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Sushil Sharma gets death sentence for Naina's murder

          New Delhi, Nov 7: A lower court on Friday sentenced former Youth Congress leader Sushil Sharma to death for murdering his wife Naina Sahni eight years ago. Additional Sessions Judge GP Thareja also sentenced Sharma's accomplice Keshav Kumar to seven years rigorous imprisonment (RI) for conspiring with him to burn Sahni's body in the tandoor of Baghiya Restaurant at the then ITDC-owned Ashok Yatri Niwas in the heart of the Capital.

          The court ordered that Sharma be "hanged by the neck till death". Sharma was also sentenced for the offence under Section 120 (B) (Conspiracy) read with Section 201 (Destruction of Evidence) of IPC to seven years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10,000. A fine of Rs 10,000 was also imposed on Keshav who was found guilty of conspiring with Sharma to destroy the evidence in the case. The court directed that the file of the case be sent to Delhi High Court for confirmation of the death sentence imposed on Sharma.

          The court had on Monday had convicted Sharma for murdering his wife Naina Sahni.. The other three accused in the case - Jai Prakash Pehlwaan, Rishi Raj Rathi and Ram Prakash Sachdeva - were acquitted of the charges of harbouring the accused.

Kumaratunga lifts emergency; all's quiet in Colombo

          Colombo, Nov 7: Sri Lanka's two prominent leaders - President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe - expressed sharply contrasting views on Friday after the two-day-old state of emergency was lifted. While Kumaratunga again defended her action by saying that it was taken in the national interest, she instructed a senior official of her staff to issue new executive orders to broaden the powers of the country's security forces to prevent law and order from taking a beating.

          Wickremesinghe, who was given a rousing welcome by his cabinet and supporters of his UNP on his return from the United States, on the other hand, warned that the ongoing peace process with the Tamil Tiger guerrillas was at risk because of the political turmoil sparked off by Kumaratunga. "The background in which the peace process started has changed and this puts the peace process at risk," he said.

          It was not immediately clear why Kumaratunga had lifted the emergency. Kumaratunga - who has broad constitutional powers - had on Tuesday fired three of Wickremesinghe's Cabinet colleagues, suspended Parliament and stationed additional armed military men around the Capital. On Wednesday, she imposed a short-term emergency in the country to save what she called the nation's security interests.

          Colombo was calm on Friday, with joggers out on the streets and traffic flowing normally.

EC issues notifications for Assembly polls (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Nov 7: The Election Commission on Friday formally activated the process for electing new Assemblies in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh by issuing notifications for the filing of nominations. The filing of nominations for the December 1 polls will go on till November 14. Scrutiny of nominations will be taken up on November 15 and last date for withdrawal of candidature is November 17. The notification for the Assembly polls in Mizoram was issued on October 27 and the last date for withdrawals closed on Thursday. Polling in the state will be held on November 20.

Fresh communal flare-up in Gujarat (Go To Top)

          Ahmedabad, Nov 7: Four people, including a police inspector, were injured in a fresh communal flare-up in Gujarat on Friday. Preliminary reports said a scooter was also torched when Hindus and Muslims, using sharp-edged weapons, clashed here this morning. The incident took place in the communally sensitive Shah Alam area, police said. Police were quick to bring the situation under control, and said they were now in the process of determining the cause of the clash.

Processions mark Guru Nanak Jayanti (Go To Top)

          Amritsar, Nov 7: Thousands of Sikhs took out processions in various parts of the country on Friday on the eve of the 534th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of their religion. Here the devotees held a procession carrying Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, amid chanting hymns. In the Capital, the Sikhs organised a 'langar' or community meal on the occasion. The devotees distributed 'chapatis' and 'dal', as divine offering.

