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Pope laid to rest

     Vatican City: Pope John Paul II has been buried in St Peter's Basilica after a funeral in Rome which witnessed a gathering of lakhs of people and some 200 leaders from all over the world. Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somal, the Vatican's camerlengo or chamberlain led the burial service. The Pope's coffin was kept inside two other coffins, one of which was made of zinc and another of oak before being buried in St Peter's crypt under a stone slab. Millions of pilgrims from all walks of life, including heads of state and government, kings and princes, gathered in Rome for the funeral and to celebrate the life of the Polish-born Pope with the Catholic hierarchy.

     At the front, before the grand sweep of the steps of the Basilica, about two hundred heads of state and religious leaders took their seats ahead of the extended requiem mass. This was the central and public part of the funeral ceremony. Earlier the rites began in private, behind the closed doors of the St. Peter's Basilica, away from the world's television cameras. Cardinals, senior clergy and Vatican officials sang psalms and recited prayers over the Pope's body as it was placed into the coffin. The Pope's face was covered with a piece of white silk. Medallions, one from each year of the Pope's time in office, and a document giving a brief account of the Pope's life, were placed in the coffin beside the body before it was sealed People were working their way into the square that was marked by lots of flags from countries like Poland, Canada, Brazil, Nigerian, Lebanon, but it was the Poles who took pride of place. The main road leading into St Peter's Square was jam-packed with people, some of whom sat on the ground, waiting for the police to let them through to the square and to key vantage points. A crowd of between one to two million people graced the solemn event. The funeral was being broadcast on large screens here. There was then a requiem mass with music from Mozart and some of the Pope's own verses.

     Four kings, five queens and at least 70 presidents and prime ministers are attended the three-hour-long funeral rites in St. Peter's Square. Some 2,500 dignitaries of all faiths and races flooded into the Renaissance colonnaded square, including U.S. President George W. Bush, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, French President Jacques Chirac, Prince Charles,Mexican President Vicente Fox and an array of Arab leaders. Italy closed the airspace over central Rome and called in extra forces, anti-aircraft missiles and patrol boats to guard the funeral of a man who was hailed for his role in ending communism but criticised by some for his strict orthodoxy.

     In his last will and testament released on Thursday, the Pope revealed his anguish in 2000 over the long length of his papacy as he entered the new millennium stricken by ailment. He also revealed that he had contemplated being buried in Poland, but later changed his mind and asked only to be buried under the ground. That wish came about on Friday. For a Pope who travelled the equivalent of 30 times the circumference of the earth during his reign, his last journey was the shortest. The Pope's body was laid in a plain cypress coffin before the ceremony, with a white silk veil placed on his face. After the funeral mass, his coffin was carried back into St. Peter's Basilica and laid to rest in a crypt below.

     Roman Catholic cardinals have decided to open a conclave to elect a new Pope on April 18. John Paul's successor faces the daunting task of leading 1.1 billion Catholics in an era marked by tension between religions, between science and ethics, between doctrine and social pressure to change and open up to contraception, women, married priests. He will also have to try to reverse sliding attendances in the Church's backyard, Europe.

Eighteen Maoists killed in Nepal (Go To Top)

     Kathmandu: Nepali soldiers killed at least 18 Maoist rebels after the insurgents attacked their base overnight in the west of the nation in the deadliest clash in the past five weeks, an army officer said today. Nine soldiers were wounded in the fighting at the base in Khara in Rukum district, 550 km west of Kathmandu, The News quoted an army officer as saying. "So far, we have recovered 18 bodies of the terrorists. The search is continuing and we have foiled their attempt to overrun the base," an army officer told foreign news agency, adding the Maoists used rocket launchers and mortars in the attack.

Export cess on agri, plantation products off (Go To Top)

    New Delhi: Focussing its sights on attracting at least 92 billion dollars through its exports for fiscal 2005-06, the Centre on Friday announced the removal of export cess on agro and plantation products, besides unleashing major policy initiatives through its latest Foreign Trade Policy (FTP). Addressing mediapersons and representatives of industry, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said that the new policy is aimed at removing existing procedural hurdles, boosting retail sector and exports of agri, marine and Small Scale Industry (SSI) products. Launching the annual supplement to the policy, he said the remaoval of the export cess on agri and plantation commodities is being initiated to give a big thrust to farm exports. The measures to boost agri exports include expansion of the Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana to poultry and dairy products apart from flowers, fruits, vegetables and minor forest produce. Under the scheme, duty credit at the rate of five per cent of Freight on Board will be given.

Jamshedpur set to host third ODI against Pak (Go To Top)

     Jamshedpur: Jhamshedpur is ready to host the third one-day international (ODI) match of the current series between Indian and Pakistan to be played on Saturday. Indian players kept themselves busy in net practices on the eve of the match. According to the officials they have prepared a sporting pitch. "The pitch has always been a good batting one. We have tried our level best to provide the best wicket. The chairman who visited us yesterday also said that he could not believe that we could prepare such a nice pitch and ground," said B.N. Singh, secretary of the Jharkhand Cricket Association. The security arrangements have been tightened to avoid any untoward incident, especially after the stone-throwing incident on the bus carrying Pakistani players, said Rajiv Ranjan, deputy superintendent of police. "An India-Pakistan match has always been a sensitive issue and it concerns the national prestige. Any untoward incident will be talked about. Keeping that in mind, the security arrangements have been made likewise," he added. The people of Jamshedpur are eagerly awaiting to see some great action from their local boy Mahendra Dhoni who helped India win last match by making 148 runs in the second one-dayer. Dhoni scored 20 boundaries including four sixes. His score helped India to reach their highest-ever total against Pakistan and a 58-run victory. India leads the six-game one-day series by 2-0, after the drawn test series. The remaining four matches of the series are to be played at Jamshedpur, Ahmedabad, Kanpur and Delhi.