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Demonstrators serve 'quit Iraq' notice to US Baghdad, Apr 18: The war being practically over, the US is now an unwelcome guest in Iraq. After the prayers on Friday, thousands of people poured into the streets and demanded that America should now get out of their country. They want a new Islamic government to be installed. The protests on the Muslim holy day came as regional states met in Saudi Arabia to discuss a response to the Iraq war. Meanwhile, US Central Command in Qatar said Iraqi Kurds had captured and handed over Samir Abul Aziz al-Najim, a senior Baghdad official of Saddam's Baa'th Party, near Mosul in northern Iraq. He was the fourth person to be detained from a US list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis. In the first Friday prayers since American tanks drove to the heart of Baghdad last week, a Muslim preacher said the US had invaded to defend Israel and denied that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. No prayers were held last Friday. The followers of the preacher, Ahmed al-Kubaisi, carried Korans and waved banners that read "No to America. No to Secular State. Yes to Islamic State". One banner read: "Leave our country, we want peace." Syria not to permit arms inspections on its soil Nicosia, Apr 18: Syria will not allow arms inspections on its soil but would join forces with the world to rid the whole Middle East of weapons of mass destruction, in line with its proposal to the United Nations. The refusal comes amid reports that Secretary of State Colin Powell may travel to Damascus for talks on defusing tensions between the two countries on US accusations that Syria has been developing chemical weapons, reports the News. Asked by reporters in Cairo on Thursday whether Syria would allow inspections, Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara said: "No. After the Syrian proposal (at the United Nations), Syria won't allow any inspection. It will only participate with its (Arab) brothers and all of the states of the world in turning the Middle East into an area free of WMDs." Iraq reconstruction contract for Bechtel (Go To Top) Washington, Apr 18: The US administration has awarded a contract worth up to 680 million dollars to Bechtel group to help in the reconstruction of war-scarred Iraq, said a press report on Friday. The initial award was worth 34.6 million dollars, but it also provided for funding of up to 680 million dollars over 18 months, subject to Congressional approval, the US Agency for International Development said. Bechtel, based in San Francisco, was given the job of emergency infrastructure repair and rehabilitation. It required the firm to assess and repair power generation facilities, electrical grids, municipal water systems and sewage systems. Dialogue vital for Kashmir, not bullets: Vajpayee (Go To Top) Srinagar, Apr 18: The Indian Prime Minister on Friday called for talks with Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue. Speaking from behind bullet-proof glass and amid tight security, Atal Behari Vajpayee told a cheering crowd of about 10,000, mostly supporters of the state government brought in from villages, that violence was no answer. "All issues should be settled through talks," he said in a brief speech that appeared conciliatory to both Pakistan and Kashmiri groups in the first public address by an Indian premier in the Kashmir Valley in more than 15 years. "We are ready...(to discuss) both internal and external problems. Guns will not solve the problem but brotherhood will. It can take a little time, but we will have to wait. This is at least better than the bloodshed which has been going on in the Valley since a decade," Vajpayee said, adding it was now up to Pakistan to respond. India has said it will talk with Pakistan only after Islamabad ends support for Muslim militants active in Kashmir. As hundreds of heavily armed police and soldiers in battle gear guarded the Sher-i-Kashmir (Lion of Kashmir) stadium where Vajpayee spoke, many supporters in the audience shouted in Urdu: "We want peace with dignity". 5th day of truckers' strike, medicine supply too to be hit (Go To Top) New Delhi, Apr 18: A nationwide strike by the truckers entered the fifth day on Friday, threatening supply of essential goods and drugs across the country. Ports around the country have virtually come to a standstill. Along with the surge in prices of fruits and vegetables, consumers have started feeling the pinch as supply of even essentials like petrol and medicines have been severely affected due to the strike. However, transporters in New Delhi said the major impact of the strike was only on the long routes. "There is no impact on local business which is going on as usual. The only impact is seen on the long routes. The trucks are not ferrying the goods on long routes owing to the strike. As far as the losses are concerned, it's just that the goods are not coming and we are suffering losses," said Ram Sharan, a transporter. The All India Motor Transport Congress claims that about three million commercial vehicles are off the roads. According to truckers, more than 2.7 million trucks were losing business worth 15 billion rupees a day. The truckers' demands include putting an end to frequent hike in diesel prices, non-inclusion in the proposed Value Added Tax and repeal of an order to scrap 15-year-old trucks, among others. India's first Sars victim discharged from hospital (Go To Top) Mumbai, Apr 18: The Indian national, who was confirmed as suffering from the country's first case of Sars, was discharged from a Goa hospital on Friday after he was found free of symptoms, a government official said. The 32-year-old marine engineer had been hospitalised as tests confirmed the presence of the virus causing Sars or severe acute respiratory syndrome. In Panaji, Goa's capital Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that health officials have confirmed that the man was totally cured. The engineer, who was kept in isolation, arrived in Goa on April 1 after visiting Singapore and Hong Kong and stopping over briefly in Mumbai. He developed fever on April 9 and entered hospital the next day. He was discharged on April 12 but was asked to remain in isolation. He was asked to return to hospital after medical officials received the test results. Joint Director of National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) SK Gupta said that the man was absolutely cured of the disease, according to WHO's criteria. "As far as the case is concerened, he is totally a cured person. He is absolutely healthy at the moment as per the WHO (World Health Organisation) criteria and Ministry of Health criteria. He doesn't need confinement in the hospital and another thing is that discharge is not dependent on the lab report because the WHO says the criteria for discharge is not based on the laboratory report. That report is just an additional criteria for confirmation of the diagnosis," Gupta said. The flu-like virus, believed to have originated in southern China, has been carried by travellers to 23 nations, infecting more than 3,400 people and killing about 160 worldwide. Jailed ex-deputy PM of Malaysia loses appeal (Go To Top) Kuala Lumpur, Apr 18: Former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, has lost his appeal against a conviction for sodomy, according to the News. Anwar was heir-apparent to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad when he was convicted in 1999 of corruption - abusing his powers to cover up allegations of sexual misconduct - and in 2000 of sodomy. He is concurrently serving jail terms of six and nine years for the two charges. Both the Court of Appeals and the higher Federal Court had earlier dismissed another appeal against the corruption conviction.
