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Parliament attack case: Death penalty upheld for two New Delhi, Oct 29: The Delhi High court on Wednesday acquitted two accused in Parliament House terrorist attack case - lecturer SAR Geelani and a woman, Afsan Guru - who had both been sentenced to death, but upheld the death sentence on two other accused holding that the act amounted to attack on India's sovereignty. A Bench comprising Justices Usha Mehra and Pradeep Nandrajog upheld the death sentence awarded to Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist Mohd Afzal and Shaukat Hussain Guru, husband of Afsan alias Navjot Sandhu, by a POTA court. While upholding the death sentence awarded to Afzal and Shaukat for causing death of nine persons during the attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001, the court imposed death sentence on them under Section 121 of the Indian Penal Code for waging war against the country. The trial court had sentenced the two for life for the offence under Section 121 of the IPC and the prosecution had moved the High Court for enhancing it to death penalty. Rejecting the prosecution evidence linking Geelani to the conspiracy behind the attack, the court said that the only piece of evidence was the telephonic conversation between him, Afzal and Shaukat. "This circumstance, in our opinion, do not even remotely, far less definitely and unerringly point towards the guilt towards the accused SAR Geelani," it said and added that the prosecution failed to bring on record evidence to conclusively point towards the guilt of the accused. Tandoor case verdict put off New Delhi, Oct 29: A trial court on Wednesday put off the verdict in the tandoor murder case to Monday. Former Youth Congress leader Sushil Sharma allegedly murdered his wife Naina Sahni and burnt her body in a tandoor of a restaurant eight years ago. Sushil Sharma had surrendered in Bangalore in 1995 after being chased for over eight days. The chargesheet against him was filed in 22 days. Pakistan welcomes India's peace moves, wants dialogue (Go To Top) Islamabad, Oct 29: Pakistan welcomed on Wednesday the proposals made last week by India to revive a flagging peace process, but expressed regret at New Delhi's rejection of Islamabad's offer of talks. Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar told a news briefing that Islamabad would help develop transport links between the neighbours and it wanted to see diplomatic missions in both countries returned to full strength. "We have carefully studied the Indian proposals and have decided to respond positively to the latest Indian proposals in the hope that the latest reciprocal steps taken by both the countries would lead to resumption of a meaningful dialogue. We hope that India also responds positively to some of the proposals made by us recently to deescalate the situation in the Indian occupied Kashmir. A reduction and depression in the Indian occupied Kashmir would create a suitable climate and is vital to the effective implementation of the new confidence building measures," Khokhar told reporters in Islamabad. Khokhar welcomed the proposal for the resumption of sporting ties. Khokhar also welcomed India's offer of starting a bus service from Srinagar to Muzaffarabad but said the check-posts along the LoC should be manned by U.N. inspectors. Islamabad to resume air link talks (Go To Top) Islamabad, Oct 29: Pakistan has decided to go in for a second round of talks with India on resumption of air links. And, it is expected that Islamabad will agree to one of the two sets of dates proposed by New Delhi on Monday soon, informed sources said. "A political decision has been made to go for the second round of talks and the decision is fully backed by Pakistan foreign policy-making institutions," the Dawn quoted official sources as saying on Tuesday. India has proposed two sets of dates in November for technical- level talks relating to restoration of air links and over flights between the two countries that were suspended in the first week of January 2002, weeks after Pakistan-backed terrorists attacked the Indian Parliament. On Tuesday, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry communicated the proposed dates to the Civil Aviation Authority and asked it to indicate its preference soon, the sources said. Prince Charles meets President Kalam (Go To Top) New Delhi, Oct 29: Britain's Prince Charles, on a nine- day visit to India, met President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on Wednesday. Charles arrived in India on Tuesday to step up efforts to save the country's ancient heritage and promote the entrepreneurship among the youth. Charles told reporters that India and Britain had a shared relationship of people and knowledge. "It is in the sharing of people and knowledge that our relationship is so unusual and so strong. We are lucky to