Nov 19, 2006 - JODHPUR, India - A Ravana's idol of the principal antagonist of Ram in Ramayana would soon be installed at a temple by the city's Maudgil Brahmins, who claim to be his descendants.

"By the beginning of 2007, the idol will be placed in Amarnath Mahadev and Navgraha temple on Fort road after determining a proper muhurat," said Kamlesh Dave, a Maudgil Brahmin and the temple's priest.

The marble statue — showing Ravana as a worshipper of Shiva — would be made in Jaipur. "But we are still discussing whether the statue should have one head or 10 heads," said Kamlesh.

Kamlesh claimed that the Maudgils migrated to Mandore from 'Lanka' at the time of Ravana's marriage and later shifted to Jodhpur when the city was founded by Rao Jodha in 1459. Kamlesh said about 150 Maudgil Brahmin families live in Jodhpur.

The Dave family has also been performing Ravana's shraada for hundreds of years.

 Nov 19, 2006 - BANGKOK - Thailand's new military-appointed government has threatened to shut down an operatic version of Asia's classic Ramayana, over fears one of its scenes may bring bad luck.

The opera, 'Ayodhya', premiered on Thursday night and is scheduled for repeat performances on Saturday and Sunday, albeit with the 'offensive' scene toned down after pressure from culture ministry officials.

The origins of the controversy remain murky. But the action comes as Thailand's interim government faces criticism for not lifting curbs on freedom of the press and civil liberties.

The composer, Somtow Sucharitkul that officials approached him a few days before the show's opening to complain about a scene involving the on-stage death of a key character, the demon-king, Thotsakan.

Portraying Thotsakan's death was taboo in Thai culture and would be a "bad omen".

Nov 20, 2006 - Mumbai - Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai on Wednesday expressed surprise at reports that the customs department had received a parcel addressed to her that contained 23,000 Euros (Indian Rupees 130,000) and said she would sort out the issue with the authorities.

"This is as much news to me and my family as it is to you and the rest of the world. We know nothing," Rai, shooting for Ashutosh Gowariker's film  Akbar Jodha  in Jaipur, said.

A white packet from a man in the Netherlands addressed to Rai, which contained electronic items and undeclared foreign currency, reached the Foreign Post Office a month ago.

The customs department had "started a preliminary inquiry".

 Nov 20, 2006 - NEW YORK - The lavish weekend wedding of Tom Cruise, 44, and Katie Holmes, 27, in the the decorous, romantic setting of a 15th-century castle in Bracciano, Italy is creating bzz.

After exchanging vows before a Scientology minister Saturday, Cruise and Holmes engaged in a "never-ending kiss". That kiss could be seen as a sweet gesture or as a reminder of the hyper-love the couple (or at least Cruise) has openly displayed since they first announced their relationship in April 2005 in Rome.

In June 2005, the couple became engaged at Paris' Eiffel Tower. Their child Suri was born April 18th.

Many celebrities attended the Cruise-Holmes nuptials, but the most symbolic attendee was Brooke Shields. Cruise had very publicly criticized Shields for taking antidepressants after the birth of her first daughter; he apologized to her in person a few months ago.

With neither star expected back on the big screen soon (Cruise is slated to begin shooting "Lions for Lambs" with Robert Redford in January; Holmes has nothing planned) it will be a while before the box office provides an answer.

November 16, 2006  - MUMBAI - The bodyguards of Hollywood couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt allegedly manhandled some people during a film shoot in a Mimbai school here.

Parents of children, of Anjuman-e-Islaam School in south Mumbai, waiting to take their wards home were livid with anger that the bodyguards, who had assaulted a British photo-journalist in Pune last month, had attacked them and passed racial slurs against them, and filed a complaint with police.

One bodyguard threatened people and called them "bloody Indians", pushed a small child and misbehaved with a woman.

November 16, 2006 - Brazilian student Cassia Aparecida de Souza, 18, claims her cat's offspring has been born with dog traits last Friday, three months after mating with a neighbour's dog in the Brazilian city of Passo Fundo.

Cassia, and her husband Rogerio, claim that the puppies are part of the cat, Mimi's litter of six. They say that the three born with cat features died soon after birth, leaving the surviving three dog-like offsprings.

A geneticist from the Passo Fundo University plans to take blood samples from the animals to verify the claim.

Nov 17, 2006 - HARTFORD, Conn. - Two armed thugs tried to rob a line of people waiting for the new PlayStation 3 game system to go on sale in Putnam early Friday and shot one man who refused to give up his money.

About 30 miles away, another shopper was beaten and robbed of his new PlayStation 3 just minutes after he bought it at a store in Manchester.

Nationwide, short supplies of the PS3 and strong demand led to long lines of buyers, some waiting for days outside stores. Once the doors opened Friday, they pushed and shoved their way to the shelves in several cities to get at the limited supply. Two people were arrested in Fresno, Calif., after a crowd trampled people in a parking lot.

The attacks and robberies in Connecticut appeared to be the most violent. It was about 3 a.m. when the two gunmen in Putnam, a town of about 9,000 residents in northeast Connecticut, confronted 15 to 20 people standing outside a Wal-Mart store and demanded money.

