Australia in World Cup Semi-finals

          CENTURION (South Africa): Australia stormed into the World Cup semi-finals on Friday as Ricky Ponting and Brett Lee swept Sri Lanka aside. Ponting hammered his 12th one-day century in Australia's 319 for five in their opening Super Six match. Adam Gilchrist missed his ton by one run. Strike bowler Lee then laid waste to the Sri Lankan top order, sending Sanath Jayasuriya to hospital in the process as the world champions won by 96 runs. But Aravinda de Silva hit a defiant 94-ball 92 while Jayasuriya's X-rays revealed bad bruising and a chipped thumb bone. Sri Lanka ended at 223 off 47.4 overs.

SP, BSP Members Clash in Lok Sabha

          NEW DELHI: Parliamentarians belonging to the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party almost came to blows in the Lok Sabha on Friday over the reported threats by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati to arrest SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav under POTA. Yadav had also alleged that his brother's family was harassed by the police only because he had spoken against the State Government. He said his brother's house was raided by the police last night.

           Members of both the parties trooped into the well of the House and shouted slogans against each other amid heated exchanges. SP members, who stalled the Question Hour for about half an hour, stormed the well and squatted there. In retaliation, BSP members too trooped into the well and shouted slogans against the Samajwadi Party.

           This was the fourth consecutive day when the proceedings in the House were paralysed by the agitating SP members. First, they had raised the Mayawati video-tape controversy. In the tape the chief minister was shown "demanding" contributions from MPs and MLAs of her party from their constituency development funds. Later, the SP members raised the issue of rejection of no-confidence motion against Mayawati Government by the UP Assembly amid ruckus on Wednesday.

Ticket Reservation Privatised in Mumbai (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: Passenger reservation system terminals have been allotted to three rail travellers service agents on an experimental basis in Mumbai area of Central Railway. Customer service is expected to improve with privatization of ticket reservations. This information was given by the minister of state for railways Bandaru Dattatraya in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Manik Sarkar Sworn in as Tripura Chief Minister (Go To Top)

          AGARTALA: The fifth Left Front ministry in Tripura led by Manik Sarkar was sworn in at an impressive ceremony here on Friday. The Governor, Lt Gen (Retd) KM Seth, administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sarkar and his council of ministers in the presence of a host of senior political party leaders and top officials in the lawns of Raj Bhavan. Fifty four-year-old Sarkar is the ninth chief minister of Tripura. The portfolios to the new ministers will be distributed later. Among the 18 ministers, including the chief minister, five were new faces, while 12 were retained from the previous Front ministry.

Bin Laden's Two Sons Injured, Nine Al Qaeda Men Killed in Balochistan? (Go To Top)

          ISLAMABAD: Osama Bin Laden's two sons were injured and nine suspected Al Qaeda members were killed in a major raid conducted in Noshki near Chaghai in Balochistanm, according to a Pakistani official. Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, home minister of Balochistan, said he had information to confirm the report. According to sources, two US helicopters carrying American commandos landed near Noshki on Wednesday, adding that a large number of Western correspondents rushed to the site. Reports said that Pakistani troops were also there and the whole day on Thursday a significant troop movement was seen in the area. The sources informed that US officials and Western correspondents looked very excited as if they had had a "big catch".

          The operation near Chaghai, it is suggested, could be the follow-up of arrested Al Qaeda suspect Khalid Shaikh Muhammad's disclosures to investigators about the whereabouts of Bin Laden. Khalid had reportedly told the investigators that Laden had met him in the mountainous regions of frontier areas near Balochistan. Pakistani and US security personnel are also moving to Chaman, a city bordering Balochistan, in an effort to launch operation to apprehend more Al Qaeda activists, suspected to be hiding there. The US troops and Afghan military officials are moving towards Spin Boldak for the hunting operation at the same time.

           However, Pakistan's information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, when contacted, expressed ignorance about the Chaghai incident. "I don't have any information about this operation. I can't say anything," he told Online. Presidential spokesman Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi also said he had no knowledge about the incident. But a senior security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said "there is a possibility that Bin Laden could be hiding in Balochistan close to the Afghan border or in Chaghai. These areas are being searched," he added. The US Daily, New York Times, has already reported that Khalid had met Bin Laden in February, possibly in Rawalpindi.

3 Men With Al Qaeda Link Deported to US (Go To Top)

          HONG KONG: Hong Kong has deported to the US an India-born American citizen and two Pakistanis accused of trying to obtain Stinger missiles for the Al Qaeda network. The three were escorted to a waiting US Government plane at the Hong Kong international airport from a detention centre early on Wednesday under tight security, the News said quoting the Chinese language Sun daily on Thursday. Syed Mustajab Shah, 54, Muhammad Abid Afridi, 29, both from Pakistan, and US citizen Ilyas Ali, 55, had agreed to the extradition before their hearing began. Hong Kong police arrested them on September 20 at a hotel here following an operation by FBI agents.