have 1.3 million people of Indian origion as resident in the United Kingdom and so many more people who travel, people like you ladies and gentlemen, are the key instruments in this whole process," Charles said at the news conference held at the British Council Library. The prince, who is visiting India after 11 years, also inspected the high-tech metro train in New Delhi. A banquet was scheduled in his honour by Vice- President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat for later in the day. Charles' tour, focusing on the environment, heritage restoration, bilateral ties and helping young business people, which began in Delhi, takes him to the royal desert cities of Jaipur and Jodhpur for four days and ends in the film and financial capital, Mumbai. In Mumbai, Prince Charles will visit the set of the film, "The Rising", starring Aishwarya Rai. The movie, which also stars Toby Stephens, is based on an uprising in 1857 known as the Indian Mutiny or the first war of independence. Open ballot mooted for Rajya Sabha elections (Go To Top) New Delhi, Oct 29: India will soon have elections to the upper house of Parliament through an open ballot. Law Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said political parties have reached a consensus to amend the election laws to implement an open ballot system to the election to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house. "It was broader consensus amongst the political parties that a two-way scheme be framed by changing the rules. First, there would be an election agent present in the polling station, the ballot after being marked will be shown to the election agent. Additionally, within a specified period of two or three days, political parties through their authorised representatives would also be entitled to inspect the ballot, which is cast by its own MLAs (legislators)," Jaitley said in the capital. An all-party meeting was called to discuss the rules for implementing an open voting systems for the Rajya Sabha as opposed to the present secret ballot system. The new system is expected to help in stopping the menace of cross-voting and checking the use of money power involved in the elections to the Upper House. The political parties also discussed other suggestions proposed by the Election Commission to streamline election procedures. The Commission had suggested to enhance the security deposit to contest parliamentary and Assembly elections in order to control the number of candidates contesting in a constituency. Jaitley said the government would take a decision on the proposals later. "The issue was with regard to doubling the security deposit, which these candidates have to pay before contesting the elections. This suggestion had come from the Election Commission and the Election Commission had indexed the security deposit to the inflation rate...now views have been expressed on these issues and the government after taking all these views into consideration, will take a final decision after the assembly elections are over," Jaitley said. Vajpayee rules out demand for separate Naga homeland (Go To Top) Kohima, Oct 29: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Wednesday ruled out a Naga demand for a unified homeland by carving out areas from states in the insurgency- racked north-east. Although most of the country's three million Nagas live in Nagaland there are large populations of the fierce hill people in the neighbouring states of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. The Nagas want to be united in a single territory by slicing out territories dominated by them in other states in order to end one of the world's longest revolts. India has been holding peace talks with the separatist National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) Isaac-Muivah faction, the biggest separatist guerrilla group in the region fighting for Naga independence. The rebel group has agreed to a ceasefire with government forces in the state, but insists on its demand for the merger of other areas dominated by Naga tribesmen. Supersonic cruise missile Brahmos flight-tested fourth time (Go To Top) Balasore, Oct 29: Brahmos, the supersonic cruise missile, was flight-tested successfully for the fourth time from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, about 13 km from here on Wednesday. The missile roared into the sky at 11.20 am. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) sources said that this flight had the primary objective of establishing precision guidance capability in surface-to-surface version. The flight trial had met all the mission objectives, they said. Washington
Times journo stands by Saudi-Pak nuke nexus story (Go