A Pennsylvania teenager was also robbed of his new PlayStation by a man who tapped on his car window with a handgun in Allentown.

In Lexington, Ky., someone fired BB pellets from a passing vehicle at people waiting outside a Best Buy store, whose own reporter said she was among four people grazed while she interviewed buyers in line.

A Best Buy in Boston, aware it had only 140 of the consoles, got smart about the big sale, its employees gave out tickets to the first 140 people in line so everyone could go home until the store opened.

November 5, 2006 - Mumbai - Bollywood's hot starlet Kareena Kapoor is on fitness spree these days. A newspaper reported that Kareena has lost seven kilos in seven months.
 
The actress decided to lose the extra fat after critics and audiences found her 'chubby' in 'Don'. As Bebo has not been shooting for any film for last many months and will resume her work early next year, she decided to use her free time to get back in shape.

Kareena is reportedly working out two hours daily with her fitness conscious beau Shahid Kapur. She has also joined Bharat Thakur's Yoga classes.

'I want to look super sexy,' Kareena is quoted as saying. The result of Kareena's toil is already visible in her newfound sylphlike figure.

Kareena presently has only two movies in her kitty : with Mani Ratnam and Zoya Akhtar. Both films will go on the floors early next year.

Till then, she has decided to make best use of her free time. Some reports say that besides shaping up her body, Kareena is also improving relations with Shahid's family.

Nov 15, 2006 - CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Authorities are considering charges against a Pee Wee football coach who was caught on videotape attacking a referee after being told to stop cursing on the sidelines in front of his 5- and 6-year-old players.

The amateur video of the Nov. 4 incident shows the coach charging onto a field and tackling the 18-year-old referee, who was briefly knocked unconscious.

A crowd of parents ran onto the field and surrounded the pair.

Investigators plan to meet with Nueces County prosecutors to determine if the coach and at least one other man should face charges, Houston said. He said assault on a game official is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Police did not release the identities of the coach or the referee.

Nov 14, 2006 - ERFURT, Germany - A 73-year-old pastor's last sermon focused on his fear that Christian Europe would be overwhelmed by Islam. A few weeks later, on Reformation Day at one of the most important Lutheran landmarks, the Reverend Roland Weisselberg soaked himself in gasoline and set himself ablaze.

He left no suicide note, but in a time when Christians and Muslims in Europe lurch from one crisis to the next, the retired minister is being proclaimed a self-martyr.

In his last sermon, Weisselberg said Christians in Europe must unite or risk being overrun by Islam in generations to come. He also had written letters to newspapers declaring that European Christians had become too meek and separated from the faith's bold history.

Anti-Muslim groups across Europe have exalted Weisselberg's name. Christian Web sites have given him top billing – in a repeat of the global cyber-eulogies for an Italian missionary, Sister Leonella Sgorbati, who was gunned down in Somalia in September in possible retaliation to the pope's comments on Islam.

Last month, a Turkish-born lawmaker sought protection from death threats after calling Islamic head scarves a symbol of oppression of women.

In Berlin, an opera company has become Europe's latest freedom of expression flash point. A planned production of Mozart's “Idomeneo” outraged Muslims with a scene depicting the severed heads of the Prophet Muhammad along with other religious figures including Jesus and Buddha.

Pope Benedict XVI used a speech at a German university in September to decry violent trends in Islam, setting off a maelstrom of protests around the world. The German pontiff is scheduled to begin a visit to Turkey on Nov. 28 in his first papal trip to a mostly Muslim nation.

Nov 13, 2006 - NEW DELHI - Bollywood's singing legend Lata Mangeshkar has been chosen for the Knight of Legion award - the French government's highest civilian honour.

Lata, who has sung over 50,000 songs in her more than five-decade-long career in films, is being honoured for her contribution to the world of cinema.

French Ambassador to India Dominique Gerard will present the award to her next month in Mumbai.

Last month, Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan's name was announced for this honour. Veteran Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray is also a recipient of this prestigious award.

Nov 5, 2006 - COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, U.S. - Saying that he was a "deceiver and liar" who had given in to his dark side, the Rev. Ted Haggard confessed to sexual immorality Sunday in a letter read from the pulpit of the megachurch he founded.

The disgraced former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents 30 million evangelical Christians, apologized and said "because of pride, I began deceiving those I love the most because I didn't want to hurt or disappoint them."

"The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality. And I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life," he said.

Haggard, 50, resigned last week as NAE president, where he held sway in Washington and condemned homosexuality, after a man claimed to have had drug-fueled homosexual trysts with him. Haggard also placed himself on administrative leave from the 14,000-member New Life Church, which he founded in the 1980s. Its independent Overseer Board fired him Saturday.

Danielle Lloyd, 22, of Station Road, Chingford, who also has a home in High Road, South Woodfordlost, her Miss Great Britain crown after admitting that she dated one of the beauty contest judges before winning the title.

Danielle Lloyd, named Miss Great Britain 2006 at the end of February, confessed in an interview to Eve magazine that she and her boyfriend, football player Teddy Sheringham have spent last Christmas together.

