himself, his family and for secret files out of Iraq.

Rise in Bush's popularity at home as Baghdad falls (Go To Top)

          Washington, Apr 14: With the capture of Baghdad, the popularity of President George Bush has increased in his own country despite the massive world-wide protest against the Gulf war. A new Newsweek poll reveals that his popularity rating is at 71 per cent in America, 18 percentage points higher than the 53 per cent approval rating he had on the eve of the attack. However, the boost that almost all wartime leaders enjoy from military victories fell far short of the 91 per cent approval rating that President Bush's father enjoyed at the end of the 1991 Gulf War, according to a report in the Independent.

Aga Khan calls on Kalam and Vajpayee (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Apr 14: Spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, the Aga Khan, on Monday called on President APJ Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. During his five-day stay in New Delhi, Aga Khan will be meeting several other government leaders to discuss the broadening framework of activities being undertaken by the Aga Khan Development Network in the country. Founded in 1967, the Aga Khan Foundation is the principal grant- making agency for social development within the Shia Ismaili Imamat. The Aga Khan is its founder and chairman. With a small staff, a host of cooperating agencies and thousands of volunteers, the Aga Khan Foundation reaches out to vulnerable populations on four continents, irrespective of their race, religion, political persuasion or gender. In 1999, it funded 120 projects in 13 countries and spent 88.9 million dollars. The Aga Khan will leave for Afghanistan on Friday.

Mayawati registers 137 cases against Mulayam (Go To Top)

          Lucknow, Apr 14: UP Chief Minister Mayawati hit back at Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav registering 137 cases against him as the Chief Minister launched a frontal attack on him at a rally here. The Bahujan Samaj Party had filed an FIR against Yadav and two SP leaders Amar Singh and Azam Khan here for "fraudulently" shooting an in-house party meeting in February 2001 in Ambedkarnagar district and using it for "political gains", Mayawati told her party's "pardafaash" rally.

           Separate FIRs had been filed in 40 districts in connection with 136 different cases of "misuse" of the discretionary fund, she said. The Chief Minister said the government had also ordered an inquiry into the "misuse" of the discretionary fund by former Governor and senior Congress leader Motilal Vora who, she alleged, distributed around Rs 180 million during his brief stint in Raj Bhawan.

Ravi, Pillai win RS contests in Kerala (Go To Top)

          Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 14: In a major setback to senior Congress leader K Karunakaran, his faction's nominee Kodoth Govindan Nair was humbled by AICC-approved candidates Vayalar Ravi and Thennala Balakrishna Pillai in the Rajya Sabha elections held on Monday. The LDF candidate K Chandran Pillai (CPI-M) also got elected to fill the three RS vacancies from Kerala. The fight for RS berths which turned out to be a head-on confrontation with Karunakaran and the high command virtually resulted in a grand victory for Chief Minister A K Antony who had firmly stood by the central leadership all through the crisis.

Togadia arrested for distributing tridents (Go To Top)

          Ajmer, Apr 14: Praveen Togadia, firebrand leader of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, was arrested here on Sunday under the Arms Act for distributing 'trishuls' (tridents) in the region. Earlier this week, the Rajasthan government had banned distribution, possession and carrying of tridents in the region except at religious places. Defying the ban, Togadia distributed them to nearly 3,000 activists at a function in the city amid chanting of hymns and slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram'.

           VHP activists also took out a procession through the streets culminating at the ground where the function was to be held. Police allowed the ceremony to take place to defuse the surcharged atmosphere and Togadia was arrested thereafter. In a scathing attack, Togadia accused the main opposition Congress-led state government of suppressing Hindu religious functions and favouring minority Muslims ahead of elections later this year.

          VHP has called for a statewide shutdown on Tuesday.

Sikhs celebrate Baisakhi with usual fervour (Go To Top)

          Amritsar, Apr 14: The Sikhs in India celebrated the annual spring harvest festival of Baisakhi on Monday. In Punjab, farmers dressed in colourful attires danced to 'Bhangra' beats near their fields and visited gurdwaras for prayers. But for some farmers in Amritsar district bordering Pakistan, the festivities were dampened as their fields could not be tilled due to landmines planted by the Indian army during mobilization at the height of tensions with Pakistan last year.

           "Farmers whose lands are not affected (by mines) and are lush golden, are happy and can celebrate. And the lands where mines have been laid, it is difficult for those farmers to celebrate," said a farmer. Every year in the holy town of Amritsar, endless queue of devotees wait patiently to pay respects at their most sacred shrine, the Golden Temple.

           In New Delhi, hundreds of devotees visited Bangla Saheb, Sisganj and Rakabganj gurdwaras. After the initial prayers, they thronged the holy pond for a dip meant to cleanse and purify their souls.

           Baisakhi holds special significance for the Sikhs since this day also marks the birth anniversary of the 'Khalsa Panth' or the Sikh order. The panth was established in 1699 by the tenth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh, on Baisakhi day. "On this day Sikh order was established. Guru Gobind Singh laid the foundation of the Sikh order on this day," said a devotee. On April 13, 1699, Guru Gobind Singh, the warrior Guru, baptised the first five followers at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab at a gathering of 80,000 Hindus who were terrorised by Emperor Aurangzeb, who was on a conversion spree. The Sikh religion was founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539) who was succeeded by nine other prophets, with Guru Gobind Singh (1666- 1708) being the last.

Truckers launch nationwide strike (Go To Top)

          Mumbai/New Delhi, Apr 14: Indian truckers began a nationwide strike on Monday to demand stable fuel prices and fewer levies, among other things, threatening to cripple the country's delivery network. The indefinite protest was called by the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), the largest truckers' union with 2.7 million vehicles, and was also being observed by affiliated unions, an AIMTC official said.

           The demands include calls for an end to frequent hikes in diesel prices, immunity from a planned value added tax, repeal of an order to scrap 15-year-old trucks and the fixing of minimum freight rates.