To Top) Washington, Oct 29: A Washigton Times journalist said on Tuesday that he stands by his report on a nuclear nexus being forged between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The newspaper recently reported the startling news that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had reached an agreement on nuclear cooperation, which includes providing nuclear weapons technology in exchange for cheap oil. The U.S. State Department has said it has not seen any information to substantiate the "bald" assertions made by the Washington Times. The journalist and Washington Times writer, Arnaud de Borchgrave, who reported the news, said his source of information was highly reliable. "Well, because that person has never misled me, this person has been very useful to me as a journalist for the past 10 years and this person is very highly placed," Borchgrave said in an interview with Asian News International. Borchgrave said Saudi Arabia was pursuing access to nuclear weapons to secure its dominance in the region being challenged by rival Iran, whose nuclear programme is now under close scrutiny. Though Islamabad has been repeatedly claiming that it was not proliferating nuclear weapons, Borchgrave said it was their standard practice since the era of late President Zia-ul Haq. "Well, Pakistan has denied a lot of things over the years. President Zia, the late president Zia, the previous military dictator, who was in power from 1977 to 1988, for 11 years, denied over and over again that they were involved in any kind of nuclear programme. And he said to me in New York, at the Waldorf- Astoria, when I said, Mr. President, surely it is, would be useful for you to go public with what you're doing, because everybody knows that you are working on a nuclear programme," Borchgrave said. "People won't like it when you admit it, but eventually they'll learn to live with it. And he said to me, ah no, you have my word of honour, we are not working on any kind of nuclear programme. So president Zia denied this for 11 years. So denials are...let's not forget that they live in the part of the world where to tell the truth is considered the height of stupidity, whereas to lie and to lie convincingly is considered a sign of intelligence," he added. Pakistan began their nuclear programme after arch-rival India conducted their first nuclear test at Pokharan in 1974. Pakistan's then Prime Minister vowed to build matching nuclear capability "even if Pakistanis had to eat grass." Another militant in Akhnoor killed (Go To Top) Srinagar, Oct 29: Army troops on Wednesday killed a third militant who had taken shelter in a mess quarter at Akhnoor, official sources said. The militant, who had escaped an encounter between the Army and the militants on Monday was spotted late on Wednesday evening. He managed to enter a three-storied mess quarter building after killing two girls and injuring six others. The security forces eliminated him after buildings adjoining the mess were cleared of its occupants. IMF advises Pak to check corruption (Go To Top) Islamabad, Oct 29: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has adviced Pakistan to reduce corruption and improve overall governance in the country in order to stimulate private sector investment. "To further accelerate growth and reduce poverty, the authorities need to pursue forcefully the planned structural reforms intended to create an environment more supportive of private sector investment," the News quoted the IMF Executive Board's Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chairman Agustin Carstens as saying on Tuesday. Aussies beat Kiwis by eight wickets (Go To Top) Faridabad, Oct 29: Back-up Australian pace bowlers Brad Williams and Nathan Bracken skittled the Kiwis for 97, before their team raced to an eight-wicket win in their one-day triangular match on Wednesday. "Once again today our bowlers did a fantastic job and our batsmen came in and finished it off," Australian skipper Ricky Ponting told reporters at a news conference in Faridabad. However, Ponting added that he was worried over the injuries to some of his key players. "If we keep performing like that there's no reason we cannot (win). And we don't really know what's going to happen heading back to Australia with the injuries that we've got. But all these guys can do is performing game in game out and hopefully get us in the final here in India," said Ponting. Australia are without the services of frontline speedsters - Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz - due to injuries. Twentyeight-year old Williams captured a career-best four for 22 and left-arm Bracken three for 25 as the New Zealanders, who opted to bat in swinging conditions, were dismissed in 33.4 overs. Matthew Hayden then made a run-a-ball unbeaten half- century, sealing the win on his 32nd birthday with a leg-side drive for four in the 17th over. Adam Gilchrist hit five fours and a mid-wicket six off 18 balls as he made 29. New Zealand Coach Ashley Ross said it would have been better to bat second. "Yes, we looked at the possibilities