Coalition battle raging for Baghdad

          Baghdad, Mar 25: US aircraft attacked units of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard defending Baghdad for the first time on Tuesday, as coalition ground troops encountered stiff resistance to their advance on the Capital. Warplanes and helicopters pounded Iraqi positions guarding the southern approaches in what is seen as the beginning of the battle for the city. Advance units of the coalition forces have also been pounding military targets with rockets and howitzers from near Karbala, about 80 km south of Baghdad.

           Several thousand US troops advanced through the town of Nasiriya, about 370 km south-east of Baghdad, following protracted clashes with Iraqi forces. The British military officials said Iraq's second largest city of Basra has become a legitimate military target. The bombardment of the Republican Guard on the southern approaches to Baghdad marked a new phase in the war. Aircraft flew more than 900 sorties in the last 24 hours, in what is seen as a plan to soften up Baghdad's defenders and try to prevent them retreating into the city itself.

           British military commanders said they now regarded Basra as a military target, but they have no immediate plans to order troops to try to capture the city. Iraqi troops and irregular militia loyal to Saddam Hussein are reinforcing the city from the north, and are reported to be positioning artillery among the civilian population. Coalition forces bomb the northern city of Mosul and Iraqi positions on the northern front between Kirkuk and the Kurdish- controlled town of Chamchamal.

           Kurds have been anxiously awaiting the start of a heavy air campaign and the opening of a northern front in the Iraq war. Kurdish troops in northern Iraq number between 60,000 and 70,000, but their forces have no tanks and only light arms. What the Kurds can offer, however, is experience in confronting the Iraqi army. Many of the Kurdish fighters are former members of the national force.

           Iraqi troops in the north are believed to number around 125,000. Eyewitnesses said the sound of the raids was very different from the earlier ones, suggesting that American B52 bombers had been dropping huge payloads of bombs. Iraq's Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said 16 people had been killed and 95 wounded in Baghdad in the past 24 hours.

          British Royal Marines moved into positions along the Iraqi border with Iran, amid worries that Iran might try to exploit the chaos caused by the war. Air strikes targeted the Medina Division, considered to be one of the best and most powerful elements of the Republican Guard. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the encounter with the Medina Division on the ground would be a "crucial moment". Iraqi forces, meanwhile, have continued to put up fierce resistance to the American-led attacks.

30 Iraqis found dead near Nassiriya (Go To Top)

           Baghdad, Mar 25: About 30 Iraqis were reportedly killed in US bombing on Tuesday when they apparently headed towards Nassiriya, the key city in southern Iraq where the Marines fought a fierce street battle to force their way across the Euphrates river. Twenty of the bodies were found close to a wrecked bus and 10 more near the debris of other vehicles at a distance of nearly 20 km from the city to which they were proceeding. Some survivors were taken prisoners. The control of Euphrates signalled the opening up of a new line of advance northward towards Baghdad. Two days after a first bid to cross the river and the Saddam Canal was blocked by Iraqi irregulars, the Marines laid down a 3.5-km corridor of armoured vehicles and the convoy charged through the streets under cover of helicopter rockets and a barrage of artillery, tank and heavy machinegun fire.

           Meanwhile, three loud explosions are said to have rocked the centre of Baghdad on Tuesday. The residents were seen rushing to get off the streets and cars speeding away from the area in anticipation of a major new air raid. American and British warplanes and missiles have bombed Baghdad relentlessly since last Thursday. On another front, British forces south of Basra have blocked an attempted breakout by up to 50 Iraqi tanks seeking to press southward from the edge of the city, according to a British naval commander.

China to help Pakistan set up another N-power plant (Go To Top)

          Beijing, Mar 25: China has agreed to help Pakistan set up another 300-megawatt nuclear power plant at Chashma. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed here on Monday in this connection in the presence of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Two other MoUs were signed under which the Chinese government will further help develop the Pakistan Railways system for which the Chinese government would extend a soft-term credit of about 500 million dollars.

           Another MoU was signed under which the Chinese government has declared Pakistan a popular tourist destination and agreed to help arrange and facilitate tourist groups. The two sides also signed an agreement under which the Chinese government will provide a grant of 9 million dollars under the Sino-Pakistan economic and technical cooperation programme.

First Indian-American woman democratic party leader sworn in (Go To Top)

          Washington, Mar 25: Uma Sengupta became the first Indian American woman to be sworn in as a Democratic Party district leader here on Monday. A mother and a grandmother, long-time educationist and committed Democrat Sengupta took the oath of office as Democratic district leader of the 25th Assembly District, Part B, Queens borough. Sengupta migrated to the US from India about 30 years ago. Having been a teacher in her native land, she decided to continue in the same profession in her adopted country too.

Robbie Williams smitten by Mick Jagger's teenage daughter  (Go To Top)

          London, Mar 25: Having recently broken from Kiwi model Rachel Hunter, British pop star Robbie Williams has now set his eyes on Elizabeth Jagger, the 18-year-old daughter of "Rolling Stones" frontman Mick Jagger. Williams has been bombarding the teenager with phones as well as flowers, but to no avail. "Robbie's gone a bit OTT. He's spent a fortune on sending her flowers. He's pretty confident he'll win her over in time," a source was quoted as saying by PeopleNews.

           Despite Williams' advances, Liz seems uninterested and thinks that he's a bit of a joke. Her friends say that since she goes more for the `worn-in' kind of guy, preferring wrinkles to love-handles, Robbie doesn't stand a chance. "Elizabeth is not into rock stars. She thought Robbie would have got the hint by now. Robbie is just not her type," said a friend. Elizabeth has had an on-off relationship with 44-year-old Alien 4 actor Michael Wincott. Meanwhile, Mick is said to be unhappy at the attention being paid to his daughter by Williams.

Naomi Campbell to play stripper  (Go To Top)

          London, Mar 25: In yet another attempt to break onto the screen, British supermodel Naomi Campbell is all set to play a stripper in a new film, called 'Go-Go Tales.' If the film, a comedy set in a New York strip club, is a success, Campbell may also star in a television spin-off of the film. "People see `Naomi Campbell' and can't see beyond it. Naomi wants to be judged for what she does and not who she is," one of her friends was quoted as saying by PeopleNews.