NDA not to have BJP's Ayodhya plank in Bihar polls: Fernandes

     New Delhi: BJP's new found temple fervour has failed to enthuse its principal ally in Bihar, the Janata Dal (U). Senior JD (U) leader and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) convener George Fernandes said that the Alliance will not fight the coming assembly polls in Bihar on the Hindutva plank. He mounted blistering attack on Bihar Governor Buta Singh and his family, blaming him for the ills plauging the state. "This will have no effect on the elections. We are not fighting the elections on a religious line but against the 15 years of misrule by Lalu Prasad. The chief secretary resigned saying that there is no point in having the governor and the central rule in the state as the de facto rule by Lalu Prasad continues. He and his sons what are they doing in Bihar? Some people are talking about Ayodhya when Bihar is up in flames," said Fernandes. BJP President L K Advani before deposing in a special court in Rae Barelli in the Babri demolition case had asserted that the Raam temple will be constructed on the disputed site through a negotiation or judicial order. The belligerent mood of the BJP has caused discomfort for the Janata Dal (United), out to woo the minorities in the Bihar polls.

A 10th planet in solar system (Go To Top)

     London: Astronomers claim to have discovered a tenth planet in the solar system. Researchers have said the newly discovered planet is about 70 percent of Pluto's diametre, although previous data has said that it might be twice of size of Pluto. It is also believed to be the biggest in the Kuiper belt of rocky objects that orbit the outer reaches of the solar system. For their study, Jose-Luis Ortiz, an astronomer at the Sierra Nevada Observatory in Spain, discovered the object following a re-analysis of their 2003 observation. It was then that upon scouring through the older archives and pre-discoveries that Ortiz and his team calculated the object's orbit. The observations were also verified by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center (MPC) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, which designated the object as 2003 EL61, reports NewScientist. Researchers said the object is about 51 Astronomical Units from the Sun and comes as close to the Sun as 35 AU, compared to Pluto, which maintains an average distance of about 39AU. The planet's plane is also is tilted by 28 degrees, compared to Pluto which orbits in a plane tilted by 17 degrees. Further studies revealed that the planet also had a moon orbiting it. The moon, though not a first discovery of a satellite around a Kuiper Belt object, is the smallest and only about one percent mass of 2003 EL61. It has a 49 day orbit.

7/7 mastermind was bin Laden's bodyguard (Go To Top)

     London: Haroon Rashid Aswat, the thirty one year old Al Qaeda suspect nabbed by authorities in Zambia has claimed that he was once Osama bin Laden's bodyguard. The UK born Aswat was apprehended in the Zambian capital Lusaka on suspicions that he had masterminded the 7/7 London bomb attacks, reports the Sun. Earlier there were reports that that as many as twenty calls were made from Aswat's mobile to two of the four suicide bombers, in the days before the attacks on the three Tubes and one bus, that left 56 dead besides leaving several others injured. He was also reported to have slipped into the UK through Felixstowe, Suffolk, two weeks before the attacks and flown out from Heathrow hours before the explosions. Aswat who grew up in Dewsbury, West Yorks, the same area where London suicide bomber Mohammed Sidique Khan lived, had left for Afghanistan and then slipped into Pakistan, where he became a trusted aide of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Aswat was also accused of setting up an Al-Qaeda training camp in Oregon in 1999. Aswat's 59-year old father, Rashid is however, shaken by all this. "If reports are true I will feel my own family has died," Rashid was quoted as saying.

India score 205 for 9 against Lanka in first ODI (Go To Top)

     Dambulla (Sri Lanka): Electing to bat first in the first one day international for the ONGC Cup, India scored 205 for nine in the allotted 50 overs against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. India were dealt a major blow with V V S Laxman being ruled out with a back spasm. The team entered the match with two debutants --Suresh Raina of Uttar Pradesh and Y Venugopala Rao of Andhra Pradesh. Skipper Rahul Dravid top scored with 54 and was involved in a 58- run sixth wicket partnership with Rao who scored 38. Rao's steady innings was the bright note for the Indians after the collapse of the top order early this afternoon. Irfan Pathan (21), Harbhajan Singh (20 not out) and Zaheer Khan (20) provided the late spark that propelled the Indian score past the 200-mark which at one time looked improbable. Sri Lankan off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan claimed three for 33, while right arm pacer Perveez Maharoof troubled the Indian batsmen with his disconcerting bounce. The Indians are without the services of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, the latter out of action till September after undergoing a surgery on his left elbow in London. Ganguly is expected to return to the side on Monday for the third match of the series after his ban for slow over rate in the recent Indo-Pak one-day series was reduced from six to four matches two days ago. This is India's first series under Coach Greg Chappell who took over from New Zealand's John Wright in May.

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