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Musharraf wants priority to Kashmir in bilateral talks

          Islamabad, July 1: Pakistan and India must resolve their differences over Kashmir before any other problems can be addressed, says President Pervez Musharraf. "Pakistan remains flexible on how to approach the solution to the Kashmir problem. But what it cannot be flexible on is that Kashmir cannot be sidelined and other issues addressed," Musharraf told reporters in Berlin on Monday after his talks with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, reports Dawn. There was "a realisation in every country that this is the issue", he added and asked the German leader to help advance the dialogue over Kashmir in any way he could. About Afghanistan, the Pakistani leader told Schroeder that a new strategy needed to be introduced there so that foreign troops, who are increasingly becoming the victims of attacks could be withdrawn.

Four US soldiers killed in Baghdad grenade attack

          Baghdad, July 1: A US military vehicle was blown up in central Baghdad in a grenade attack on Tuesday near a gas station killing four US soldiers and injuring another two. The armoured car was attacked near al-Mustansiriyah University in the heart of the capital. An American and an Iraqi car were on fire, a witness said. US soldiers cordoned off the area and began to investigate. They refused to comment on the incident. Earlier in the day, a US soldier was lightly wounded when a military convoy was attacked by a rocket-propelled grenade near Baghdad airport, the US military said. Meanwhile, a massive explosion rocked a mosque in the Iraqi town of Fallujah, killing at least five Iraqi civilians and injuring four others, witnesses and hospital sources said Tuesday. Iraqi civilians said the blast was caused by a missile or bomb strike, but American soldiers at the scene disputed that account, saying it was caused when explosives hidden at the site went off.

N Korea threatens retaliation against US sanctions (Go To Top)

          Seoul, July 1: North Korea's military on Tuesday threatened "strong and merciless" retaliation if the United States and its allies imposed sanctions or a blockade against it, a media report said. Such a step would breach the armistice agreement, which ended the 1950-1953 Korean War, the Korean People's Army (KPA) said in a statement. "If the US side applies sanctions against the DPRK (North Korea) and conducts sea and air blockades against North Korea anywhere and starts bolstering troops in and around the Korean peninsula, the KPA will promptly regard it as a complete breach of the armistice by the US side", it said.

ASI excavation team wants more time to finish work (Go To Top)

          Lucknow, July 1: The Archaeological Survey of India has sought three more months to complete excavation work in Ayodhya. An application to this effect was moved by the ASI before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday. However, since because of some technical defects in the application, the court directed ASI to rephrase it and file it later.

Hearing on Shetty's bail plea deferred (Go To Top)

          Surat, July 1: A local court on Tuesday deferred till tomorrow (Wednesday) the hearing on a fresh bail application of Surendra Shetty, fater of actress Shilpa Shetty, in the extortion case. District and Sessions Judge KM Vin postponed the hearing after Shetty's advocate Kalpesh Desai submitted that he had to "collect some necessary documents pertaining to the case from the lower court". This was the fourth bail plea of the accused. Two earlier were rejected by the Surat court and one by the Gujarat High Court on grounds that "prima facie" evidence was available to show his involvement in the case - that of "hiring" a gangster to extort Rs 80 lakh from Surat-based Praful Saree owner Pankaj Agarwal.

Modi opens Jagannath rath yatra (Go To Top)

          Ahmedabad, July 1: The 126th annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath began in Ahmedabad and Puri early on Tuesday. In Gujarat, chief minister Narendra Modi opened the celebrations by sweeping the chariots' path with a golden broom as a mark of respect for the deity. The images of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balbhadra and sister Subhadra, mounted on ceremonial chariots, were taken out in a procession. The three chariots are pulled by thousands of devotees. The chariot would traverse over 24 km through the city and pass through many Muslim-dominated areas before returning to the temple premises in the evening. About 6,000 security personnel have been deployed along the processsion's route.

          In Puri city in Orissa, seat of Lord Jagannath, another procession began from the holy premises. Situated about 60 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, the Jagannath temple is one of the holiest shrines. The 10-day Rath Yatra festival has been going on for the last 10 centuries though the existing temple was built only in the 12th century AD. Lord Jagannath is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the Preserver, one of the trinity of the Hindu pantheon. The other two are Brahma, the Creator, and Shiva, the Destroyer.

