Nine Policemen Killed in Udhampur Encounter

          JAMMU: Eleven people, including nine policemen, were killed when militants attacked a remote police post in Jammu and Kashmir early on Sunday. The attack took place near Gool, in Udhampur district, 65 km from Jammu. Twenty-five policemen were on duty at the post at the time. The police post was completely destroyed in the attack. Its roof collapsed and bodies lay scattered around it. Four policemen are missing after the attack.. On Friday, seven people were killed in a gunbattle between suspected separatists and security forces in Poonch.

Scene of a bomb blast in Bihar: REPORT

Fernandes Rules Out Re-fuelling Facility for US Warplanes

          PATNA: Defence minister George Fernandes has said that India will not allow refuelling facility to US warplanes in case of a war with Iraq. Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, the defence minister said, "I do not think that India will agree to provide such a facility in case of a US request."

          He said: "Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has made the country's stand on the possible American attack on Iraq very clear; and I do not think that the Government will allow refuelling facility to American planes." About US lifting sanctions on Pakistan, he said, "America always considered Pakistan as one of its good friends and so this is nothing new." "It is only because US has been a victim of terrorism recently that they have formed the global coalition to fight against terrorism, otherwise it was only India which had suffered cross-border terrorism for a long time," he added.

           Taking a firm stand over the ongoing crisis, Vajpayee had said: "If unilateralism prevails, the UN. would be deeply scarred with disastrous consequences for the world order. The Government of India would strongly urge that no military action be taken which does not have the collective concurrence of the international community." The prime minister said that the issue must be resolved through dialogue.

President, PM Discuss Iraq Crisis (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee met President APJ Abdul Kalam over breakfast here on Sunday. They are understood to have discussed the Iraq crisis. The meeting was held at the Mughal Gardens. Other issues of international and national concern were also taken up during the discussion. A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said Vajpayee had an hour-long discussion with the President.

World-wide Protests, Rallies Against War on Iraq (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Thousands of Americans from more than 100 cities surrounded the White House in a peaceful anti-war protest on Saturday, in perhaps their last chance to dissuade the Bush administration from invading Iraq. The demonstrators beat drums, sang songs and chanted as they marched from the Washington Monument to the White House and finally to the Justice Department.

          In Yemen, marchers responded to a call by political parties, unions and a variety of organisations, including the powerful Islamist al-Islah movement. In Baghdad, tens of thousands of protesters, including children, marched through the Capital carrying portraits of President Saddam Hussein, banners to his glory and against war.

           Some 5,000 people demonstrated in the Turkish Mediterranean port of Iskenderun, where the United States has been unloading military equipment ahead of a possible invasion of Iraq, NTV television reported. In Egypt, some 1,500 police outnumbered several hundred demonstrators at the University of Cairo. In Greece, demonstrators added a touch of art to their protest, with some 15,000 people marching in Athens behind a giant replica of Picasso's celebrated anti-war painting, Guernica.

           In Russia, some 1,000 communists, young members of the international workers' party and youth members of communist organisations rallied in front of the US embassy in Moscow. In Cyprus, some 2,000 Greek Cypriots banged drums, blew whistles and shouted anti-US slogans outside the US embassy in Nicosia. In Italy, tens of thousands of people were gathering in Milan for an anti-war demonstration.

           In France, between 4,500 and 10,000 people turned out for a rally in Marseille and tens of thousands of demonstrators were expected to march in Paris. Tens of thousands of workers around Germany took part on Friday in a 10-minute stoppage against a war on Iraq, union officials said. About 5,500 people against war on Iraq rallied in Naha, the main city on Japan's southern island of Okinawa where most of the US troops in this country are based, the Jiji Press news agency reported. Hundreds of Malaysian demonstrators protesting against a war in Iraq burned an American flag on Friday as riot police held them back from the US embassy there. About 3,000 South Koreans chanting "no war" and holding candles high marched through the capital Seoul on Saturday.

Iraq Says It Is Ready for War (Go To Top)

          BAGHDAD: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has put his country on a 'war-footing', as the leaders of the United States, Britain and Spain prepare for a crucial summit. A special decree has set up four regional commands, answerable to the Iraqi leader, to take the necessary steps to "destroy any foreign aggression".

           US President George W Bush will meet the prime ministers of Britain and Spain for talks in the Azores on Sunday, but correspondents say it is unlikely the summit will produce new impetus for a diplomatic solution. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar told the BBC's Breakfast with Frost programme that the three leaders would still seek peace, but the outcome was up to the Iraqi president.

North Korea Sees Danger of Nuclear War (Go To Top)

          SEOUL: With war planes lining its deck, a US aircraft carrier anchored off South Korea while North Korea warned that the amassing of US forces in the region increases the danger of nuclear war. "We're always ready to go," US navy Capt Richard B Wren told journalists touring his ship, the USS Carl Vinson, amid a stand-off between Washington and Pyongyang over the North's nuclear programmes.