of the wicket and the team we selected certainly would have suited us batting first. And we realised we made the toss on the strength of that. Having said that, we were unsure of exactly of what we were going to do. Probably (the toss) would have been a better one to lose as Ricky (Ponting) at the after match (said) that better we would be best suited to bowling second, but in the end its very hard defending 97," said Ross. This was the world champions' fourth straight win over the New Zealanders. Manik Verma award for Dhanraj Pillay (Go To Top) Harda (MP), Oct 29: Indian hockey captain Dhanraj Pillay has been chosen for this year's Manik Verma Puraskar. He will be bestowed the award at a ceremony in Bhopal on December 24. The Puraskar, named after eminent poet Manik Verma, carries a cash component of Rs 51,000. Last year, renowned music director Naushad was among the recipients. Awards are announced every year in the areas of literature, culture, art, medical science and sports.
London, Oct 29: Money is not everything for "Atomic Kitten" Liz McLarnon, who has turned down an offer of dating the son of a wealthy Arab businessman in return for money. According to People News, after seeing Liz performing in Dubai three months ago, the 21-year-old apparently fell for her charms and asked Daddy dear to bribe the singer into going out with him. Liz was offered 500,000 million pounds plus first class flights, a week at a top hotel, a limo and an expense account. Highly flattered Liz, however, insisted that "there's no way I could go out with someone for money". This is not the first time rich foreigners have tried to sniff around the "Number One" star. Last year, an Italian playboy sent Liz 1000 pounds worth of flowers everyday for weeks. The Kittens new single "If You Come To Me" was released on Tuesday. Are Liz, Arun heading for splitsville? (Go To Top) New York, Oct 29: All's not well on the Elizabeth Hurley- Arun Nayar front. In fact, so bad are things between the British model-actress and her millionaire beau that they might split. According to reports, Arun's conservative family isn't very fond of Liz and her celebrity status isn't helping things either. "Arun's family will be pretty peeved about him and Liz. Indian families still have this conservative thing about brides not having a past," TeenHollywood quoted an insider as telling Britain's Closer magazine. "Liz has baby Damian from a relationship that ended acrimoniously. And her ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant is still hanging around. I doubt his parents will like any of this, and it will all be building pressure on Arun," added the insider. And this is what one of Arun's friends in his hometown Mumbai had to say: "He has been here doing a lot of partying on his own, which has raised a few eyebrows. People expected to see a lot of Liz here after they became a couple but it didn't happen." Pals also cite his ongoing divorce battle with Italian model Valentina Pedroni as another source of tension. California fires torch 'Aviator' (Go To Top) London, Oct 29: Natural disasters spare no one, not even film stars. Similar was the destiny of one film set partly destroyed by the fires currently raging in Southern California, having so far claimed 15 lives and 1,100 homes. According to People News, "Titanic" star Leonardo di Caprio had been filming "The Aviator", a biopic of pilot-cum-businessman Howard Hughes, directed by Martin Scorsese. The film will delve into Hollywood's own murky history and stars Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn, Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner and Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow. However, the crew had to abandon their location on a ranch in the Simi Valley area after fires destroyed a part of the set. Filming has since moved into a different, hopefully fire-proof, indoor location. Hugh Jackman: From Boy to Bond (Go To Top) Sydney, Oct 29: The next Bond movie might see Hugh Jackman playing the role instead of Pierce Brosnan. The "X Men" star is reportedly the new favourite to take over from Brosnan as the next 007. According to the Daily Telegraph, with Brosnan planning to hang up the superspy's famous tuxedo when filming concludes on the next instalment in the series, "The Boy From Oz" star is emerging at the top of the list of potential replacements. "A list of possible successors has been drawn up, and Hugh is at the top. He's got everything the producers are looking for - dark good looks, an athletic build, a sense of humour and box-office clout. At 35, he is also the right age," said a source at James Bond moviemakers Eon. British actors Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Jeremy Northam and Paul Bettany have all been put in the frame, but they have now reportedly been eliminated. "You can't have someone too young playing Bond because they would never be