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Bill to grant statehood to Delhi cleared

          New Delhi, Aug 11: The Union Cabinet on Monday cleared a Bill granting statehood to Delhi. Talking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma called it a great moment in the history of Delhi. He said at present law and order will remain with the Centre. Authority over bodies such as DDA would be handed over to the state government. The Bill would be passed in the current session of Parliament.

Saddam's bed wins looter a wife

          London, Aug 11: Baghdad fell to US forces and the next day saw a looter pinching Saddam Hussein's luxury bed. And the same person claims that it has helped him win a wife. Jobless Omar Heder carted off the gaudy mahogony bedstead, mattress and sheets from the tyrant's five-storey palace the day after Baghdad fell to American forces. The Iraqi's girlfriend was so impressed with the booty that she immediately agreed to marry him, says a report in the Sun. Omar, 35, said that sweetheart Raneh, 28, had been stalling on marriage for 10 years. He added: "When she saw the bed she thought it was a sign from God we should get married after all." According to the report, Omar's haul after Saddam fled his palace, included the tyrant's marble dressing table, a silk paisley dressing gown, size nine slippers, some gilded cupboard doors and a vase. He took four hours to dismantle the double bed into four pieces and get it back to his home opposite the palace. Omar said: "I had to act quickly before other looters arrived. I'm very happy. Fate has finally been good to me and Saddam's bed has helped me become a better man."

Seven policemen killed in Tripura blast

          Guwahati, Aug 11: Seven police personnel were killed in an IED blast on Monday morning near Borkathal village in Tripura. Those killed included an assistant sub-inspector and six special police officers. The incident occurred when militants triggered off an improvised explosive device targeting the vehicle in which they were travelling near Borkathal under Siddai police station of West Tripura district. Meanwhile, in the neighbouring state of Mizoram, militants attacked a police outpost at New Vervek near Aizwal. One CRPF jawan was killed in the attack. Militants in Manipur triggered off an IED near Thamnapokpi village under Moirang police station of Bishenpur district at 8.30 am seriously injuring a CRPF jawan. The CRPF personnel were on a foot patrol when militants triggered off the IED planted in a culvert on Tiddim highway.

One killed, 21 missing in copter crash (Go To Top)

          Mumbai, Aug 11: At least one person was killed and 21 were missing after a helicopter crashed off the western coast on Monday as it was ferrying employees of the state-run oil company from an oil rig. Vivod Kumar Sharma, Director (Offshore) of India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), which was using the helicopter, said the helicopter took off from a platform in the Neelam oil field, about 35 km from Mumbai coast, ditching into the sea within three minutes. "The chartered helicopter took off from Neelam oil field. It was carrying 25 passengers. Twentytwo are employees of the ONGC and two of them are contractual employees. We got the information that it crashed at 12.15 pm (0645 GMT). We immediately mobilised...for rescue work," he said. Sharma said three people had been rescued from the sea and taken to hospital. "Two personnel have been rescued and pulled up. We have also rescued a person, who is still unconscious and the body of the pilot has also been found," he said. Indian navy, Coast Guard and ONGC personnel are still searching for survivors.

Rakhis flood markets (Go To Top)

          Nagpur/New Delhi, Aug 11: With the festival of 'Raksha Bandhan' just a day away, women across the country are buying a range of traditional and designer rakhis which have flooded the markets. The festival on Tuesday is celebrated on a full moon day. Sisters tie 'rakhis' or sacred threads on their brothers' wrists as a token of love wishing them prosperity and happiness on this day. The brothers on their part pledge to protect their honour. Rakhis are usually made of tinsel, colourful cotton, silk, gold or silver twisted threads.

