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Naveen Patnaik injured in scuffle in Assembly

      Bhubaneswar: Indian politicians gave one more example of their somestimes inexplicable and absurd behavior when they started fighting in the Orissa Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. In the ensuing melee, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was injured. The house was discussing the government's agreement with a private company on bauxite mining. Dissatisfied with the Steel and Mines Minister Padmanav Behera's reply during Question Hour, opposition Congress members rushed into the well and a scuffle ensued below the podium of the Speaker Maheswar Mohanty. Some of the members started pushing each other and moved towards the Chief Minister's chair and toppled over the desk in front of him. The Chief Minister's left foot got trapped under the desk, following which some of the legislators rushed to his aid and extricated his foot from under the desk. The speaker adjourned the meeting. Patnaik was taken to the nearest chamber of Panchayati Raj Minister Damodar Rout for initial treatment. He has since been taken to a hospital for a precautionary X-Ray as his foot was swollen, Health and Family Welfare Minister Bijoyshree Routray told reporters.

Veerappan's widow cries foul, says bandit was murdered (Go To Top)

       Dharmapuri (Tamil Nadu): The widow of dreaded forest brigand Veerappan, who was gunned down by a special force last month, has accused the police of foul play, saying she wants a cross examination of all reports pertaining to her husband's death. "The STF (Special Task Force) chief Vijay Kumar is a coward. They killed Veerappan elsewhere and then made it appear like an encounter. I will take the legal recourse and bring out the truth. I have asked for all reports including the post mortem report. I will take the legal recourse," Muthulakshmi, Veerappan's widow, told reporters in Dharampuri on Monday. The Special Task Force (STF), formed primarily to track the brigand, has been questioning Muthulakshmi in a bid to recover Veerappan's huge fortune, believed to be to the tune of millions in cash, gold and ivory, stashed away by him the the state's dense forests. Veerappan had a five million rupee bounty on his head -- a high reward by Indian standards -- and was believed to have had ties with Tamil militants that officials said extended to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers.

Indian astrologer predicts win for Kerry (Go To Top)

       New Delhi/Detroit: A leading Indian astrologer on Tuesday predicted a tough, but a sure shot win for senator John Kerry as Americans go to vote for the U.S. presidential election. Both incumbent president George W.Bush and Kerry on Monday campaigned feverishly ahead of crucial hours to get the undecided or disenchanted voters into their camp. But for the crystal ball gazers, it's Kerry for America. "Yes, the reasons are the planetary configuration which are in favour of Kerry. The planets are peaking up only from today for Kerry. In fact, there is a very good comeptition between the two, and it could be a photo finish. But even if it entails some judicial intervention, Kerry will win and become the president," said Lakshman Das Madan.

        According to various pollsters, Bush and Kerry are locked in a neck-to-neck race. A Newsweek poll of America's 50 states carrying 538 electoral votes, says California and the northern industrial states are likely to vote for Kerry. This would give him 207 electoral votes. But a large chunk of the Midwest and Southern Bible belt states are for the Republican Bush, giving him a four-vote lead. The average of six national polls conducted in the past three days indicated Bush with 48 per cent support among those interviewed, and 46 per cent favouring Senator Kerry. Given the margins of error in the polls, the difference was statistically insignificant. Results from the US presidential election are expected to start coming in at zero hours, universal time, Wednesday. At that hour, polling sites are scheduled to close in six US states. This year's campaign is also considered the costliest in America's history. So far, the two campaigns have already spent over 600 million dollars on political advertising. The war in Iraq also has remained a key issue throughout the campaign. Events like the deaths of six US Marines during the weekend, continued to remind the Americans that Iraq also needs their attention.

Advani, other BJP leaders in the dock again (Go To Top)

         Lucknow: In a significant development, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High court on Tuesday issued notices against top BJP leaders, including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and 17 others. The court was responding to an old review petition filed by the CBI in 2001 against a lower court order that split the chargesheet in the Babri Masjid case into two separate parts - one against political leaders and the second against 198 others directly charged for bringing down the mosque. The case against Advani and other BJP leaders was transferred to a Rai Bareilli court, which later acquitted them.

MIG 21 crashes near Bikaner (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: A MIG 21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Nal Airbase in Bikaner on Monday night, but the pilot ejected safely, an IAF spokesman said here today. "The aircraft was on a routine sortie when it crashed close to the air base at 2140 hours. The pilot of the aircraft, Flying Officer S Mitra ejected safely," he said. A preliminary report suggests engine failure as the cause of the accident and an inquiry has been ordered to probe the crash, the spokesperson said. No loss of life or any kind of injury or damage has been reported.

Home ministry invites Hurriyat for talks (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: The Home Ministry has sent an official invitation to the Hurriyat for talks. Official sources said that a formal invitation has been handed over to the All Party Hurriyat Conference, and added that the talks would coincide with Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil's visit to Kashmir next week.