`Bend It Like Beckham' is a surprise hit in US (Go To Top) Washington, Apr 18: After conquering box office charts across the globe, `Bend It Like Beckham' has now become a surprise hit in the United States. According to movie analysts, the British soccer comedy, which has already made 2.7 million dollars since its release a few weeks ago, could become a major sleeper hit, like the 2002 comedy `My Big Fat Greek Wedding,' which did a business of 225 million dollars. Although soccer is not a very popular sport in the US, the film's success could be attributed to some generous reviews. Time magazine called it the "brightest, funniest and most refreshing" film of the year, and Entertainment Weekly described it as "funny, buoyant and exhilarating." "It's soccer, it's girls, and it's got English accents. Conventionally, any of them would be a challenge. But the movie delivers," Nancy Utley, spokeswoman for Fox Searchlight, the film's distributors in the US, was quoted as saying by Teenhollywood.com. Reports of my marriage in trouble are "absurd:" Madonna (Go To Top) Washington, Apr 18: Madonna has finally put to rest rumours about her marriage being in trouble, calling them "absurd." "I'm a very passionate person, and when you really love someone, the sex and love is going to be great," the 44-year-old Queen of Pop was quoted as saying by People magazine. However, she did admit that her marriage to 34-year old British film director, Guy Ritchie, had proved very different to how both had expected when they tied the knot two years ago. "Guy and I have done a lot of growing up in the last few years and we understand that marriage is about having shared goals. We have things we each want to do, but we're clear that the partnership comes first," said the US pop diva. Madonna, a mother of two, also dismissed reports that she was pregnant but did acknowledge that she would like to have more children. Meanwhile, the first video from her new album 'American Life' will be out on Tuesday. Record opening for "X-Men 2" planned (Go To Top) Washington, Apr 18: Come April 30, and 'X-Men 2' (or X-2), the sequel of the hit movie 'X-Men,' is all set to break records for the most rapid opening across the world. The movie, starring Hugh Jackman, Oscar-winner Halle Berry, Anna Pacquin and others, will be seen in 93 countries within three days. "X-Men 2 just has that sense of being a worldwide event. The first one was a success for us and this one is even better. But you also got a market that's savvy and people are talking to each other online, so there's a risk of people doing spoilers online. We think this will be one of the most sought after titles for the pirates and this is one way of combating it," Scott Neeson, a spokesman for Fox, the film's distributors, was quoted as saying by Teenhollywood.com. Filmdom beckons Kylie's former lover (Go To Top) London, Apr 18: James Gooding, the former lover of Aussie pop princess Kylie Minogue, is all set to enter filmdom. In fact, the 27-year-old British model has just auditioned for the role of Lancelot, the legendary knight, in a movie called 'King Arthur.' "Playing a swordsman really appeals to James - it mimics his real-life antics. He is currently doing some TV work but obviously if a film role came about he would jump at the chance," a friend was quoted as saying by the Sun. The 70-million-pound movie will begin shooting in Ireland later this year. 'Jurassic Park' author's strange divorce deal with wife (Go To Top) London, Apr 18: Michael Crichton, the multimillionaire writer who created the scary tale of dinosaurs running amok in 'Jurassic Park', has given his wife 20 million pounds as a divorce deal. Oddly enough, he wanted only two old carpets and a pair of Ford pick-ups for himself. His wife Anne-Marie filed for divorce after 13 years of marriage citing irreconcilable differences. The court papers show the 59-year-old writer agreed to give her a 31 million dollar pay-off. She also got their huge New York estate, a fleet of vehicles, 20 horses and a fine art collection, according to a report in the Sun. In return, Crichton kept their home in Hawaii and protected his "celebrity status" by securing all the entertainment rights to his books, films and TV work, apart from his odd requests. However, the couple agreed to share custody of their 14-year-old daughter Taylor for six months at a time. |