          Over the years rakhis have become more flashy with the designer wristbands replacing the traditional threads. "We have traditional rakhis and designer rakhis both. Elders demand traditional rakhis but children want cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse Tweety Bird, Spiderman or Harry Potter," said Mahendra Jain, a shopkeeper in Nagpur. Shops selling sweets are also doing brisk business. Women decorated their hands with henna tattoos for the occasion. "I have come here to buy a rakhi for my brother who lives very far. The festival comes only once. It is a very big festival," said Ruchi, a shopper in New Delhi. Raksha Bandhan is also celebrated by members of other communities as well.

          The origin of this festival dates back several centuries to the time when an upper caste Hindu queen Rani Roopmati, in time of war, sent a thread to the Muslim ruler Jehangir, requesting for her protection from the enemy. King Jehangir accepted the thread and honoured her request. Since then, the tradition continues in most Indian families.

Five militants among 11 killed in J-K encounters (Go To Top)

          Jammu, Aug 11: Six armymen and five militants were killed in different encounters in Rajouri, Poonch and Doda districts of Jammu and Kashmir since Sunday night, police said. Four army personnel were killed when a group of heavily armed militants opened fire and threw grenades at troops near the Line of Control (LoC) in Bhawani-Noushera sector of Rajouri district on Monday morning. In retaliation, security forces killed a militant and recovered an AK rifle, two magazines, five grenades, and 132 rounds from him. In another encounter that took place at Sarachi village in Banilal Tehsil on Sunday, two LeT ultras and a security jawan were killed. A Pika gun, an AK rifle and six grenades were recovered from them. In yet another encounter, militants attacked an army patrol party at Salotri forest area in Poonch district late Sunday night and killed a jawan. Four others were also injured. Police said combing operations have been launched to track down the ultras.

Unprovoked Pak shelling (Go To Top)

          Jammu, Aug 11: There was unprovoked Pak shelling on defence locations in Jhanghar and Bhawani areas in Rajouri district's Noushera sector in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday night. Security forces retaliated by firing mortar bombs. No casualties were reported. Official sources on Monday said the firing started from the other side of the border forcing the Indian side to retaliate. Indian and Pakistani troops traded small arms fire at some places in Akhnoor, Samba and R S Pura sectors, sources said.

Court directive to govt on Pepsi (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Aug 11: The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the Central government to conduct tests on samples of Pepsi and submit its report within three weeks. The tests on the samples would be conducted in a government laboratory, the court said. The court decision came in the wake of a petition filed by Pepsico India Holding Pvt Ltd seeking independent evaluation of the CSE report that claimed that Pepsi and Cola products in India contained pesticides much beyond permissible limits compared to that in Europe. Pepsi had alleged that the CSE laboratory was not accredited and the methods used for conducting tests could not be relied upon, as such the report was "dubious."

Two Lashkar militants arrested in Delhi (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Aug 11: Two terrorists belonging to Pakistan- based militant organization Lashkar-e-Toiba were arrested from Connaught Place area here on Sunday night. The militants, identified as Altaf Hussain and Aftab Ahmed, were allegedly sent here to carry out terrorist attacks in the run up to Independence Day celebrations on August 15, the police said. Police said a Chinese pistol, a wireless set and some documents were recovered from the extremists. The duo was arrested at the Palika Bazar shopping complex where they had come to meet each other. They were allegedly on the lookout for a house, the police said.

Pak I and B minister looks like Saddam Hussein: Laloo Yadav (Go To Top)

          Rawalpindi, Aug 11: Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed looks like `Saddam Hussein' as his features are very much similar to the deposed Iraqi leader, suggested visiting Indian parliamentarian Laloo Prasad Yadav. "Your features, height and moustache are just like that of Saddam Hussein and you are really a Pakistani Saddam Hussein," the Nation quoted Laloo as telling Ahmed in his inimitable rustic style. The popular leader from Bihar is visiting Pakistan as part of a 60-member Indian delegation of politicians, intellectuals and journalists, and has so far been the star attraction. Yadav said this while pointing at one of Ahmed's posters with the minister by his side. "Lalooji you would just get me killed," Ahmed jocularly remarked. Yadav had paid a surprise visit to the famous Lal Haveli to see the minister on Sunday evening. Ahmed, who was working out in a gym, cut it short to meet the Bihari leader. The two leaders warmly hugged each other and exchanged pleasantries in the presence of hundreds of people.

