Sonia
aides injured: Chopper crash-lands in Gujarat (Go
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Ahmedabad:
A helicopter carrying senior Congress leaders crash-landed
near Khanvel in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli
this afternoon minutes after party president Sonia Gandhi
landed safely. There were no reports of casualties in the
incident. According to preliminary reports, the helicopter
carrying senior Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, Prithviraj
Chouhan and Shailaja Kumari was en route to Gujarat from
Mumbai. They sustained minor injuries and were treated at
a hospital in Silvasa, the reports said. The helicopter
belonged to a private company and was reported to have broken
into two pieces. Ms Gandhi's chopper had landed some minutes
before the second helicopter crashed. Later, Ms Gandhi went
to the hospital to meet the injured leaders. The Congress
president arrived for her two-day roadshow covering 350
km in five tribal-dominated Lok Sabha constituencies in
South Gujarat and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Vajpayee
to address three meetings in UP next week (Go
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Lucknow:
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will address three
public meetings on March 22, 24 and 28 in Uttar Pradesh.
According to party spokesperson Hridya Narain Dikshit here
today, Vajpayee will address an election rally at Maharajganj
on March 22 followed by Amroha in Moradabad district on
March 24 and at Bahraich on March 28. Earlier, the PM was
slated to address two election meetings in a day but now
he would attend only one meeting during the day. The two
meetings at Maharajganj and Bahraich are being seen as significant
as it is a stronghold of the BJP, where polling would be
held on April 26. Amroha is a Muslim-dominated area from
where cricketer Chetan Chauhan is the BJP candidate for
the Lok Sabha polls. Dikshit said the PM will again be in
his constituency, Lucknow, on April 5, where he would receive
the ''Bharat Uday Yatra'' of his deputy Lal Krishna Advani.
Later, both the leaders are expected to jointly address
an election rally.
BJP
ropes in another Bollywood star (Go
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New
Delhi: As the battle for the ballot hots up, the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) roped in another Bollywood star on Tuesday
to bolster its election campaign. Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee's BJP and its main rival the Congress have been
unveiling prized star catch almost everyday, drawing huge
media attention in a nation crazy about movies. Singer Kumar
Sanu is the latest among the battery of former Miss India
winners and cricketers as the screen-idol supporters to
join politics. The world's largest democracy, which also
churns out more films than any other country, goes to the
polls next month. Sanu said he was impressed by Vajpayee
who had put India on the world map.
EC
orders probe into violation of Model Code of Conduct by
BJP (Go
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New
Delhi: A day after Congress complained of the alleged
violation of Model Code of Conduct by the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) on the Social Security Scheme, the Election
Commission on Tuesday said it has ordered a local inquiry
by the poll authorities in Maharashtra. "The Chief Electoral
Officer of Maharashtra has been asked to make a local inquiry.
We are examining it and if there is any truth, appropriate
steps would be taken", EC spokesman A N Jha told reporters
when asked about the Commission's response to Congress lodging
a complaint with it on the issue. The Congress on Monday
lodged a complaint with the EC alleging "blatant" violation
of the Model Code of Conduct by the BJP accusing it of adopting
"corrupt practice and misuse" of the Centre's Social Security
Scheme for the unorganised sector and demanded action against
the party.
Thackeray:
Zaheer Khan a true Indian (Go
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Mumbai:
Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray today showered praise
on Indian pacer Zaheer Khan for coming out in his defence
in an interview to a Pakistan-based newspaper. ''I am proud
of Zaheer Khan. He is a real Indian, a Hindustani Muslim,''
Thackeray told reporters here. ''I must confess I am proud
of Zaheer. Mai Zaheer ke bare me Zahir karke bol sakta hu
ki muje unpe garv hai (I can say publicly that I am proud
of Zaheer),'' the Sena supremo said. Zaheer Khan, the speedstar,
was quoted as saying in leading Pakistani daily 'Jung' that
''There is no danger to the Indian Muslims from Thackeray
or Shiv Sena.'' The speedster felt that there was lot of
misunderstanding and misconception about Thackeray, which
was not correct. When reporters pressed for his comments
today on Zaheer's statement, Thackeray said, ''We need boys
like Zaheer Khan. He is a true Indian.''