          Born in 1469, Guru Nanak, troubled by frequent conflicts between Hindu and Muslim communities, tried to work out a synthesis of the two religions. His mission gained popularity among the masses and eventually evolved into the Sikh religion. After his death in 1539, he was succeeded by his disciples, who becameGurus turn by turn. The tenth and last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, converted the Sikhs into a militant community to combat the then Muslim rulers of the country. Members of the then Sikh community were baptised in water stirred by a dagger. Those baptised were known as "Khalsa" (pure) with the designation of "Singh".

Four killed in US copter crash in Iraq (Go To Top)

          Dubai, Nov 7: At least four U.S. soldiers died in the crash on Friday of an Army Black Hawk helicopter near the north- central Iraqi city of Tikrit. Preliminary reports received here quoted a U.S. officer on the scene as saying that six soldiers were killed. Another officer claimed that there had been an exchange of gunfire near the Tigris River, and that two loud booms were heard before copter went down at 9:40 a.m.

Pakistan not a democracy: Bush (Go To Top)

          Washington, Nov 7: US President George Bush has not listed Pakistan as one of the countries following democratic norms as accepted by the international community, adding that it is his administration's goal to "liberalise" and not "westernize" nations it interacts with. In a policy statement released on Thursday, the American President said in an obvious reference to countries like Pakistan that despotism was a major barrier to democracy in at least half of the Muslim world, while the other half of the region had adopted and was following policies consistent "with democratic and self- government rule."

          The Nation quoted him as saying that the Middle East was a "stagnant" society, which was using religion to deny civil rights, liberty and freedom. Referring in particular to the situation in Afghanistan, he said: "The Taliban regime had left behind suffering and starvation. For too long many people in that region have been victims and they deserve to be active citizens. Governments across the Middle East and North Africa are seeing the need for change." Quoting King Abdullah of Jordan, Bush said the future of Muslims would get better with an active participation of the women. "How can a society achieve progress while women who represent half of the nation see violation of the rights and suffer injustice, violence and marginalisation- not withstanding dignity and justice granted to them by our glorious religion."

          Addressing concerns in the Muslim world about a perceived US goal to westernise the Muslim societies, Bush said: "We are mindful of the fact that modernisation is not the same as westernisation. Representative governments in the Middle East will reflect their own cultures. They will not and should not look like us." "Democracy is not perfect, and it is not a path to utopia. But it is the only path towards success and dignity," Bush added.

          Pak will match India on Israeli radar deal: Kasuri London, Nov 7: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri has warned that his country will not hesitate to match India in acquiring conventional and non-conventional weapons and related systems to maintain the strategic balance in South Asia. Condemning Israel's decision to sell Phalcon radar systems to India, Kasuri, who is on a visit to Brussels, was quoted by the Dawn newspaper as saying that this deal would destabilize both the Middle East and Southern Asia. He urged the international community to put pressure on both Israel and India over the deal.

           "India should desist from introducing yet another new generation of weapons system. If it does that we will be forced to match... Only a very foolish government in Pakistan would take a sleeping pill and go into a long slumber." He said Pakistan, would be forced to react even though "it will mean greater poverty for the already poor people of South Asia". "So the world community must apply pressure on Israel and on India to not introduce yet another dangerous new generation weapons system in South Asia," he said. Kasuri insisted that Pakistan did not want an arms race with India.

Pak develops a liking for Indian tea (Go To Top)

          Karachi, Nov 7: Pakistanis seem to have a liking for Indian tea if the import statistics of the product from that country is anything to go by. According to Online News, branded tea imports from India have surged 89 percent in volume and 53 percent in value terms. Pakistani traders imported 2,530 tons of Indian black tea worth 2.75 million dollars between the months of July and October, as against imports of 1,339 tons worth 1.80 million dollars during the same period last year.

          Pak private TV gaining popularity Islamabad, Nov 7: Pakistan's private television channels are now gaining more popularity than earlier, because the government has taken appropriate and welcome steps to reduce the public's dependence on Indian programs. According to officials of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), licences have been issued to indigenous private channels because they provide a variety of stories on current developments in the country and overseas as well as entertainment programs to their viewers. "As more and more Pakistani advertisers were going to Indian channels to promote their products, that made it impossible for the private Pakistani channels to survive," the Nation quoted one unnamed PEMRA official as saying.

