Supreme Court Reserves Order on Ayodhya Appeal

          NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday wrapped up hearings on whether to lift a ban on religious activity near the site of the razed Babri mosque in Ayodhya town, but said it would announce its verdict later. The five-judge bench did not specify when the verdict would be announced. "Till the cases and title suits which are going on in the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court are decided upon, no interference can be done here. The court had given a stay on this. The whole argument was on this issue and after hearing the arguments, the court decided to reserve the judgement," said OP Sharma, a lawyer.

          The Government's counsel, Solicitor-General Kirit Rawal, appealed to the court to end last year's ban on the ground that an earlier order in 1994 only prohibited religious activity on the disputed site but did not extend to the area around the site. The court imposed the ban last year when Hindu hardliners vowed to hold prayers near the disputed site where the 16th century mosque was torn down in 1992, sparking the country's worst religious violence in which about 3,000 people were killed.

'Khalid Met Osama Last Month'

          PESHAWAR:  Documents, CDs and a computer recovered after Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's arrest indicate that Osama Bin Laden may be alive, according to knowledgeable sources. The evidence also indicates that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed had a meeting with Osama last month, the sources told Dawn on Wednesday. "There is now no doubt that he is alive and well," the sources said, asking they not be named. "We have evidence that shows he is alive."

           The sources said that based on the information gleaned from the documents, Pakistani officials believe that Al Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor who is thought to be the brains of Al Qaeda, slipped back into Pakistan after fleeing Afghanistan in October 2001, and hiding for some time in the Middle East. Bt Al Zawahiri and Osama are not together, the sources said.

'Iraq to See 10 Times the Bombing of First Gulf War' (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: US forces plan to drop 10 times the bombs in the opening days of the air campaign in Iraq than they did in the first Persian Gulf war, said knowledgeable sources. The commander who would lead the war, Gen Tommy R Franks, met President George W Bush on Wednesday. Last week he reviewed his war plan with commanders at his Gulf command post and Tuesday he met top defence department civilian and uniformed leaders.

           If Bush orders the invasion of Iraq, the powerful air strikes with thousands of bombs and missiles would be combined with quick ground assaults, a combination aimed at overwhelming President Saddam Hussein's defences, keeping him from mustering catastrophic retaliation and convincing his forces they can't win, Pentagon officials have said. They said that part of that plan is to launch an initial air bombardment using 10 times the number of precision-guided weapons fired in the opening days of 1991 war. Targets include Saddam's military and political headquarters, air defences, communications facilities and systems he could use to launch chemical and biological weapons the Bush administration says he has. Gen Tommy Franks said US military forces are ready to go.

Rio Sworn in Nagaland Chief Minister (Go To Top)

          KOHIMA: Neiphiu Rio was sworn in as the new chief minister of Nagaland on Thursday. The leader of the Nagaland People's Front (NPF) succeeded SC Jamir of the Congress who led the State for ten years. State Governor Shyamlal Datta administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 52-year-old Rio. Altogether 23 Cabinet ministers and six ministers of state were also sworn in on the occasion. The newly formed ministry is a coalition of the non-Congress parties in the State. Led by the NPF, it includes the Samata Party, JDU, BJP and four Independents. The DAN has a total strength of 38 MLAs, out of which 19 belong to the NPF, six to BJP, one to Samata Party, three to JDU, four to NDM and four Independents. The coalition Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) also enjoys the outside support of the Nationalist Democratic Movement Party which has four MLAs.

Stokes in Virbhadra Ministry (Go To Top)

          SHIMLA: Virbhadra Singh, senior Congress party leader, on Thursday took oath as chief minister of Himachal Pradesh. Singh was unanimously elected to head the State Government on Tuesday by the newly elected legislators of the Congress which routed the Bharatiya Janata Party in last month's poll. This will be his fifth term as chief minister. Singh said his first priority is to tackle corruption in the State. Thirteen other members, including State party president Vidya Stokes, also took oath alongwith Singh.

No Backing to India for Council Seat: China (Go To Top)

          BEIJING: China has refused to commit support to India's candidature for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. More discussions are needed to arrive at a "consensus" on the issue, according to it. When asked to comment on India's wish of becoming a permanent member, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told a press conference that it "involves changes in the Security Council as a whole", reports the News. "Reform of the Security Council involves the interests of many countries. There is no time-table for that and there should be plenty of discussions for consensus to be reached," Aong Quan told the mediapersons.