Advani:
Centre, Hurriyat talks on March 27 (Go
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Sholapur:
Care-taker Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani today confirmed
that he would be having a second round of talks with the
leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in
New Delhi on March 27. "My next round of talks with the
Hurriyat leaders will be in Delhi when I am there on March
27 for a day after completing the first leg of this Bharat
Uday Yatra on March 26 in Amritsar," Advani told reporters
here at the start of the seventh day of his Yatra. Advani
said that he had instructed Home Ministry officials to make
the necessary arrangements for the meeting in the Indian
Capital. The last round of talks between the Indian government
and a moderate faction of the APHC took place in New Delhi
on January 22.
EU
rejects India, Pak appeal for nuke status (Go
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London:
The European Union (EU) has rejected Pakistan and India's
demand that they be recognized as nuclear empowered countries,
The News reported on Tuesday quoting EU officials. The paper
further stated that the EU policy makers had shown no predilection
to support the move aimed at seeking international status
as nuclear states for India and Pakistan. "There are only
three countries that remain outside the NPT. The EU continues
to call upon India, Pakistan and Israel to accede unconditionally
to the NPT as non-nuclear states," a EU expert was quoted,
as saying.
Meanwhile,
the report said that several diplomats from EU member and
accession countries on Monday contacted their respective
missions in New Delhi and Islamabad to confirm the veracity
of the reported statements of Foreign Minister Khurshid
Kasuri and his Indian counterpart Yashwant Sinha. Indian
Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha made such an appeal on Friday
during his address in a seminar in New Delhi. He was reported
as saying that India became a "reluctant nuclear power"
because of the world's "imperfect non-proliferation order".
Powell,
Yashwant Sinha meet (Go
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New
Delhi: US Secretary of State Colin Powell, on a two-day
visit to India, held a meeting with his counterpart Yashwant
Sinha on Tuesday during the first leg of his South Asian
tour. The top U.S. diplomat arrived in South Asia as India
made its first cricket tour to Pakistan in more than 14
years, stressing the dramatic improvement in relations between
the two countries since his last visit when they had massed
troops on their border and were on the brink of war. Powell
also met Congress president Sonia Gandhi earlier in the
day. Powell is due to address a newsconference later. Powell
is due to meet National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra
and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh later in the day. Powell
makes his first trip to India and Pakistan since July 2002
as the United States has begun a spring offensive in Afghanistan
to try to catch the accused Sept. 11, 2001 mastermind Osama
bin Laden. On Wednesday, Powell will fly to Pakistan and
will pay a fleeting visit to Afghanistan.
US
pincer offensive likely in Pak to nab Osama (Go
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Lahore:
Task Force 121, a conglomerate of American intelligence
agencies and military personnel, is likely to infiltrate
Pakistan and try to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden if the
flushing action pinpoints Bin Laden, who is believed to
be moving in the country's semi-autonomous tribal areas,
the Washington Times has been quoted as saying. Task Force
121, the secret man-hunting unit formed for the war on terrorism,
is a blend of warriors, aviators, Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) officers and deep-cover intelligence collectors who
nabbed Saddam Hussein and now hope to catch Bin Laden. "This
is tightening the sensor-to-shooter loop," said a senior
defence official. "You have your own intelligence right
with the guys who do the shooting and grabbing. All the
information under one roof." The Pentagon refuses to discuss
the group's makeup. Its members avoid reporters. New information
was obtained through interviews with knowledgeable defence
officials.