Pak May Declare Al Qaeda a Terrorist Group (Go To Top)

          ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Government plans to label Al Qaeda as a terrorist organization under the provisions of Anti-Terrorism Act. The law ministry had moved a summary to the prime minister, recommending that it be notified as a terrorist organization, says Dawn quoting official sources. The Government had started the process of declaring Al Qaeda as a terrorist outfit in the light of the Supreme Court observations in the Khwajas case. It had observed that the Government had not yet declared Al Qaeda as a terrorist organization as it had done in the case of some other Pakistani organizations under the ATA.

Blix Hints at Interviews Outside Iraq (Go To Top)

          NEW YORK: Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix said on Friday that the UN would soon seek interviews outside Iraq for the first time. "Conditions ensuring the absence of undue influences are difficult to attain inside Iraq," he told the Security Council. Interviews outside the country might provide such conditions, according to him. Blix also criticized the rate at which Iraq has handed over documents on prohibited weapon systems. "Only a few new such documents have come to light so far and been handed over since we began inspections", he said in his report.

Anti-US Demonstrations by Muslims in Delhi (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: Thousands of Muslims marched in the streets of Delhi on Friday shouting anti-US slogans and protesting against Washington's plans to attack Iraq. The demonstrators shouted "America Down Down", "George Bush Down Down", "Muslims of Iraq, We Are With You", as they marched for about a kilometre through the old quarters of Delhi after Friday prayers. More than 3,000 protesters, mostly young men in long white shirts, loose trousers and Islamic prayer caps, waved black flags, held posters of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and banners that read "Bush, the Greatest Terrorist" and "Attack on Iraq, No, No".

           "In the name of eradicating terrorism from the world, America is just indulging in destruction and murders. America is living in a fool's paradise if it thinks it can live in peace after attacking Islam in the name of waging war against terrorism," Syed Ahmed Bukhari, Imam of Jama Masjid, said during the prayers. Friday's protest came a day after more than 100 Muslims in the country's commercial hub, Mumbai, pledged to head for Iraq as "human shields" to protect the country in case of a US-led war.

           Bush, who says Baghdad has not given up its weapons of mass destruction, said on Thursday that he would force the United Nations to authorise invasion of Iraq but could strike without a UN backing.

Shaheen Missile Handed Over to Pak Army (Go To Top)

          ISLAMABAD: In a major development, the Pakistan's National Development Complex-built Shaheen-I (Hatf-IV) ballistic missile, with a range of 750 km, was handed over to the Army's Strategic Force Command. The missile is capable of carrying all types of warheads. Shaheen-I is a medium range indigenously produced highly-accurate missile. The NDC handed it over to Pakistan Army on Thursday in an impressive ceremony presided over by President Pervez Musharraf, reports the News.

           The Strategic Force Command has already received the indigenously-built Ghauri missile with over 1300 km range in the frst half of January this year from the KRL. "Pakistan seeks peace in South Asia but will not compromise its minimum defence needs," said Musharraf in his speech delivered on the occasion. He ruled out the pursuit of an arms race and emphasised the need to consolidate the minimum deterrence as a cornerstone of Pakistan's security need and policy.

Spiritualism on the Rise in America: Survey (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Three out of four Americans find meaning in life through religious faith and spirituality, according to a new survey. The survey, 'Spiritual State of the Union', was conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, the Gallup Organization and the George H Gallup International Institute. Initial findings from the Centre for Research on Religion and Civil Society/Gallup Spiritual State of the Union report indicate that in the face of imminent war with Iraq, threats of terrorism at home and an economic recession, the spiritual state of the Union is strong. "I was completely surprised by the findings. The level of spirituality that we discovered in the United States was much higher than we had expected", said Byron Johnson, director of the research centre at Penn.

Rap Is Madonna's New Love (Go To Top)

          LONDON: Madonna is going ahead full steam with her ambition of becoming a complete entertainer. Recent reports indicate that the singer, actress and children's writer is now dabbling with rap. A report in People News says she has roped in popular rapper Missy Elliott to help her. An amused source was quoted as saying: "Madonna is obsessed with Eminem and Missy, and wanted to do something in the rap world to get some street cred." Madonna reportedly spent hours on the phone to the Get UR Freak On rapper before heading into the studio to record a hip-hop version of forthcoming anti-war rant American Life.

'Scarred' Nicole Says Not Yet Ready for Romance (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Nicole Kidman has admitted that she is too 'messed up' to be ready for romance. The Hollywood stunner, 35, was snapped recently laughing with her hand on British actor Jude Law's knee amid reports of a growing romance between them. But she has insisted she is still "damaged" by her split from ex-hubby Tom Cruise almost three years ago, reports the Sun.

           She explained she wasn't totally over her break up from Mission Impossible star Tom, 40. The actress was quoted as saying: "I'm getting my feet on the ground. There's grief and loss. You have to deal with it. It was like a small death to me. I wouldn't go back to that place and time. I lost a baby, everything. It was not a good time. But I have a very good family and friends." Nicole and Road to Perdition star Jude, 30, have always denied an affair. They spent six months in Eastern Europe filming the movie Cold Mountain in which they play lovers.

-ANI