Nyas chief asks BJP to seek fresh mandate (Go To Top)

          Ayodhya, July 1: Ram Janmabhumi Nyas president Mahant Ram Chandra Paramhans Das on Tuesday asked the BJP to come out of the NDA alliance and seek fresh mandate if it was unable to bring a legislation on the Ram temple. Reminding the BJP of its commitment to the people, Das said if the BJP could not fulfil its promise on Ram temple, then the party should come out of the coalition and seek fresh mandate. The Nyas chief said the Kanchi Sankaracharya, who has taken an initiative to resolve the vexed problem, should not be a party to any "give and take" formula as it was against the faith and belief of the Hindu community in the country. "The Kanchi seer does not have the support of about 90 crore Hindus of the country," Das said.

State-of-the-art coaches ready for Rajdhani Express trains (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, July 1: The Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory has achieved a major breakthrough by developing the new state-of-the- art coaches for Rajdhani Express trains. The newly procured coaches are built with the German knowhow. These coaches, including layout, manufacturing drawings and specifications, are entirely designed at the coach factory. The key improvements of this new generation passenger coach are designed for passenger comfort and safety.

           The coaches are better than the conventional ones as they offer better ride to the passenger One gets better ride comfort for the passengers. There are nine dampers per bogey and eighteen per coach as compared to just four in previous ones. The coaches are safer for passengers as they have a tight lock centre buffer couple which prevents the adjecent bogies from riding on top of each other in case of an accident. The entrance is spacious. The toilets are of world standard. There is bi-folding space-saving doors like in the aircraft. The new coaches have more length than the conventional ones. They are lighter by as much as five tonnes than the earlier ones, so that it can carry more passengers. The metal that has been used in making these coaches is anti-inflammatory and even in extreme cases they would give passengers enough time to run to safety.

Abetting terrorism in Kashmir is illegal: US (Go To Top)

          Washington, July 1: The United States has said that any support to terrorist outfits operating in Jammu and Kashmir is illegal under the US law. "There are multiple regulations that prevent US citizens from contributing to armed conflict, from contributing to terrorism, from supporting terrorists", State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said while replying to a question about the arrest of US and Pakistani citizens "for training rebels and terrorists in Kashmir". "Many of the groups who have operated in Kashmir, who have perpetrated violence are indeed terrorist organisations that we have listed. And, therefore, any form of support from US parties to those organisations is prohibited by law", Boucher said.

Bottomlines

Posh to do a cameo in `Will and Grace' (Go To Top)

          London, July 1: In yet another attempt to earn fame across the Atlantic, Posh Spice Victoria Beckham will make a cameo appearance in 'Will and Grace.' The former Spice Girl recently met Eric McCormack, who plays the title character of Will in the hit US TV sitcom, through her pals Elton John and his partner David Furnish, who themselves are huge fans of the show. In fact, it was Elton who persuaded Eric that Victoria was a good choice to follow up big-name appearances given by Madonna and Cher. Victoria, on her part, told Eric, who is currently staying in London, that she wasn't quite ready for a lead role yet. "I want glamour and sophistication. A small part suits me down to the ground," she was quoted as saying by People News. It was during her recent trip to the US that the wife of English football captain David Beckham met casting agents to explore the possibility of a movie career.

Madonna's `trespassers will be prosecuted' (Go To Top)

          London, July 1: Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie can finally heave a sigh of relief. The courts have granted the celebrity couple the privacy they wanted from ramblers who used to enter their 1,200-acre country estate, Ashcombe in Wiltshire. Madonna was terrified her daily goings-on would be seen by all and sundry when the Right To Roam access law gave people the legal right to trample through the grounds of her estate. In desperation, the Material Girl even wrote a stiff letter to Tony Blair asking him to change the rambling law for her, but her pleas appeared to have fallen on deaf ears of then Environment Secretary Michael Meacher, who refused to budge on the issue. All's well that ends well for Madonna, though, as the 15 acres of the land closest to the house has now been declared out of bounds to the public, says a report in People News.

Keanu's million dollar gesture for dying sister (Go To Top)

          Washington, July 1: Matrix star Keanu Reeves has spent 4.8 million dollars converting a Los Angeles mansion into a custom built hospital for his dying sister. According to a report in TeenHollywood, the star will move sister Kim, 37, into the luxury house and hire top doctors to look after her around-the-clock. Suffering from leukaemia for 10 years, Kim will be the only patient in the hospital, which has a 50 foot "infinity" pool and incredible views overlooking Hollywood. A source says, "Keanu isn't sparing any expense for Kim's leukaemia treatment. He's using his millions to make his house a sanctuary in an attempt to give her the best treatment and care. But, if she's facing her final years, Keanu wants to make them the happiest they can be. Kim means everything to him."