          Besides the state-owned PTV, there are five Pakistani-owned satellite television channels - Indus TV, ARY TV, Geo TV, UNI-TV and KTN. But due to some concerns including issuing of licenses for private channels, they still telecast from overseas with content created in Pakistan. According to an IRNA survey, before the launching of the private channels, a large number of the viewers in Pakistan were clamoring for the restoration of Indian cable channels, banned last year amid heightened tension between Pakistan and India. But this trend has reversed. The public says the government move to issue licences to private channels to fill the vacuum created by the lack of access to Indian programs is a good one. "This would be foundation of an electronic media revolution in the country," they said.

          The ministry has made it clear that no Indian channels would be aired in Pakistan "due to their (Indians') unabated baseless propaganda campaign against Pakistan". Islamabad banned all Indian channels. Then it replaced them with 49 foreign channels that cable operators have asked to broadcast. English, Arabic, Chinese and Turkish channels failed to appeal to majority of Pakistani viewers. According to the survey, the Urdu channels are most popular among the people. According to Aslam Mehmod, a marketing executive, the decision to ban Indian channels is not only to stop propaganda but is also a commercial one - to create space for the local private channels in the country."

Victorious India U-19 team returns (Go To Top)

          Wagah, Nov 7: India's junior cricket team which won the under-19 Asia Cup in Pakistan arrived via Wagah check post on Friday. Hundreds of cricket fans cheered the youngsters as they set foot on home soil. India beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets to win the four-nation tournament at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore on Thursday. Left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan, who won man of the series, said he was thrilled after winning the series in Pakistan. "After our victory I am feeling very nice and especially after winning in Pakistan," said Pathan, who took nine wickets against Bangladesh in the championship. Coach Robin Singh was full of praise for the team led by skipper Ambati Rayudu who put up a great show in Lahore. "These boys have played for the first time. It is really good that they have won there. We are looking forward to playing the World Cup," Singh said. The quadrangular event between India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is part of the initiative by the Asian Cricket Council to promote the game at the junior level.

Bottomlines

'A good night' for Justin at MTV Awards (Go To Top)

          New York, Nov 7: Justin Timberlake came out on top at the MTV Europe Music Awards, winning three gongs. At the star-studded ceremony at Leith Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Thursday night, the US singer took home the Best Album, Best Male and Best Pop award. "It just keeps getting better and better. Tonight does not suck for me. This is a good night," ratethemusic.com quoted him as saying. Pop princess Christina Aguilera, the host for the evening, picked up an award for Best Female, while controversial rap superstar Eminem won the hip-hop award for the fifth straight year. There were a few surprising results too: little-known Icelandic band "Sigur Ros" won the Best Video accolade and "Panjabi MC" beat out more established acts like "The Chemical Brothers" and Moby to win the Best Dance award. XXXXXXXXX The winners: Best Album: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, JUSTIFIED; Best Dance: PANJABI MC; Best R+B: BEYONCE; Best Rock: THE WHITE STRIPES; Best Hip-Hop: EMINEM ; Best Newcomer: SEAN PAUL; Best Video: SIGUR ROS, UNTITLED 8; Best Female: CHRISTINA AGUILERA; Best Male: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE; MTV2 UK Award: THE DARKNESS; Best Group: COLDPLAY; Best Pop: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE; Best Song: BEYONCE FEAT JAY-Z, CRAZY IN LOVE.

