US-led forces encounter stiff resistance on way to Baghdad

          Baghdad, Mar 23: US-led forces have been encountering pockets of stubborn resistance as they press ahead towards the Iraqi Capital Baghdad. In one of the longest-running challenges so far in the conflict, air strikes were called in on the southern port town of Umm Qasr to overcome about 120 Iraqis - including suspected elite Republican Guards - firing against US forces.

          US aircraft have also bombed Iraqi positions in Nasiriya further north where an estimated 500 Iraqis - using tanks and mortars - stopped US Marines trying to secure a route through the town. Coalition forces say they have advanced half-way to the Iraqi Capital, and have been involved in clashes near the holy town of Najaf in the desert just 160 kilometres south of the city. In Baghdad - which is being hit by fresh air strikes - senior Iraqi officials have been holding news conferences, praising the Iraqi "heroes" and vowing to punish the "mercenaries" once they reach towns.

          Seventy-seven people have been killed in the southern city of Basra and 366 wounded, they said. Coalition officials have confirmed that the city was bombed on Saturday night - but a UK spokesman said the reported casualty figure "cannot be right". Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan said Iraqis had captured 35 American prisoners of war, and promised to produce them for the television cameras later on Sunday. But US officials say none of their soldiers have been seized. Baghdad was spared intensive bombing overnight, but bombing resumed again after 1200 GMT with a series of huge explosions - two near the city centre. The BBC's Rageh Omaar says the city is shrouded by a choking black haze from Iraqi fires lit to confuse the coalition planes.

          Meanwhile, Russia has lodged a formal protest with the United States over the reported flights of US spy planes along Russia's southern borders. Three flights of U2 strategic reconnaissance planes were said to have taken place along the border with Georgia over the past month. The latest was sighted on Saturday. Russia has labelled these flights as "a return to the Cold War practice", which increased tensions in the volatile region already affected by the war in Iraq. The Turkish ambassador in Moscow was summoned to the foreign ministry to offer assurances that no Turkish soldiers had crossed into northern Iraq. Russia has urged Turkey to respect Iraq's territorial integrity and abstain from taking any steps that have not been sanctioned by the United Nations.

Liz Taylor to bid goodbye to showbiz after Oscars (Go To Top)

          Washington, Mar 23: Two-time Oscar-winning legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor has had enough of entertainment business. According to her, the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night will mark her "swan song on the stage." "I've retired from acting; it doesn't really interest me that much anymore. It seems kind of superficial because now my life is AIDS, not acting," said the 71-year-old former screen siren and longtime AIDS activist during an appearance on TV's "Access Hollywood." During the ceremony, Taylor is slated to appear in a segment featuring winners from the Oscars' 75-year history.

Seeing J.Lo, Affleck together makes Judd go red (Go To Top)

          Washington, Mar 23: Dancer Cris Judd can't bear the sight of his former wife, singer-actress Jennifer Lopez, together with her new beau, US actor Ben Affleck. "It's always awkward. I mean, how would you feel if you saw your wife with some guy on the TV every day. It sucks," Judd was quoted as saying by Teenhollywood.com. But while admitting that he still loves Lopez, popularly known as J.Lo, Judd, who is now planning to get into acting, refuses to be bitter about her new romance. "I'm happy that she found someone that she's going to love forever. I can only be happy for her," he added. Judd was married to Lopez for nine months before she ended their union last summer.