Sankaracharya
offers gold and diamond crown to Tirupati deity
Tirupati
(AP): Sankracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Sri Jayendra Saraswati
has offered a Rs. 15 million diamond-studded gold crown
to Tirupati Balaji, a hugely worshipped Hindiu deity in
Tirupati. The Sankracharya, the temporal head of the Hindus,
on Friday carried the 13.5 kg dome-shaped crown to the shrine's
sanctum sanctorum amidst millions of devotees, who chanted
hyms and danced in trance. The seer was accompanied by AP
chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and over a dozen armed
policemen as he gave the crown to the head priest of the
temple, believed to be the world's richest. Sri Jayendra
said money for the breathtakingly beautiful crown, encrusted
with two marble sized emerald and rare Burmese rubies, besides
the diamonds, had come purely through donations.
26
killed, 100 injured in Nagaland twin blasts (Go
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Kohima:
At least 26 people, including women and children, were
killed and over 100 injured when two simultaneous landmine
blasts ripped through the busy railway station here and
a crowded market place of this commercial town of Nagaland,
police said today. Officials sources said, the first explosion
occurred around 9.30 A.M. On a platform just before the
scheduled arrival of the daily passenger train from Assam
killing 12 people and injuring 60. There was a simultaneous
blast at the busy Hong Kong market in which six people were
killed on-the-spot and 40 injured. Four critically injured
persons succumbed in hospital, the sources said. The injured
have been admitted to the district civil hospital, private
nursing homes and army hospitals in and around Dimapur.
Police were yet to ascertain whether any militant group
of the Northeast was behind the blasts. So far no militant
organisation has claimed responsibility for the explosions.
One
killed, 13 injured in Assam bomb blast (Go
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Guwahati:
One person was killed and 13 injured in a bomb blast
caused by suspected militants in Assam's Chirang district
this morning. Official sources said that the bomb went off
at the Bishnupur Bazar, near Indo-Bhutan border, killing
one person on the spot and injuring 13 others. According
to the police, the identity of the ultras involved in the
attack is yet to be ascertained.
Three
Lashkar militants killed in Anantnag (Go
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Srinagar:
Three Lashkar-e-Toiba militants were killed in an encounter
in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir this morning,
official sources said. Acting upon an information, army
troops launched an operation at Magam-Kokernag, where militants
were hiding. The militants started firing at the troops,
who retaliated in a telling manner. Three LeT militants
were killed in the gunbattle, official sources said.
North-east
students take out Gandhi peace rally (Go
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by Pinaki Das
Agartala: Students from all parts of northeast India
today participated in a peace rally here on the 135th birth
anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Holding placards, the students
took out a procession through the streets to give out their
message of global peace. The rally was organised under the
aegis of the North Eastern Students National Integration
Movement and was flagged off by Tripura Chief Minister Manik
Sarkar. "There are some people who are thirsty for peace.
People who have come here today want peace and not violence.
We want to live in peace and brotherhood," said John, an
organiser of the rally. "Many people here are longing for
peace. This march has given us a chance to be with groups
belonging to different religion and culture, added Saikuma.
The rally started from the Umakanta Academy mini stadium
and ended at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the VIP Road.
Kalam,
Singh lead nation in paying homage to Gandhi, Shastri (Go
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New
Delhi: President APJ Abdul Kalam, Vice- President Bhairon
Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and a
host of other leaders today led the nation in paying homage
to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, and to former
Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversaries.
Apart from Singh and Shekhawat, Congress president Sonia
Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Union Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad were among those who offered
floral tribute at Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat this morning.
People from various walks of life also paid their respects
to Gandhi and Shastri on their 135th and 100th birth anniversaries
respectively. Prayer meetings were also held in the remembrance
of both leaders. A six-feet bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi,
which was sculpted in India by renowned artist Ram Sutar,
will also be unveiled in Houston today. The statue has been
gifted to the citizens of Greater Houston by the Indian
Government as a gesture of goodwill and friendship.
72
pc Pakistanis fear US military threat (Go
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Washington:
An opinion polls expert has claimed that at least 72
per cent of Pakistan's total population is worried about
the US carrying out on attack on their country in the future.
Daniel Yankelovich, the chairman and founder of Public Agenda,
is quoted by the Daily Times as saying that majorities in
seven out of eight Muslim countries were worried about a
military threat from Washington. Apart from Pakistan, the
other countries anticipating a US strike are Indonesia (74
percent), Nigeria (72 percent) and Turkey (71 percent).
Only 12 percent of Muslims believe that Washington respects
Islamic values, while seven percent believe the West understands
Muslim culture. Yankelovich further goes on to say that
only 11 percent approve of President Bush, while most Muslims
felt that the US invasion of Iraq heightened anti-American
feelings in Arab countries. Fifty-six percent of people
in Muslim nations believe Iraq will be better off after
the toppling of Saddam Hussein. As for Europeans, most of
them believe that the United States is acting solely in
its own interest, without regard for the interests of its
allies. Among Germans, 85 percent held this view; followed
by France (80 percent); Britain (73 percent) and Italy (68
percent).
Tony
Blair returns home after heart surgery (Go
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London:
British Prime Minister Tony Blair returned home earlier
than planned on Friday evening after undergoing a successful
heart surgery. Blair, who underwent a two and a half hour
procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat, will rest over
the weekend before returning to his office on Monday. He
is expected to visit Africa next week.
Gandhi's
second statue unveiled in Bangladesh (Go
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by Nazrul Islam
Dhaka:
Bangladesh today erected a second statue of Mahatma
Gandhi, the Father of India. India's High Commissioner to
Bangladesh Veena Sikri unveiled the statue at Langalband,
in Narayanganj, some 20 kilometres from Dhaka on the occasion
of Gandhi's 135th birth anniversary on Saturday. In 1948,
some of Gandhi's ashes were immersed in Langalbandh. The
first statue of Gandhi was established in the museum of
the Gandhi Ashram Trust at Chagolnaiya in southern Noakhali
district, the area Gandhi visited in 1946. The Bangladesh-Bharat
Friendship Association organised a discussion meeting titled
"Non-Violence Movement of Mahatma Gandhi Against Communalism"
here. Aminul Islam Belu presided over the meeting.
Pak's
hockey team arrives for friendship series (Go
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New
Delhi: Pakistan's hockey team, fresh from a series win
over India, arrived here on Saturday for the second leg
of the friendship tournament next week. Pakistan clinched
the four-match series on Friday in the final moments of
their last match in Islamabad as the Indians blew up a two
goal advantage. Back on their home grounds, the Indians,
who arrived along with the Pakistanis, are hoping to level,
if not win the tournament. The second leg begins on Monday
in New Delhi where the first match will be played. The remaining
three will be played in Chandigarh, Amritsar, and Hyderabad.