believable in the part," said Bond director Lewis Gilbert. "And the chances of getting a superstar like Russell Crowe are slim because he'll be too expensive, he'll have all sorts of projects lined up and is unlikely to want to commit to making a series of films. Hugh Jackman clearly fits the bill," he added. The "Kate And Leopold" actor would be the second Australian to star as the bedhopping agent. Goulburn-born George Lazenby replaced arguably the best Bond, Sean Connery, for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". It was the only Bond movie he made, but many fans of the genre consider it one of the best. However, at least for the next year Jackman is committed to donning a white suit on Broadway as Peter Allen in "The Boy From Oz". Britney strips `one more time' (Go To Top) New York, Oct 29: Here comes another lie. Just days after pledging never to pose near-naked again, pop star Britney Spears has stripped for another sexy photoshoot. According to ratethemusic.com, the "Hit Me Baby One More Time" star appears in the November issue of Britain's Q music magazine wearing nothing more than black leather knickers and a skimpy bra. It comes just days after she branded her saucy snaps for Esquire magazine a mistake. She said of the raunchy images in the men's publication, "I learned my lesson, and you won't see me like that for a while." But shots of the singer in Q indicate she's now changed her stance yet again. Halle's underwear heist! (Go To Top) London, Oct 29: Bond girl Halle Berry is shaken after she found out that a burglar had rifled through her underwear drawer. According to the Sun, Halle was in her Los Angeles mansion when the incident happened just two weeks after she moved in. "Somebody broke into my house, I don't know what he stole. He went through my underwear. I don't know how much I had, so I don't know if he took any. It was kind of weird," the distressed actress said. It's official! Jude, Sadie to divorce today (Go To Top) London, Oct 29: It's d-day for British hunk Jude Law and fashion designer Sadie Frost. London's High Court is expected to grant a divorce to them on Wednesday (October 29). "It is very sad that it has come to this but Sadie felt she had no other choice," the Sun quoted a pal, as saying. Jude, 30, and Sadie, 37, had been married for five years. They have three children together - two sons, Rafferty and baby Rudy, and a daughter Iris. Sadie is currently dating 22-year old flamenco guitarist Jackson Scott. Reese, Ryan blessed with a boy (Go To Top) New York, Oct 28: Hollywood couple Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe have become parents for the second time. The couple, who already have a four-year-old daughter Ava, welcomed their son Deacon last week, reports EOnline! According to Nancy Ryder, Reese' representative, Deacon is in excellent health and the family is excited and doing well. No futher details were released. Reese, 27, and Ryan, 29, met at the former's 21st birthday. After dating for two years, the pair announced that the "Legally Blonde" star was pregnant. The couple subsequently tied the knot in June 1999. As one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses, Reese and Ryan co- starred together in "Cruel Intentions." Has 'Whacko Jacko' diverted 9/11 funds? (Go To Top) Washington, Oct 29: Bad tidings for the King of Pop, who manages to rake up a controversy wherever he goes! Michael Jackson has been accused of siphoning off funds meant for the victims of September 11 to the Church of Scientology. According to a report in website ratethemusic, 'Whacko Jacko' recorded the track "What more can I give?" after the WTC collapse with a list of high-profile names, including Beyonce Knowles, Mariah Carey and Ricky Martin. The profits from the recording were meant to be disbursed to the families of the victims. However, according to Britain's 'Daily Mirror', Jackson has donated cash raised from the track, which was launched on the Internet to an organisation called 'The Hollywood Education And Literacy Project (HELP). The group has been associated with the controversial Church of Scientology, which has been attacked by religious leaders for alienating followers from their families. "What More Can I Give? will be collecting money for causes many stars may not have intended," Roger Friedman, Celebrity columnist, said. Kidman, Kravitz set eyes on New York lovenest (Go To Top) London, Oct 29: In yet another indication that the two are on the verge of tying the knot, Oscar-winning Aussie actress Nicole Kidman and her U.S. rocker beau Lenny Kravitz are planning to buy a home in New York. The two have already seen a 21-million-dollar five-storey, 21- room town house four times. "Each time they show up, Lenny has what looks like plans in his hand," the Sun quoted a source as saying. Kidman, 36, and Kravitz, 39, have been dating for a couple of months now. -ANI |