Pakistan recognition of Israel soon: Jane's report (Go To Top)

          Islamabad, Aug 11: Intelligence data collected by Jane's Intelligence Digest (JID) suggests that Pakistan may soon give recognition to Israel. "Pakistani authorities, particularly the military leadership close to the President, have already taken the decision to establish direct links with Israel," the Nation quoting from the JID report said. According to the paper, intelligence officials in the West have reached this conclusion after undertaking several visits to Israel and Pakistan, adding that "the decision of recognizing Israel will have a significant impact on Gen Pervez Musharaf's attempts to stabilize Pakistan, as well as his own political future."

An independent Kashmir best solution for all: Punjab JKLF chief (Go To Top)

          Lahore, Aug 11: The people of Kashmir on either side of the Indo-Pakistan border should alone be allowed to form an independent state, says Syed Faisal Nazki, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) in Pakistan's Punjab province. "For the freedom of the India-held Kashmir, the independence movement should be geared up. No power could decide the fate of Kashmiris without their consent," the Daily Times newspaper quoted Nazki as saying at a meeting of his party. Rejecting suggestions of India and Pakistan having joint control of Kashmir, Nazki said any such move would be seen as a conspiracy against the movement for self-determination. Kashmir's division would be acceptable only according to the United Nations Resolutions of 1948 and 1949, he said, adding that an independent Kashmir would be in the best interests of Kashmir, India and Pakistan. Describing Kashmir as an international issue, which India and Pakistan were trying to divide it between themselves, he said: "The Kashmiri people and leadership have been convinced that an independent Kashmir is the only solution."

Warne challenged to take lie detector test (Go To Top)

            Sydney, Aug 11: Australian cricketer Shane Warne now faces a challenge to take a lie detector test, by a woman, who accuses him of bombarding her with raunchy telephone calls. Helen Cohen Alon, 45, a divorced mother-of-three from Johannesburg, claims she was offered 42,000 dollars by Warne's associate to keep quiet about their relationship, phone calls and a series of text messages. She accuses Warne of calling her repeatedly "saying he wanted me" and of sending her text messages telling her he was lying in bed next to his wife, Simone, but "thinking naughty thoughts about me." She said she first met Warne on February 20 last year at a clothing store in Sandton City, the Johannesburg suburb where the Australian team was based in during its Test and one-day tour of South Africa. "Every time he came to South Africa he would contact me - SMS's had already been sent to my phone. I'm not going to go into that, but it was quite disgusting some of them," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Cohen Alon as telling Channel Nine. Though Warne is seeking legal advice over the accusations, which acquaintances of the woman indicate were made to try to win hush money from the cricketer, Alon insists she has proof of her claims, adds the report. She said: "I want him to take a lie detector test - I'm prepared to do one - and I want Shane Warne to take one if he's denying everything." Pointing to a brown paper shopping bag, she said: "All the evidence is in the bag - everything that you want to know is in this bag." Cohen Alon's former hairdresser, Clifford van der Westhuizen, however, said she had told him she planned to blackmail Warne for more than 600,000 dollars.

Bhupathi, Mirnyi win Montreal doubles crown (Go To Top)

           New Delhi, Aug 11: Indian tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi of Belarus defeated Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Todd Woodbridge of Australia 6-3 7-6 (7/4) to lift the doubles crown in the ATP Tennis Masters tournament in Montreal, Canada, on Sunday night. The top seeds, who got a walkover in the semi-final from Czech pair Cyril Suk and Martin Damm, overcame the fourth seeded Swedish-Australian pair in straight sets to win their third ATP title of the year, reports reaching here said. The duo had earlier won the Estoril Open and the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters event and finished runners-up at Wimbledon.

