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Britain mulling pulling out of Iraq: secret papers

      London: Britain is contemplating pulling out the bulk of its troops from Iraq, according to secret documents, quoted by The Mail on Sunday. A secret paper written by Britain's Defence Secretary John Reid for Premier Tony Blair reveals that many of the 8,500 British troops in Iraq would be brought home within the next three months. It has also said that cutting troops numbers to a mere 3,000 by the middle of next year will save the government as much as 500 million pounds a year. Although both Britain and US are secretly preparing to withdraw most of their troops from Iraq, the paper quoted the leaked document marked Secret: UK Eyes Only, as saying that Americans seem to be split over the plan. Interestingly, the revelations seem to fly in the face of Blair and Bush's pledge that allied forces would not quit Iraq until indigenous Iraqi forces are strong enough to control security. Incidentally, it was only a fortnight back that Blair has said that it was 'vital' that US-led coalition forces remain in Iraq until stability returned. "We have a commitment to hand over to Iraqi control in Al Muthanna and Maysan provinces [two of the four provinces under British control in Southern Iraq] in October 2005 and in the other two, Dhi Qar and Basra, in April 2006. This in turn should lead to a reduction in the total level of UK commitment in Iraq to around 3,000 personnel by mid 2006," the paper quoted the document as saying. "This should lead to an estimated halving in the costs of around #1 billion per annum. Though it is not exactly clear when this reduction might manifest itself, it would not be before around the end of 2006," the document added. Reid has also said that his proposal is not yet a "ministerially endorsed position" - or Government policy - though he clearly believes it should be.

All buses to stop for two-minute silence (Go To Top)

     London: The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has announced further details of the two minute silence in memory of those killed in the terrorist attack on London last Thursday. The two minute silence, announced by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell and the Mayor, will take place at 12 noon on Thursday July 14. Bus drivers throughout London will stop their vehicles and turn off their engines at noon on Thursday. For operational reasons the Tube will remain in operation and passengers will be informed of the two minutes silence through the public address systems in the stations and on the trains. In addition, the Mayor is suggesting that, where practical, other Londoners should come outside of their buildings and participate in the two-minute silence together. London's Metroline carries 250 million passengers every year and operates on 96 routes. Annually, the buses travel almost 37.5 million journey. The 1,200-strong-buse service employs 3,700 people and has a service fleet age profile of 4.5 years. It currently runs 13.5 percent of London buses and is contracted to Transport for London.

London mayor heads for office by tube as usual (Go To Top)

      London: The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, travelled to work on Monday by tube as he usually does, signalling that all is well with the underground network. The Mayor was accompanied by one pool crew and one photographer only. Apart from the mayor, many commuters have made their first trip to work since the chaos caused by Thursday's bomb blasts. London Underground said passenger numbers were at normal levels. Forty-nine people died and 700 people were injured at four blast sites. Both Livingstone and senior officials of London's Metropolitan Police Force urged Londoners to return to their routines. Despite Tube closures around the affected lines and road closures around Tavistock Square, most buses and trains have almost resumed a normal service.

Bhupati beats Sania in friendly match (Go To Top)

     Bangalore: Ace doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi today said that he might consider pairing up with Sania Mirza in mixed doubles at Grand Slams once the Hyderabad tennis sensation breaks into the top 50 in the singles world ranking. Bhupathi and Sania played 'tennis on the street' in Bangalore to promote the Sunfeast open 2005 touted as the South Asia's biggest sporting event to be played in Kolkata from September 19-25. This event will hold a prize money of US 1,70,000 dollar. Earlier this month, Bhupathi along with Mary Pierce of France won the Wimbledon mixed doubles while Sania, recently ranked 70 in the world, lost in the US Open Championship. Bhupathi said winning Wimbledon was special as it had "turned around" his professional career for the year. Both Bhupathi and Sania stressed that Sania needs to focus on singles at this stage.

Bhupati-Paes tennis duo to team up again (Go To Top)

      Bangalore: Ace tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi today said that he would play the forthcoming Davis Cup tournament with his famous doubles partner Leander Paes. The Bhupathi-Paes pair reached the finals of all four grand slams in 1999 but then came a bitter split. Bhupathi who was in the city for a promotional match against tennis star Sania Mirza for the Sunfeast Open 2005 said he would pair with Paes for both the Davis cup and the Asian Championship. "It's definitely not closed. We have to play a lot more together. Definitely we are playing in September, we are playing the Davis cup. And next year we have got the Asian games. It is definitely not a closed chapter," said Bhupathi. The Sunfeast open 2005 touted as south Asia's biggest sporting event with a prize money of US 170,000 dollar , will be played in Calcutta in September. Paes and Bhupathi realised they had an uncanny chemistry while representing India in a Davis Cup tie in 1996 - by then Paes had won an Olympic singles bronze at Atlanta. They played together on the Challenger circuit as an experiment and decided to move on to greater things after winning half a dozen titles that year. The Indian team took the ATP circuit by storm in 1997, winning six doubles titles, and they added another six crowns to their collection the following year. Then came 1999 and they became the hottest property on the doubles circuit, winning the French Open and Wimbledon titles. But even while they were making history, there was trouble brewing. Their split in early 2000 was a great shock for Indian fans. They have never talked about the specifics of the problems, all Bhupathi would say was that the camaraderie and confidence had been destroyed by misunderstandings and ego clashes. The pair attempted to patch things up before the Sydney Olympics and they won their third grand slam together at the 2001 French Open. Bhupathi along with France's Mary Pierce won the Wimbledon mixed doubles this year, which gave him his seventh grand slam doubles title and his second Wimbledon mixed doubles crown, adding to the one he won in 2002 with Russian Elena Likhovtseva. Bhupathi became the first Indian to win a grand slam in 1997 in the French Open mixed doubles with Japan's Rika Hiraki. He has won four men's doubles titles, three of them with compatriot Paes.

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