Court Orders Excavation of Ayodhya Temple Site

          LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday ordered excavation of the disputed site in Ayodhya. Hearing the Ram Janmabhoomi Babri Masjid title suit, a three-judge bench directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to start the excavation within a week and submit its report to the court. The HC said the ASI would verify whether or not a temple existed at the site on which the Babri mosque was built. The court directed that the excavation be carried out "without disturbing" the make-shift Ram temple where the idol of Ram Lalla was installed. It said the excavation should spare the area of the Chabutra where the idol of Ram Lalla is placed.

No-confidence Motion Tabled Against Mayawati Govt

          LUCKNOW: After repeated adjournments, a no-confidence motion against the Mayawati Government was tabled in the UP Assembly on Wednesday. Voting is likely to be held Thursday. The numbers are apparantly clearly in favour of the ruling BSP-BJP alliance, which has 227 MLAs. On the other hand, the Opposition has 165 MLAs only. On Tueday the entire Opposition led by the Samajwadi Party had served the notice of no-confidence against the Government. They based the notice on a video showing Mayawati asking her legislators to divert Government funds into the party's treasury.

Samajwadi Legislators Demonstrate Outside Parliament (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party law-makers on Wednesday demonstrated outside Parliament demanding the dismissal of the UP Government. Earlier this week, the Samajwadi Party had released a video showing Mayawati asking her legislators to divert part of their development funds into the party's treasury, a move that has caused a furore in political circles. The protestors demanded that the case be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation. "We want the facts be checked thoroughly and Central Bureau of Investigation to interrogate the case, so that the truth comes out. We are asking for the dismissal of Mayawati's Government," said Ramji Lal Suman, member of the Samajwadi party.

High Court Ruling in Bharat Shah Case (Go To Top)

          MUMBAI: The high court in Maharashtra on Wednesday struck down some provisions of an anti-crime Act which allowed interception of telephonic or electronic communication. Disposing of petitions filed by film financier Bharat Shah, accused of being hand-in-glove with the underworld, the court said sections 13 to 16 of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) were unconstitutional. "The court has struck down section 13 to 16 of the MCOCA Act which permits police officers to intercept telephonic conversation and with this the MCOCA Act has been held unconstitutional, that part of it," said defence lawyer Vaibhav Krishna. However, the court upheld the constitutional validity of MOCCA. Shah was arrested under the Act which allows police 90 days to file formal charges. He was released after he furnished a bond amount of 100,000 rupees.

           The trial in the case of alleged Bollywood nexus with underworld would resume in a special court on Thursday. It was deferred by the prosecution until the high court gave its ruling on the constitutional validity of MCOCA. Government counsel Rohini Salian said Wednesday's court ruling would not adversly impact the case.

           The interception of telephonic conversations between Shah, producer Nasim Rizvi and Pakistan-based gangster Chhota Shakeel were carried out under the Indian Telegraph Act. Shah was arrested by Bombay police in January 2001 in connection with the financing of a star-studded Bollywood production, 'Chori Chori Chupke Chupke', one of more than 100 films he has financed, many of which were Indian blockbusters. Shah's sensational arrest sent shock waves through Bollywood, one of the most prolific film industries in the world, which has long been plagued by allegations of underworld financing.

Osama's Wives, Children Sheltered in Iran: Report (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: During the time he was being hunted in Afghanistan, then Pakistan, Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden's four wives and more than a dozen children were probably sheltered in Iran, a foreign news magazine reported on Wednesday. The report also claimed that Bin Laden's lieutenant and ideologue, Egyptian doctor Ayman Al Zawahiri, had left the region on an unknown mission, but had returned to Pakistan and was now believed to be hiding with his terrorist chief. Pamphlets offering rewards for the capture of Ayman Al Zawari were air-dropped on Tuesday along the Afghan-Pakistani border, said a report from Chaman. Pamphlets carrying the photo of Ayman Al Zawahri under the caption 'Wanted' and alongside images of US dollar bills fell from planes over the Afghan town of Spin Boldak, just across the border from Chaman.

Karzai Arrives on Four-day Visit (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived here on Wednesday on a four-day visit aimed at boosting bilateral ties between the two Asian nations. The Afghan leader would also sign a preferential trade deal. Minister of state for external affairs Digvijay Singh, who presented over 25 buses to Afghan minister of reconstruction Mohamad Amin Farhang, said the traditional friend would do all it could to reconstruct the war-ravaged nation. New Delhi would despatch another 50 buses, specially designed for Afghan roads and terrain, to Kabul in the coming months.

