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Union Minister Dilip Singh Judeo caught taking bribe: Report

          Raipur/New Delhi, Nov 16: The Congress received a shot in the arm on Sunday when press reports said that Union Minister of State for Environment and BJP's prime contender for Chhattisgarh's chief ministerial post Dilip Singh Judeo has been `shot' while accepting bribe. The minister allegedly accepted bribe to help a man get mining rights in Chhattisgarh and Orissa, the reports said. A national daily, which flashed the report, claimed to have a computer disc (CD) showing Judeo taking bribe and saying that "money is no less than God".

          The expose assumes significance even as it has come to light at a time when it's barely two weeks before the state goes to polls. The party in power, the Congress, would definitely capitalise and try to extract maximum political mileage out of the expose. On the other hand, the BJP might now find it hard to oppose Ajit Jogi's rule. The Chhattisgarh BJP, however, has rejected the allegation and instead accused the Congress of hatching a conspiracy to tarnish the party's image before the elections. "I have already spoken to Judeo and he had said he had nothing to do with it. The allegation is totally baseless," state BJP chief Raman Singh was quoted as saying in Raipur. "It is a conspiracy by Congress, especially Chief Minister Ajit Jogi and his son, to tarnish BJP's image before elections," he said. Union Mines Minister Ramesh Bais, a BJP MP from Raipur, said, "it is a conspiracy by Congress. We knew before hand that they are going to do something like that." Referring to the CD purportedly showing the Minister taking money, Bais said "in this high-tech age, such images can be created. We fear similar things can crop up in the coming days."

          Meanwhile, at a hurriedly called press conference in New Delhi, the central leadership of the BJP also refuted the accusations against the minister. Party spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters that the CD was "doctored and fabricated and proper inquiry should be carried out before arriving at conclusions."

India boy 'Bobby' Jindal loses US poll

          Washington, Nov 16: Republican candidate Piyush "Bobby" Jindal on Sunday failed in his bid to become the first Indian- American to hold the Governor's chair in the US, losing the polls in Louisiana state by nearly 45,000 votes. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Blanco defeated Bobby thereby becoming the first woman to be elected to Louisiana's governorship. The election, however, saw a string of Republican victories. With 96 percent of precincts counted, Blanco had 52 per cent, or 703,226 votes, to Jindal's 48 per cent, or 658,806. Jindal, a 32-year-old former Rhodes Scholar whose parents immigrated to Louisiana from India, had been slightly favoured, partly due to strong backing from Foster. But Blanco, a 60-year- old Cajun, accused him of harming the poor by enacting budget cuts when he served as Foster's health secretary. He later became an assistant health secretary for President Bush. Had he won, Jindal would have been the first non-White elected governor in the Deep South since reconstruction.

17 US troops killed as copters collide in Iraq (Go To Top)

          Baghdad, Nov 16: Seventeen 17 US soldiers were killed and five seriously injured late Saturday when two US Black Hawk helicopters collided over northern Iraq as one was reportedly trying to evade an attacking missile, the News quoted US military and Iraqi police sources as saying. There are 17 now dead, five injured and one soldier is unaccounted for, a US Central Command official said on condition of anonymity. The crash west of the city of Mosul came shortly after the US- appointed Iraqi interim Governing Council announced elections would be held in Baghdad by the end of 2005.

CBI in hot pursuit of Madhumani (Go To Top)

          Lucknow, Nov 16: The Central Bureau of Investigation, probing the Madhumita Shukla murder case, on Sunday raided the residence of Madhumani, wife of former minister Amarmani Tripathi, who was wanted in this case and is absconding. "We have pasted a summons outside Madhumani's Lucknow residence, asking her to appear before us in person," a CBI official told reporters here. He said the summons was pasted after Madhumani was found absconding. Only her domestic servants were present in the house, he said. "A CBI team has been rushed to Gorakhpur. We have yet to receive any information about the whereabouts of Madhumani," he said.

Pak offers India talks on re-opening Khokra Par border (Go To Top)

          Lahore, Nov 16: Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has offered India to hold talks for re-opening the Khokra Par border in Sindh, which had been lying closed for the last four decades. "The border may be re-opened after talks for which India should come to the negotiation table," the Daily Times quoted Kasuri as saying on Saturday. The minister was addressing a press conference before attending a seminar organized by the Kashmir Action Committee (KAC).