          Pyongyang's main State-run daily newspaper Rodong Sinmun said on Saturday, "The US seeks to round off its preparations for a nuclear war against the DPRK at its final phase and mount a pre-emptive nuclear attack on it any time."

           The carrier has 70 aircraft, a fleet of supporting warships and more than 5,000 sailors and marines. On Saturday, the carrier was moored just outside the breakwater of Pusan harbour on South Korea's south-east coast. The forces were joined by six US F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters deployed to an air base in South Korea. Some time in the next few days, the Carl Vinson plans to steam up the coast to support a landing exercise by the US and South Korean marines near the port of Pohang, where the US troops landed for the 1950-53 Korean War.

Bangladesh Shuts Embassy in Iraq (Go To Top)

          DHAKA:  Bangladesh on Sunday shut its embassy in Iraq and its diplomats in Baghdad will shortly leave for Jordan due to the possibility of war, sources said. Ten staff members from the Bangladesh mission, including the ambassador, were likely to leave Sunday for Jordan's Capital Amman after the embassy was closed temporarily, said a foreign ministry official.

           Non-essential staff at the Bangladesh embassy and most of the diplomats' family members had already left, mostly for Dhaka. Bangladesh also has contingency plans to evacuate some of its 1.7 million nationals working in the Gulf, if needed, said the official.

'Horse-trading' on in Jharkhand (Go To Top)

          RANCHI: Opposition law-makers in Jharkhand on Sunday accused the Government of offering bribes to buy support ahead of the trial of strength. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition Government was reduced to minority early last week when seven ministers of the Marandi Cabinet quit. They accused the Government of failing to maintain law and order and promote economic development.

         The Government led by Babulal Marandi now enjoys support of 36 legislators in the 81-member House. Since Thursday, the State has seen much political bickering as Marandi accused Speaker of the House Inder Singh Namdhari of conspiring with the Opposition to topple his Government. Namdhari was later elected leader of the regional Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led Opposition.

           "We don't want anything. We are ready. They are asking for a confidence vote on 27th, they are running away from the 17th because they have no strength left. They are thinking that by the 27th they can do some horse-trading, buy MLAs, get people for money but all this is not going to work," said Vaidyanath Ram, an Opposition law-maker as he alongwith others left for an undisclosed location.

           Meanwhile, defence minister and Samata Party leader George Fernandes said, "The Speaker has stood for the post of chief minister of the State. He will convene the House as well as rule the State, these things cannot go together." The Speaker has convened the House on Monday (March 17).

Eminem Not to Perform at Oscars (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Grammy-winning US rapper Eminem will not be performing his Oscar-nominated smash hit 'Lose Yourself' from the film '8 Mile' at the March 23 ceremony. "He (Eminem) will still be on vacation during the Academy Awards," Dennis Dennehy, of Interscope Records, was quoted as saying by USA Today. Dennehy didn't reveal Eminem's intended location.

           The other four Best Song nominees include U2's 'The Hands That Built America' from 'Gangs Of New York,' Paul Simon's 'Father And Daughter' from 'The Wild Thornberrys Movie,' Elliot Goldenthal and Julie Taymor's 'Burn It Blue' from 'Frida' and John Kander and Fred Ebb's 'I Move On' from 'Chicago'. Irish rock band, U2, is widely tipped to walk away with the award.

Spielberg to Direct Jim Carrey in Paramount Flick (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Two-time Oscar-winner Steven Spielberg is all set to direct funny man Jim Carrey in a re-make of 1947's Danny Kaye comedy 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.' Based on the classic James Thurber tale, the Paramount film revolves around a day-dreaming accountant with an overactive imagination, reports EOnline. Production is expected to begin shortly.

Kylie Warned About Martinez (Go To Top)

          LONDON: Here is a word of caution for sexy Aussie singer Kylie Minogue - don't fall "head over heels" in love with French actor Olivier Martinez. The warning comes from none other than the mother of Oscar-winning US actress Mira Sorvino, Martinez's former girlfriend. Martinez split with Sorvino only four months ago following a passionate three-year affair.

           "If it's commitment she (Kylie) is after, she's dating the wrong man. Mira was devastated when it didn't work out. She wanted to settle down and have children, but Olivier didn't. She just couldn't tie him down," Lorraine said in an interview with the Mirror.

It's Official: Russell Crowe to Tie the Knot on April 7  (Go To Top)

          SYDNEY: After much speculations, the official word is finally out. Oscar-winning Aussie actor Russell Crowe is all set to marry long-time girl friend Danielle Spencer on April 7. According to Wendy Day, Crowe's publicist, the wedding will take place in the family chapel on the actor's property Nana Glen, near Coffs Harbour. The wedding date was chosen by Spencer because it is Crowe's birthday, reports the Sunday Telegraph. The wedding would be an intimate affair for family and friends, said Day, adding that Crowe was releasing the facts about his wedding in a bid to put an end to speculation.