Fans Cheer as Indian Cricketers Leave for S Africa

          MUMBAI: The Indian cricket team left for South Africa early on Wednesday to play for the World Cup. Skipper Saurav Ganguly has said he is confident that his side can regain their best batting form on bouncy South African pitches and ensure success at the tournament. (Details)

Jaitley Re-inducted, Shourie Gets More

          NEW DELHI: Arun Jaitley, who was in-charge of BJP's Gujarat poll campaign, was on Wednesday re-inducted in the Vajpayee Cabinet as Law and Commerce Minister. In the latest reshuffle, former Health Minister CP Thakur has been shifted to the Ministry of North-east Affairs and Small-scale Industries. Several BJP ministers have been sent back for party work. Arun Shourie has been given charge of the Information Technology and Telecom Ministry in addition to Disinvestment, while Sushma Swaraj gets Health Ministry in addition to Parliamentary Affairs.

           Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha has been moved out of the Health Ministry to the Shipping Ministry. Minister of State with independent charge Ravi Shankar Prasad will handle Swaraj's Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The other six new entrants are part of a balancing act and include two women, Bhavna Chikhalia and Jas Kaur Meena, and Sanghapriya Gautam, a senior Dalit leader from Uttar Pradesh. President APJ Abdul Kalam administered the oath of office and secrecy to them at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani and their ministerial colleagues were present at the brief swearing-in ceremony.

           The BJP's morale and grip on the coalition had been weakened by a series of State election losses through 2002. But a landslide win in Gujarat, scene of bloody Hindu-Muslim clashes, in December has revitalised the party. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a coalition of more than 20 parties, at the Centre, faces general elections next year-end. Besides, half a dozen States are going to the polls this year.

Beating the Retreat Marks End of Republic Day Celebrations (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: India's 54th Republic Day celebrations concluded on Wednesday with the 'Beating the Retreat' ceremony in the national Capital. The ceremony signifies retreat of the armed forces after a day at the battlefront. Bands and bagpipers of the three armed forces, namely the Army, Navy and the Air Force enchanted the audience with their traditional musical scores. The whole atmosphere reverberated with the rhythmic beating of drums and the measured foot tappings of the performing soldiers. Six new tunes composed recently were also played before the public for the first time. President APJ Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, defence minister George Fernandes and three service chiefs, General NC Vij, Admiral Madhavendra Singh and Air Marshal S Krishnaswamy, witnessed the ceremony.

           Decorated horses and camels with their amazing grace and discipline enthralled the audience at the Beating the Retreat ceremony. The tricolour was lowered to the solemn accompaniment of the military band. The army buglers sounded the last post marking the culmination of the ceremony.

Jaguar Aircraft Crashes Near Bikaner, Pilot Dead (Go To Top)

          JAIPUR: An Indian Air Force fighter aircraft, which was on a routine exercise, crashed late on Tuesday night over Mahrajan Firing Range in Bikaner district, the police said here on Wednesday. The pilot, identified simply as Mukhopadhaya, was killed. The aircraft, Jaguar, lost contact with the air traffic control at about 10.30 pm on Tuesday and could not be traced till the early hours of Wednesday. The debris was spotted by residents of Kankrola village near the Range.

Jamali Warns Against Indo-Israeli Nexus(Go To Top)

          DOHA: Pakistan Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali has cautioned the Muslim world about the Indo-Israeli nexus which he said is detrimental to Islamic cause, reports the News. Talking to reporters on Tuesday after talks with his Qatari counterpart Shaikh Abdullah bin Khalifa bin Thani, Jamali brought into focus the growing collaboration between Tel Aviv and New Delhi which, in his view, primarily aimed at targeting the Muslim Ummah and damaging issues like Kashmir and Palestine.

Bush Points to Dangerous Troika, Says Iraq Must Be Disarmed (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: President George W Bush said on Wednesday that "outlaw regimes" such as Iraq, North Korea and Iran that seek nuclear, chemical and biological weapons pose the "gravest danger" to the United States and the world.

          In his State of the Union address, he said that Iraq "aids and protects terrorists," including members of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, the group behind the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Bush also unveiled a six-billion-dollar proposal to make available vaccines and treatments against potential bio-terrorism agents, including anthrax, ebola and the plague.

           The President, in fact, built up a case for war against Iraq, saying he had fresh evidence that Saddam Hussain seeks to "dominate, intimidate or attack" with weapons of mass destruction that he could share with terrorist allies. He promised to "fight with full force and might of the United States military", if necessary, to disarm Iraq".

           Saddam has not accounted for up to 25,000 litres of anthrax, 38,000 litres of botulism toxin, 500 tons of sarin, mustard gas and VX nerve agent and upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical weapons. "If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning", Bush remarked.

           The address was delivered before Congress and broadcast live around the world. Touching on the domestic scene, Bush presented a 674 billion dollars plan to revive the economy and a 400 billion dollars 10-year proposal to overhaul medicare. Significantly, national elections take place next year.

No Let-up in Bangla Poll Violence, Toll 7 (Go To Top)

          DHAKA: One more person was killed and 50 were injured in unabated poll violence in Bangladesh as polling opened for the fifth day on Wednesday, reports the News. Political activists on Tuesday tried to take control of a polling booth in Noakhali, 120 km south of Dhaka, leading police to open fire. Sheikh Farid, 30, was killed and 30 others were injured in the shooting. The toll goes up to seven. Twenty more people were injured on Tuesday in scattered incidents across Bangladesh during voting for 152 councils in 26 districts. Voting was taking place on Wednesday for 129 more councils across 26 districts. The Election Commission has called for the army to be deployed to prevent further violence during the staggered polls for the 4,267 local councils.       

-ANI