 

Bottomlines

'Excited' Newell to direct fourth Harry Potter movie (Go To Top)

          Washington, Aug 11: British director Mike Newell will direct 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,' the fourth in the series of Potter movies. According to ratethemusic.com, the 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' director succeeds Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Potter adventures, and Mexican Alfonso Cuaron, who is currently filming 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.' "I'm very excited about directing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," he says. "As audiences have become more familiar with both the books and the movies, there has been an increasing challenge to continue to develop each of these characters and to make their world real on screen," he continues. "He has worked with children, made us laugh, and had us sitting on the edge of our seats. He is great with actors and imbues all his characters, all his films, with great humanity. I'm thrilled," said producer David Heyman. Newell, 61, has completed 'Mona Lisa Smile,' with Julia Roberts, besides 'Donnie Brasco' and 'Pushing Tin.'

Sophie Dahl to sizzle in Hindi film (Go To Top)

          Mumbai, Aug 11: Sophie Dahl, who has been portrayed in the British press as one of the most voluptuous young women in the country, is to play a lead role in a Bollywood film alongside Om Puri, it has been confirmed. She will star in the King of Bollywood', which will be filmed shortly in London and be directed by Piyush Jha, according to Andrew Pavord, a line producer on the movie. Dahl, the 24-year-old granddaughter of the late Roald Dahl, the author of such best-selling children's books as the BFG, caused a sensation three years ago when she appeared in an advertisement for the perfume Opium wearing nothing more than a string of pearls and a pair of high heel shoes. Her alleged dalliance with ageing rock star Mick Jagger in the back of his limousine also got her into the gossip columns in a big way.

Keira gets steamy with the young and the old (Go To Top)

          Washington, Aug 11: She is currently one of Hollywood's latest properties. Keira Knightley is celebrating her new-found status by playing a steamy love scene, with a portly man 36 years her elder, in her new movie. Irish star Jim Broadbent, 54, has signed up to play the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' babe's husband in 'Tulip Fever' and the pair will share a love scene in the historical drama, says a report in TeenHollywood. Broadbent says, "I am very much looking forward to joining her on the set next year." According to the report, Knightley, 18, will also have a love scene with the younger Jude Law, who plays a penniless artist who her character has an affair with after he paints her portrait.

Stage collapses: Aguilera, Timberlake concert off (Go To Top)

          Washington, Aug 11: Fans of pop stars Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake were greatly disappointed after the duo cancelled a concert. The event was called off after sound and lighting equipment fell on three of their crew, injuring them seriously. Luckily neither Christina nor Justin were present at the time of the accident, which occurred on August 9 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. According to a report in ratethemusic.com, around 30 people managed to get out of the way of the steel rigging structure as it buckled and collapsed while being raised to the ceiling.

Ben, J Lo shop their way to court! (Go To Top)

          Washington, Aug 11: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are caught in a lawsuit after a man was arrested for entering a shop where the celebrity couple was shopping! According to ratethemusic.com, Michael Buchanan is suing Los Angeles store Maxfield and the police for causing him emotional distress after he was forced to leave the clothes store where Jen and Ben were shopping. Buchanan had innocently stepped into the store before store executives shut it down to allow the couple to shop in peace. "My client went there to shop, not knowing they were there," says the shopper's lawyer Berwick Brown. "He got blindsided. He was in the store shopping and all of a sudden he's being told he has to leave. He asked why, and he was threatened with arrest for trespassing. Then he was seized and arrested over his protest," he adds. "There's so much evidence that he did nothing wrong. But he was humiliated and maligned," he says. However, Affleck and Lopez have not yet been named as defendants in the suit.