Cricket:
History favours Pak at Pindi (Go
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Karachi:
History favours Pakistan at the Rawalpindi ground (the
venue of today's ODI between India and Pakistan) as far
as one day cricket is concerned. According to a report in
the News, of the 16 such matches played at the Rawalpindi
Cricket Stadium (RCS) since its inauguration in early 1992,
the home team has emerged victorious in ten encounters,
and been defeated in a mere three. Meanwhile, even if the
overall record is considered, the hosts have an edge over
India in both the Test and one-day statistics. Of the 86
ODIs, Pakistan has won 52 as against India's 30, while four
ended without any result. In the case of Tests, while Pakistan
has won nine, India triumphed in just five, with 33 ending
in draw. More importantly, India has never won either a
Test or ODI series in Pakistan since cricket relations between
the countries began in 1952.
Ten
Sports: DD gets right to telecast Rawalpindi cricket
(Go
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New
Delhi: International Channel TEN Sports on Tuesday clarified
it would abide by the Supreme Court directive to give telecast
signals of the second one-day cricket match between India
and Pakistan to state-run broadcaster Doordarshan (DD).
The day-night match is being One-Dayer played in Rawalpindi
on Tuesday. The Supreme Court on Monday, in an interim ruling,
ordered TEN (Tej Entertainment Network) Sports to provide
signals to Doordarshan for terrestrial telecast rights so
that a much larger audience in cricket crazy India is not
denied the opportunity to watch the historic cricket series.
Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, head of the Dubai-based channel,
said they would abide by the order despite their grievance
that Doordarshan did not telecast advertisements carried
by TEN Sports.
The
court also ordered Prasar Bharati, which runs Doordarshan,
to deposit Rs. 100 million till the dispute over contract
money is settled. TEN Sports has complained to the court
that Doordarshan did not fully comply by the court order
during Saturday's opening match at Karachi by not carrying
TEN Sports' advertisements. Bukhatir hoped they would be
compensated. The dispute was triggered after the Madras
High Court, in response to a public interest petition, last
week ordered TEN Sports to share the telecast with Doordarshan.
TEN Sports had challenged that order in the apex court and
the court had asked the channel to share the telecast of
the first one-day international, played over the weekend
in Karachi, with Doordarshan.
Enrique to hit Mumbai in April! (Go
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Mumbai:
Latino Pop sensation Enrique Iglesias will give a
live performance in Mumbai and Bangalore next month. The
performance in Mumbai will be on April 11, 2004 at the
MMRDA Grounds, Bandra Kurla Complex on April 11 and at
the Palace Grounds in Bangalore on April 13. The concert,
in both cities, which comes with state of the art special
effects and lighting, will feature some of Enrique Iglesias'
most famous and hit songs over the last decade including
''Escape'', ''Hero'', ''Bailamos'', ''Be with you'', ''Rhythm
Divine'', ''Addicted'' and many from his latest album
''Seven''. Briefing the media, UB Group Chairman Dr Vijay
Mallya said ''McDowell's No.1 is instrumental in bringing
international music legends to India. Since 2002 when
Sir Elton John came to India, we have not looked back
and ever since grabbed every opportunity to create a strong
bond with our consumers by bringing in musical legends
like Rolling Stones and Bryan Adams.'' ''Enrique Iglesias
is musician par excellence and his music has transcended
geography and language,'' he added. 'Enrique Iglesias
Live the Seven Tour' is being organised by the UB Group
in association with Channel V, Pepsi and DNA Networks.
Strings
and Euphoria tie up (Go
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Mumbai:
Members of the Pakistani band 'Strings' have tied
up with India's 'Euphoria' to release a theme song titled
"Jeet Lo Dil" for the historic cricket series under way
in Pakistan. Composed by Roy Menezes, the song has been
released in India by Sony Music. The video shows two members
of Strings, Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood along with
Euphoria's Palash Sen. The producers of the song say that
Samsung, the main sponsor of the series, has decided to
make the tune its official song. "The message we would
like to bring is, go for a win but demonstrate humility
and respect for those who look up to you and who you represent,"
Faisal said. "We were actually thinking of something on
similar lines when we got a call from Samsung. They were
looking for one Indian and one Pakistani band, and they
thought of Euphoria and Strings. Since we love music and
we love cricket, this was a great opportunity," said Faisal.