Three militants slain in Rajouri encounter (Go To Top)

          Rajouri, Nov 16: Security forces on Sunday killed three militants in revolt-racked Kashmir. Rebel violence continues unabated in the strife-torn region, despite tentative peace gestures between India and Pakistan, long at odds over Kashmir. Police said the militants were killed in an eight-hour long fierce encounter in Rajdha village of Rajouri district, 45 km from Jammu.

Gilchrist says team is under no pressure (Go To Top)

          Kolkata, Nov 16: Australian vice-captain Adam Gilchrist said his team would be under no pressure while playing India in the finals of the tri-nation one-day tournament at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday. The Eden Gardens has the capacity to accommodate 100,000 people. "I think pressure comes from within, I don't think it matters whether it's 100 people or 100,000 people on the ground, regardless of who they are supporting at the end of the day it's you against the bowler, in each individual contest," Gilchrist told reporters here.

          Gilchrist said the team was in a positive frame of mind to take on India which beat New Zealand on Saturday to cruise to finals. "I think traditionally our teams have handled that pressure well and we are certainly not looking at the prospect of a big crowd at this famous ground as being a negative, we are very much in a positive frame of mind about it," he added.

          Meanwhile, Sadgopan Ramesh said in Jaipur that he was happy to stage a comeback to the team for the Australian tour. "I am quite happy to be back in the team because I was expecting it after I got a 100 against New Zealand. I was definitely looking forward to this tour," said Ramesh. Ramesh, who played his last Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2001, found favour by virtue of his consistent performance in the last couple of months, the highlight of which was the century against the visiting Kiwis in a lead-up match recently.

          The selectors, who had deferred the selection by three days on Thursday to watch the performance of India in their last league match against New Zealand yesterday, had consultations at length with skipper Sourav Ganguly and coach John Wright before announcing the final list of 16 players. The Indian squad is Saurav Ganguly (captain), Akash Chopra, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Sadagopan Ramesh, Parthiv Patel (wicket keeper), Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Aavishkar Salvi, Irfan Pathan, Deep Dasgupta (wicket keeper).

Bottomlines

Wedding rumours 'total hogwash': Kidman (Go To Top)

          London, Nov 16: Oscar-winning Aussie actress Nicole Kidman has dismissed as "total hogwash" rumours that she is about to tie the knot with U.S. rocker Lenny Kravitz. There were reports that the duo were getting engaged and that they were going to wed at a ceremony in New York next month. But the 36-year-old "Moulin Rouge" star is reportedly happy with just dating Lenny, 39, reports PeopleNews. Meanwhile, Lenny is definitely having an affect on Nicole. On the cover of this month's "W" magazine, she is sporting an afro-style haircut almost identical to Lenny's.

It's official! Kylie has the perfect rear (Go To Top)

          London, Nov 16: If a U.K. Professor is to be believed, Aussie pop princess Kylie Minogue has the perfect bottom. According to Prof John Manning from the University of Central Lancaster's psychology department, the ideal female posterior lies in the ratio between waist and hips. The figure reached by dividing the waist measurement by the hip measurement should ideally be 0.7, meaning the waist should be around a third smaller than the hips. According to People News, Kylie meets this criterion. Says Manning: "The bottom is a general sign of a woman's hormonal state and her general health." "Fat is the key. In women, it is stored in the bottom and forms a reserve that allows them to get through pregnancy," he added.

Travolta's 'Saturday Night Fever' suit voted best screen outfit (Go To Top)

          London, Nov 16: In a recent survey of 4,000 film fans, the white three-piece suit worn by John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever" has been voted the best screen costume of all time. And though Travolta reportedly wanted a black one, the white suit, which later sold for 87,000 pounds at auction, became a symbol of 1970s disco style. Ursula Andress' sexy bikini in the 1962 James Bond flick "Dr No" and Marlon Brando's biker gear from "The Wild One" (1953) came in second and third respectively, reports The Sun. Others in the top 10 included the late Marilyn Monroe's white dress in "The Seven-Year Itch," Harrison Ford in "Raiders Of The Lost Ark," black suits and ties in "Reservoir Dogs," Olivia Newton-John's leggings in "Grease," Sir Sean Connery's slick dinner suit in "Dr No," Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast At Tiffany's" and Clint Eastwood in "A Fistful Of Dollars."

-ANI

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