Now J Lo hires her sacked manager (Go To Top)

          Washington, Aug 11: Jennifer Lopez has finally called it quits with Benny Medina, her agent and publicist, and decided to rehire former agent Patrick Whitesell of Endeavor. The decision to switch has come just six weeks after J Lo had finalized a deal with Medina's firm CAA. The move comes in the wake of the Puerto Rican star filing a petition before California's labour department in July alleging that Benny had not only squandered her money but had also interfered in her singing and acting career, according to a report in E-online. Quashing any hopes of a patch-up, Lopez has demanded that all commissions made to Medina, along with a 10 percent interest, be returned to her, while her professional career continues to be manned by Jeff Kwatinetz of the Firm, where she signed in June. According to trade buzz, Lopez herself feels that her departure from Endeavor may have been too sudden, and therefore, she wants Whitesell to represent her again. Incidentally, Whitesell also represents fiance, Ben Affleck. Whitesell had played a key role in helping Jen bag coveted projects like Lasse Hallstrvm's 'An Unfinished Life' and 'Shall We Dance?' opposite Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, after she signed with him last October. Insiders insist that the move has nothing to do with the debacle of 'Gigli', as neither CAA nor Endeavor were involved in that bombed project, which had a lot of adverse publicity. Initially, Lopez decided to introspect after Endeavor gave her an ultimatum of either choosing the agency or the supposedly high- maintenance Medina. "We were no longer able to work with (Lopez's) manager Benny Medina. We thought it best for Jennifer and Endeavor that we part company at this time," Endeavor had said in a statement released at the time of her departure.

Beck's boozy bash blasted (Go To Top)

          London, Aug 11: Soccer star David Beckham's night out in Bangkok ended in a blast from his boss. Real Madrid's latest recruit had gone out to guzzle beer with his new team-mates. According to the Sun, a furious Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez ripped all the players, including Becks, 28, after snaps of their boozy night out were splashed by the paparazzi around the world. The tired superstars hit Bangkok's Dragon-I nightclub on Friday to chill out after they cancelled a training session, disappointing thousands of fans. Shutterbugs had canned Becks' holding a bottle of Heineken at 12.30 a.m. "Perez was extremely miffed at the coverage. They were left in no doubt that this was not to happen again," a club source was quoted as saying. Later, Beckham caught up with Hollywood star Jackie Chan at a hotel and took autographs for his sons Brooklyn and Romeo. On Sunday, Beckham played in Real Madrid's final match in the Far East and registered a 2-1 win against Thailand in Bangkok in front of 70,000 fans.

Vera Wang wedding dress for J Lo (Go To Top)

          New York, Aug 11: Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez has asked fashion designer Vera Wang to make her wedding dress for her much awaited wedding to beau Ben Affleck. "Jennifer has asked Vera Wang to design her wedding dress. She didn't give Vera a date, but said the dress has to be ready by August 24. Jennifer has also asked Vera to recommend a wedding outfit designer for Ben," New York Post quoted a friend of the designer as saying. However, when contacted, J Lo's representative Dan Klores said: "I have no idea (about wedding plans)." Affleck's representative, Ken Sunshine, said: "At least you're not asking me to comment on lies propagated by paid liars in tabloids."

Another day, another flop for Liz (Go To Top)

          Washington, Aug 11: Another day, another flop - this is the way life seems to be going for actress Elizabeth Hurley. She is suffering the humiliation of being attached to yet another movie flop which has bombed in her native Britain. 'Double Whammy' has pulled a measly 40,000 dollars in its first two weeks in British cinemas, despite a promotional campaign which cost the film's bosses 400,000 dollars, says a report in IMDb.com. Her latest flop adds to Hurley's long list of box office disasters. The leggy brunette's last film 'Serving Sara', in which she starred alongside Friends favourite Matthew Perry, went straight to video after critics slammed it. Kevin O'Sullivan, movie critic for Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, says, "I hesitate to use the words 'Liz', 'Hurley' and 'actress' in the same sentence for fear of prosecution under the Trades Description Act."

-ANI