Osbourne and Aguilera bare their fangs! (Go To Top)

          Washington, Nov 7: Pop star Kelly Osbourne lashed out at arch rival Christina Aguilera at the MTV awards at Edinburgh, Scotland. Kelly was on stage to present the Best Pop award that went to Justin Timberlake. The feisty singer launched a scathing attack on Christina who was hosting the grand show. According to ratethemusic, Kelly said, "If Christina Aguilera has to resort to throwing darts at my head, after all she's achieved and all she's done, then she's a very sorry, sad person. I have to take it as a complete compliment." Christina was in no mood to tolerate the bitter attack on herself by her well-known rival. She said sarcastically, "It's nearly time for all those after-show parties I'm going to go to. I just hope I don't run into the sad, bored, angry little child, Kelly." She added, "If you can dish it out you've got to learn to take it back!"

What was beneath Vin Diesel's kilt? (Go To Top)

          Washington, Nov 7: Vin Diesel was seen in a traditional leather kilt at the MTV awards, but disappointed his fans by refusing to reveal what he was wearing underneath. The flamboyant actor, who co-hosted the MTV awards at Edinburgh, Scotland, had donned the leather kilt that was specially made for the occasion. Vin, however, kept the cheering crowd guessing whether he was going 'commando', according to the Sun. Vin says, "The big question is whether I'm going commando or not. I'll let you guess."

Don't 'bum' with Beyonce! (Go To Top)

          London, Nov 7: Beyonce wants to be taken seriously as an artist and not just remain a pin up girl. Hence, according to the Sun she has decided to ban television cameras from zooming in on her famous backside at last night's MTV awards. Her management had a word with the production crew and they agreed to move the cameras, so they were not focused solely on her bum. Kylie Minogue also covered up her most famous rear when she chose to make her appearance in a stylish Dolce & Gabbana gown.She was expected to walk up the tartan carpet in a stylish gown that, in her own words, "wasn't very revealing". An MTV source said: "Beyonce knew the moment she stepped on stage her bum would become the centre of attention.Her music is very important to her and she gets frustrated when she is considered more of a sex symbol than an artist." Beyonce won two awards last night - Best R&B Artist and Best Song, for her collaboration with boyfriend JAY-Z, Crazy In Love. She was nominated for Best Female but was pipped by Christina Aguilera. She stole the show by singing a selection of her hits at the awards, held at Edinburgh's Ocean Terminal Arena.Beyonce certainly made her mark on Edinburgh.

Bum massager 'drives' Kylie on! (Go To Top)

          London, Nov 7: Kylie,who was in Edinburgh yesterday, hopped into a silver Audi A8, equipped with a bum massager. According to the Sun, Kylie, who performed her new track Slow at the awards-even though has vowed to keep her butt covered, she won't leave any stone unturned to keep it in perfect shape. The sleek car worth 60,000 pounds is well-equipped with a complete butt massager,which is an electronic device ofcourse, and also has heated seats to keep her warm from any chill winds that might whistle round the Trossachs.

"There are no problems in our marriage," says Becks (Go To Top)

          London, Nov 7: Football superstar David Beckham has slammed reports that his marriage to Victoria "Posh Spice" is in trouble. "All this speculation about my wife not being happy, it can carry on - but it's all rubbish," the Sun quoted the 28-year-old England and Real Madrid star as saying at the end of a press briefing at his club's training ground recently. "She (Posh) is very happy here in Madrid. But she always works and she will always go to London and America." "She is not here every day because she works. I'd just like to let people know she's very happy here. There are no problems in our marriage," he added. Becks also insisted that Posh, 29, and their two sons Brooklyn, four, and 14-month-old Romeo, would settle down now they have moved into their home in the Spanish capital.

Terrifying, is Uma Thurman! (Go To Top)

          New York, Nov 7: Her role as an assassin in the new flick "Kill Bill" has left Golden Globe-winning U.S. actress Uma Thurman's celebrity pals terrified of her. Says comedienne Sandra Bernhard: "I ran for the same cab as Uma Thurman in New York not long ago. We were both soaking wet from rain." "I looked at her. She looked at me. `Hi Uma,' I said. `Hi Sandra,' she said. I let her have the cab. I'd just seen Kill Bill," TeenHollywood quoted Sandra as saying.

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