Rio to be Next Nagaland CM (Go To Top)

          KOHIMA: Nagaland People's Front (NPF) leader Neiphiu Rio will be the next chief minister of Nagaland following his unanimous election on Wednesday as the leader of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN). Rio, a former State home minister, was elected leader at the crucial meeting of the alliance. The meeting also unanimously elected Hokishe Sema as chairman of the DAN. Later, Rio accompanied by some of the members of the alliance went to meet Governor Shyamal Datta to formally stake claim for forming the Government, Raj Bhawan sources said.

Kylie Sends Gooding to Rehab Clinic (Go To Top)

          LONDON: Following a recent brawl with ex-lover Kylie Minogue, James Gooding has gone into depression for which he has been moved into a private rehabilitation clinic near Ockley, Surrey, to get treatment. James, who dated Kylie for two-and-a-half years before their split last May, told friends he cannot accept that their relationship is finally over.

           The model was left distressed after a bust-up with the Aussie pop princess at EMI Records aftershow bash on February 20. Seeing his state of mind after the incident, his friends raced to his side and begged him to get help. "James is very depressed at the moment. He desperately wants to be with Kylie and he can't bear the thought it is all over," a close friend said. He booked into the Farm Place clinic 11 days ago and will be there for a few more days, according to a report in the Sun. Pictures of Gooding and a tearful Kylie were all over newspapers the next day after they flared up and, according to the model's friends, he began drinking heavily after seeing the press coverage. "He was drinking a lot and kept going on and on about Kylie. He can't accept that she doesn't want him any more - it's driving him mad," the friend added.

           Another friend said: "James has been very depressed and just wanted to get away from all the public attention and the pressure. He has checked himself into a clinic to undergo a short-term course of therapy and will be leaving in the next few days." "It was not the direct result of the break-up of his relationship with Kylie but he has found it very difficult to cope with all the attention," the friend stated.

Naomi Tries Brown Sugar (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Sexy supermodel Naomi Campbell wants to try for success with a different name. She will be recording her next album with Sony under a new name, called Brown Sugar, in order to see if her efforts prove to be more fruitful. Naomi has never been shy of trying out new careers, no matter how badly they fare. She says defiantly: "I'm still signed with Sony. But I won't do it under my name. Maybe I'll call myself Brown Sugar". Campbell has taken nearly 10 years to recover from the flop of her first album, Baby Woman, in 1994. Despite the assistance and musical advice of Bono, her debut single `Love and Tears' reached an unimpressive number 40.

Revealing Pictures of Jude and Nicole Concentrating Only on Each Other (Go To Top)

          LONDON: A picture is worth more than a thousand words. Some pictures published in the Sun say just that about the budding romance of Nicole Kidman and Jude Law that shattered his marriage. The pictures show Hollywood beauty Nicole gently stroked Jude's knee beneath the table at a party, showing the closeness between them. Both seemed oblivious to the revellers around them as they then leaned closer, touching hands and concentrating only on each other.

           The sensational snaps were taken in the early hours in a dimly-lit hotel lounge and prove the remarkable depth of the friendship which has developed between two of the world's biggest film stars, the Sun claims. Jude, 30, is married to actress Sadie Frost. But he wore no wedding ring during the party, which was thrown by Nicole in Romania last summer. Nicole, 35, and enchanted Jude - star of Road to Perdition - spent six months in eastern Europe, filming the movie, Cold Mountain, in which they play lovers.

           Stunning Nicole organised the party to celebrate American Independence Day at the Villa Zorile hotel, where the film's cast stayed. One former hotel worker who saw the bash said: "Jude didn't seem to care who was watching. He only had eyes for Nicole and flirted with her from the minute she arrived." The source was quoted as saying: "They seemed oblivious to the party going on around them and got increasingly intimate. They were touching hands, playing with each other's hair, and touching each other under the table. "They only had time for each other and seemed entirely uninterested in anyone else in the room or what was going on." When Jude returned home in November, his marriage collapsed and he called in divorce lawyers.

Ricci Plays Lesbian in Monster (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Christina Ricci, star of Casper made in 1995, is playing the lesbian lover of a serial killer in Monster. The 22-year-old beauty will appear with co-star Charlize Theron in the movie. In a report in Sun, she admits that the film is packed with nudity. Christina found fame in 1995 film Casper as a little girl who makes pals with a ghost. Monster is based on the story of prostitute Aileen Wournos, who lured seven men to their deaths on Florida highways in 1989 and 1990. Dubbed the 'Damsel of Death', she posed as a stranded motorist and hinted at sexual favours to get into victims' cars, then shot and robbed them. Charlize plays the part of Wournos, who was executed at 46 last year after a decade on death row.

-ANI