Warne Declared Guilty, Given One-year Suspension

                  SYDNEY: The three-person Australian Cricket Board anti-doping committee on Saturday found star leg-spinner Shane Warne guilty of taking a banned substance and suspended him from playing professionally anywhere in the world for one year. The suspension, effective from February 10, means that Warne is out of the remainder of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

VHP Climbs Down, Plans Only Rallies to Force Govt to Give in on Ayodhya Temple

          NEW DELHI: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) announced on Saturday a campaign of rallies to try to force the Government to let them build a temple on a bitterly contested site that is also claimed by Muslims. A 16th-century mosque in Ayodhya was razed by a Hindu mob in 1992, triggering worst communal riots in which around 3,000 people were killed. The Hindu radicals want to build a temple on the site which they say was the birth place, almost a million years ago, of Lord Ram.

           A council of 7,000 Hindu leaders and saints gathered in New Delhi called for nation-wide rallies to be held on Thursday, followed by meetings next month in villages and towns to drum up grassroots support. "These people will all converge on Delhi on March 27 for a rally to pressure the Government ... "

           Addressing the Dharam Sansad (religious council), VHP leader Ashok Singhal said that time has come "to make sacrifices for the protection of the Hindu community. The moment has arrived for all of you to make sacrifices for the protection of the Hindu community. We must leave all work and take the Janma Bhoomi (birth place of Lord Ram) agitation to such heights that it will end all exploitation of Hindus. We must make sure that nobody dares to look at the Hindu community in any derogatory manner," Singhal said.

           The two-day Dharam Sansad or the congregation of Hindu seers from across the country was convened to decide upon the dates for the construction of the temple. Singhal criticised the Government for not doing enough to return the land to the Hindus.

Sikh Groups Clash in Amritsar, Many Injured (Go To Top)

          AMRITSAR: A large number of people were injured when two rival groups of Sikhs clashed here on Saturday. Both the groups fought with swords for at least 15 minutes before police intervened. The incident occurred during the one-day State-wide 'rasta roko' stir called by the main Opposition party, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

           Hundreds of SAD workers had gathered at Samrala Chowk to submit a memorandum against the policies of chief minister Capt Amarindir Singh. They alleged that the chief minister was involved in "political witch-hunting" insofar as framing of corruption charges against SAD chief Prakash Singh Badal and other Opposition leaders was concerned. The protesters, including a large number of women, raised pro-Badal and anti-Congress slogans before performing the symbolic last rites of the chief minister as a mark of protest.

           Turbans got knocked off and clothes were torn in the melee before the police swooped in to remove the squatting activists from the national highway, where traffic was jammed for about half-an-hour.

Iraq, Terrorism to Dominate NAM Summit: PM (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said on Saturday the Non-Aligned Summit in Kuala Lumpur is likely to oppose any unilateral action against Iraq. Vajpayee was addressing reporters at the aiprort here before embarking on a visit to the Malaysian Capital for the two-day summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) beginning Sunday. "All countries of NAM will come to a common position and will try to pass a unanimous resolution. I don't think there will be any divisions in NAM over the question of Iraq," Vajpayee said.

           The 114-nation political grouping, second only to the United Nations, is overwhelmingly dominated by the developing and under-developed countries. However, smaller European countries like Cyprus, which could be a frontline State in a war against Iraq, may determine how stiff the NAM resolution could be on condemning any US-UK-led attack on Iraq outside the UN mandate.

Blix Warning to Iraq (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Baghdad has been given an eight-day deadline to begin the disarmament process and if it does not, the US forces in the Gulf are ready to attack Iraq. This was announced by chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix on Friday. Blix issued the warning to Iraq that it should begin to destroy its banned missiles by March 1.

           US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States and Turkey had made "some progress" on an agreement allowing US troops to use Turkish territory for a two-pronged invasion. The US is working on a UN Security Council resolution it hopes will secure support from an international community not yet convinced of the need to use force against Baghdad. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in an interview on PBS television on Thursday that enough forces were in place to begin an invasion if President George W Bush gave the order. White House officials said on Friday that Bush and top aides will contact leaders of the other 14 UN Security Council members to seek votes for the new resolution. France has threatened to use its veto while Russia has not ruled out a veto.

          Blix will submit a new report to the Security Council on February 28 or on March 3.