Strings is also gearing up for the release of its Sony
Music album "Dhaani", due in May. The band says Indian
audiences have been very responsive to its music.
Charlotte
Church stopped from stripping for a million pounds! (Go
To Top)
London:
A threat to "bloody kill her" from her mother compelled
Charlotte Church to turn down a one million pound offer
to pose naked. According to a report in the Sun, an international
men's magazine offered her to be their saucy centrefold
after the singer turned 18 last month. But her fiery mother
Maria vowed, "She would never, ever go naked and I would
bloody kill her if she did. Charlotte is looking great
but she wants to be respected for her voice rather than
just ogled". Maria, 38, said the offers first began when
her daughter was named Rear of the Year - aged 16.
Cops
to quiz Presley on "things" Jacko did (Go
To Top)
New
York: Californian police want to question Lisa Marie
Presley concerning her revelations about ex-husband Michael
Jackson on Australian television yesterday. According
to a report in rate the music.com, the songstress told
"Enough Rope" talk show host Andrew Denton she saw "things
going on that I couldn't do anything about" during her
20-month marriage to the self-proclaimed "King Of Pop".
When asked to elaborate, Presley replied, "And don't ask
me what sort of things, because I'm not going to answer.
But just stuff." Santa Barbara cops are planning to quiz
Presley about her life with the "Thriller" star, upon
her return to America. Jackson is currently awaiting trial
to fight charges of performing lewd acts on a child under
14 and administering an intoxicating agent.
King
Tut took red wine to his grave! (Go
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Washington:
A new study has revealed that Egyptian King Tutankhamun
eased his arduous journey after death with a stash of
red wine. Ancient Egyptians believed in properly equipping
a body for the after life, and not just through mummification.
Spanish scientists have now developed the first technique
that can determine the colour of wine used in ancient
jars. They analyzed residues from a jar found in the tomb
of King Tut and found that it contained wine made with
red grapes. This is the only extensive chemical analysis
that has been done on a jar from King Tut's tomb, and
it is the first time that scientists have provided evidence
of the colour of wine in an archaeological sample.
The
earliest scientific evidence of grapes is from 60-million-
year-old fossil vines, while the first written record
of wine-making comes from a much more recent source, the
Bible, which says that Noah planted a vineyard after exiting
the ark. Scientists have detected wine in a jar from as
far back as 5400 BC, found at the site of Hajji Firuz
Tepe in the northern Zagros Mountains of present-day Iran.
But the earliest knowledge about wine cultivation comes
from ancient Egypt, where the wine-making process was
represented on tomb walls dating to 2600 BC. "Wine in
ancient Egypt was a drink of great importance, consumed
by the upper classes and the kings," said Maria Rosa Guasch-Jani,
a master in Egyptology at the University of Barcelona
in Spain. She along with Rosa M. Lamuela-Raventss, a professor
of nutrition and food science have analyzed samples of
ancient Egyptian jars belonging to the Egyptian Museum
in Cairo and the British Museum in London. One sample
came from the tomb of King Tutankhamun, discovered in
1922 by Howard Carter in Western Thebes, Egypt. The inscription
on the jar reads, "Year 5. Wine of the House-of-Tutankhamun
Ruler-of-the-Southern-On,l.p.h.[in] the Western River.
By the chief vintner Khaa."
"Wine
jars were placed in tombs as funerary meals. The New Kingdom
wine jars were labeled with product, year, source and
even the name of the vine grower, but they did not mention
the colour of the wines they contained," said Guasch-Jani.
Lamuela-Raventss and her co-workers determined that the
wine in the jar was made with red grapes by using a new
method for the identification of grape markers. Tartaric
acid, which is rarely found in nature from sources other
than grapes, has been used before as a marker for the
presence of wine in ancient residues, but it offers no
information about the type of grape. Lamuela-Raventss
and Guasch-Jani plan to use the new technique in more
extensive studies of wine residues from other archaeological
samples.