          Tao Jee, a member of Chinese think-tank, has said that China will never support India in this case because of its human rights record. Asked to comment on China's position on the issue, he said India's claim for Security Council's membership on the basis of population is not justified.

MP Rejects Centre's Modifications on Bhojshala Proposals (Go To Top)

          BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Government has turned down the Centre's modifications to recommendations on the timings of opening of disputed Bhojshala at Dhar. There was no consensus on the issue, it argues, because Muslims did not accept the idea of keeping the shrine open for the whole day for Hindus every Tuesday.

           On Thursday, chief minister Digvijay Singh said at a press conference that the State Government had on February 20 sent to the Centre its recommendations, which said Bhojshala was to be kept open for two hours every Friday to enable Muslims to offer namaz while for Hindus it would be open on Basant Panchami day every year and for two hours every Tuesday. Union culture and tourism minister Jagmohan modified the proposals, saying Bhojshala would be kept open for Hindus on every Tuesday from dawn to dusk, while on other days, tourists would be able to visit the shrine at an entry fee of Re 1.

           But the Muslims submitted a memorandum to the district administration saying they did not agree to the recommendation that the shrine be kept open for whole day for Hindus on every Tuesday, Singh informed, adding the Government would now send to the Centre the recommendations based on a consensus arrived at in April 1995. The final decision rests with the Centre.

Recover Gooding, Kylie Sends Best Wishes (Go To Top)

          LONDON: Aussie star Kylie Minogue has sent her best wishes to her ex-lover James Gooding after coming to know that he has been shifted to a rehabilitation centre in Surrey for his depression. "I'm very sorry to hear of his current situation. James is a talented man and I wish him well in his career," said Kylie, who is back in London after a visit to the US, according to a report in the Sun.

           Confirming that the relationship with James was definitely over, Kylie added: "James and I were very close for some time and for my part I believe we really did love each other. I think we both put a lot of effort into the relationship. Unfortunately, as happens between couples, we grew apart." "I bear him no malice. I hope we can remain friends and I will always be fond of him," said the sexy star.

           James's behaviour had become erratic after his bust-up with Kylie at a Brits aftershow party last month and he had to go to a rehabilitation centre.

Bridget Fonda Discharged from Hospital (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Actress Bridget Fonda, who was admitted in a hospital after she suffered injuries in a car crash in Santa Monica last week, has now been allowed to go home. Bridget, the niece of Jane Fonda, was driving alone on a rainy night when her Jaguar car plunged over an embankment on a section of the Pacific Highway near Santa Monica in California.

          According to a report in People News, she was taken to St John's Hospital where she stayed till Wednesday recovering from "a slight fracture of two thoracic vertebrae". But she is expected to recover soon.

New-comer Drops 'Clingy' Jennifer for a Busty Model 

          LONDON: Upcoming British actor and former EastEnders star Paul Nicholls has reportedly dumped his girlfriend, US actress-singer Jennifer Love Hewitt, for busty model Linsey Dawn McKenzie. It took Paul just a few dates with Jennifer, his co-star in the new movie 'If Only', to realize that he actually wasn't that interested in the sexy brunette, whom he found "too clingy."

           Meanwhile, Paul, who earlier dated singer Martine McCutcheon and actress Joanna Taylor, and Linsey have secretly met for several cosy dates. In fact, the pair were seen canoodling in the classy Tiger Tiger night club in Croydon, Surrey, last Friday night. They were spotted hailing a cab home together - before meeting again at London's trendy Elysium club the next night.

           "They were dancing really close to each other and flirting like mad. Everyone was staring at them and wondering what kind of bloke turns down Jennifer Love Hewitt. He must be mad. Linsey drinks in Tiger Tiger a lot because she lives nearby, but everyone was gobsmacked when she walked in hand-in-hand with Paul. They left together and waited for a black cab to pick them up. It certainly didn't look like their night was about to end," a clubber was quoted as saying by the Sun. "Linsey told me that she has been on several dates with the heart-throb and loves his company." She said: "I've recently broken up with someone and so has Paul. He's really nice, very good looking and great to talk to."

           Paul is the third EastEnders star Linsey is dating, following Dean Gaffney (Robbie Jackson) and Michael Greco (Beppe di Marco).

-ANI