Gambon to Star as Dumbledore in Latest Potter Flick (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Sir Michael Gambon may soon become popular as Professor Dumbledore. According to a report in People News, the Irish-born actor has officially been tipped to replace the late Richard Harris as Professor Albus Dumbledore in 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban', the third Potter movie to hit the screens in the months to come.

           Gambon, 62, who recently appeared in 'Gosford Park' and played President Lyndon B Johnson in the 2002 HBO movie 'Path to War', was chosen for the role above a long list of candidates which included names like Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen and Peter O'Toole (who was a long-time friend of Harris).

           The movie will see Daniel Radcliffe returning as Harry Potter, joined by Hogwarts regulars Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. Warner Bros. also recently announced the addition of Gary Oldman, who will portray the mysterious character Sirius Black - the prisoner of Azkaban.

Gooding and Kylie Argue Over What Timberlake Grabbed (Go To Top)

          LONDON: James Gooding, Kylie Minogue's on-off boyfriend, did not think it was funny when Justin Timberlake felt her bottom on stage at the Brits awards here on Thursday. A shocked crowd watched as model Gooding had an enormous bust-up with Minogue, who he accused of wiggling provocatively as Timberlake, one-time beau of Britney Spears, could not resist grabbing her most famous part. "I've heard people in the UK are obsessed with Kylie's bottom and I can totally see why. I'm pretty obsessed with it now too", he had said.

           The argument took place in the early hours of Friday morning - during an after-show party at the Sanderson hotel, reports the People News. There has been much to report of Kylie's love life recently: she was seen enjoying a romantic dinner on Valentine's Day with Gooding, then out kissing Jay Kay this week and enjoying a romantic dinner with Timberlake after the Brits. Gooding, who has not been remiss in dating others himself (he has recently been linked with Martine McCutcheon) had turned up uninvited, and was stopped from entering the VIP area by doorman, but managed to sneak in through a side entrance to find Kylie and her sister Dannii as well as Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson, the report adds.

           During the argument, Gooding accused Kylie of making a mockery of him in front of millions of Brits viewers, and confronted her about the Jay Kay reports. When Kylie and Dannii tried to leave the party, he blocked their way. After a brief scuffle with bodyguards, the sisters left - to go to an all-night party held at Jay Kay's Buckinghamshire mansion.

Rub-and-massage Best Way to Enhance Breast Size: Govt of Thailand (Go To Top)

          BANGKOK: As a substitute to silicone bust implant treatment, Thai women are now trying out a Government-backed course of breast slapping to enhance the size of their bust. The routines were supplied by a Bangkok beautician, Khemmikka Na Songkhla, who has been pursuing a patent for her grand-mother's secret fat-kneading technique.

          According to a report in Independent, when Khemmikka was an adolescent, her granny mocked her for wasting time rubbing her nipples with a miracle cream hoping to have bigger breasts. She said she should rub the old-fashioned way, until it hurt. By repeatedly pushing any flab from her sides and midriff towards her chest, and afterwards dousing Khemmikka's breasts with ice water, her granny boosted her breast size by 4 in (10cm) and her confidence soared. Khemmikka, now 35, says her shapely breasts are all the advertisement she needs and has marketed the technique in her beauty parlour for 15 years.

           But things became hard for her when a client developed breast cancer and blamed it on her breast massage. Distraught, Khemmikka then asked the health ministry to learn if there could be a link with breast massage. To this the ministry launched a six-month study on volunteers aged 20 to 60, and found vigorous massage left their breasts cancer-free and measurably bigger. Khemmikka helped the Institute of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine to come up with its three-month regimen of self-massage and daily breast-boosting exercises.

Simpsons' Shocks America! (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: The Simpsons, which looks set to become the longest-running cartoon series in the history of television, is making news these days but for all the wrong reasons. According to a report in the Sun, a raunchy episode of the cartoon classic stunned millions of viewers when it was broadcast in the United States this week.

           The episode shows a sizzling lesbian kiss as Homer's schoolgirl daughter Lisa prepares for a college spelling competition. In the episode titled 'I'm Spelling As Fast As I Can', the anxious youngster falls asleep as she lies in bed worrying about the upcoming spelling contest and finds herself dreaming about two toga-clad goddesses. As they entice her to join them, the heavenly pair move up close and share a tender full-on kiss. Each represents different US universities which are involved in the spelling contest.

          The 301st episode of the Simpsons comes nearly 14 years after the programme first hit television screens showing the hilarious characters in Springfield. Created by cartoonist Matt Groening, the show started life as a set of short films broadcast during other comedy shows. It will continue until at least 2005.

-ANI