Although previously announcing that her relationship with Teddy Sheringham started after receiving the title, Danielle made the mistake of stating that she was in bed when boyfriend Sheringham brought her the Christmas present, a pair of shoes.

Danielle Lloyd , who was the public's favorite to the crown, received a single vote from the judges, so if Teddy Sheringham wouldn't have voted for her she wouldn't have been named Miss Great Britain.

It is also rumored that the main reason for which Danielle Lloyd has to return her title is the fact that she allegedly accepted to pose topless for Playboy.

Miss Basildon, Louise White, who came second in the beauty contest taking place in February is very likely to become the next Miss Great Britain.

The claims, coupled with her decision to pose topless for Playboy magazine prompted organisers to strip Miss Lloyd of her title last week.

Nov 9, 2006 - NEW DELHI - Number of patients afflicted with dengue in the Capital crossed the 3000 mark but the spread of the disease appeared to taper off with 59 cases being reported countrywide.

The disease has claimed 175 lives this year. However, no dengue deaths were reported across the country since Wednesday.
With the fresh cases, the total number of people afflicted with the mosquito-borne disease rose to 9,739.

AIIMS, which has emerged as the nerve-centre during the outbreak of the disease in the capital, admitted just two patients suffering from the disease in the last 24 hours ending 8:00 am.

In Delhi, 28 fresh cases were reported in hospitals across the city, taking the total number of cases in the capital to 3002.

Health officials said dengue was on a decline and expressed hope that the disease would disappear by the end of the month.

Twenty people had died of dengue in Maharashtra, 17 in Rajasthan, 16 in Andhra Pradesh, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, seven each in Karnataka and West Bengal, five each in Punjab and Kerala, three in Gujarat and two each in Haryana and Tamil Nadu.

As many as 1224 people were afflicted with the disease in Rajasthan, 931 in Punjab, 907 in West Bengal, 880 in Kerala, 582 in Maharashtra, 480 in Gujarat, 409 in Haryana, 328 in Tamil Nadu, 141 in Andhra Pradesh, 108 in Chandigarh and 92 in Karnataka.

Last year, 157 people had succumbed to dengue while 11,985 were afflicted.

Nov 9, 2006 - WASHINGTON - Democrats won a 51st seat in the Senate and regained total control of Congress after 12 years of near-domination by the Republican Party. The shift dramatically alters the government's balance of power, leaving
President Bush without GOP congressional control to drive his legislative agenda. Democrats hailed the results and issued calls for bipartisanship even as they vowed to investigate administration policies and decisions.

Democrats completed their sweep Wednesday evening by ousting Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia, the last of six GOP incumbents to lose re-election bids in a midterm election marked by deep dissatisfaction with the president and the war in
Iraq.

Democrats had 229 seats in the House, 11 more than the number necessary to hold the barest of majorities in the 435-member chamber.

The Democrats. Rep. Nancy Pelosi  would become the first female speaker in history, called for harmony and said Democrats would not abuse their new status. She said she would be "the speaker of the House, not the speaker of the Democrats." She said Democrats would aggressively conduct oversight of the administration, but said any talk of impeachment of President Bush "is off the table."

China - Farmers in a small Chinese town, Jiangsu, have hired strippers at their funerals to attract larger crowds, China Central Television reported. The local people believe that the more people gathered at a funeral, the more luck it will bring to the family and offspring of the deceased. So, some families hire striptease troupes to attract more people.

This stripping spectacle has reportedly become one of the town's most popular nighttime events, especially among migrant workers. Some local residents even host a rival show with two performances on the each side of the street close to the mourning hall and their houses to attract viewers. With a competitive atmosphere, the dancers and singers on each side try their best to attract people's attention. Some strippers even take off the trousers of male viewers and persuade them to join in the dancing, while others bathe in public or perform nude with snakes.

Dozens of troupes operate stripteases in the small town, which reportedly brings in a small fortune. A troupe boss told a reporter that he earned more than $25,000 last year, while a male singer in the troupe said he had purchased three apartments with his wages. Most of the dancers are local women, the boss said.

Nov 2, 2006 - TORONTO - A Canadian man has been charged with child sexual abuse after an undercover officer watched via the Internet as an assault on a young girl took place. A detective posed as a pedophile during a lengthy undercover investigation.

He immediately notified the police, who made the arrest shortly afterwards on October 29 in St. Thomas, Ontario, about 200 km (125 miles) west of Toronto. The preschool-aged child was reportedly in the man's house at the time of his arrest.

Police said the child is now with her family and receiving necessary help to recover. A 34-year-old man has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and child pornography. He is due to appear in court on Thursday.

Nov 5, 2006 - White House spokesman Tony Snow decried as "absolutely crazy" any notion that the end to Saddam's nine-month trial was timed to produce positive news on the divisive, unpopular war two days before Americans vote.  Bush painted Saddam's conviction and sentence as vindication of the sacrifices made by American soldiers in Iraq. More than 2,800 members of the U.S. military have died since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

An Iraqi court convicted Saddam earlier Sunday and sentenced him to die by hanging for ordering the torture and murder of nearly 150 Shiites from the city of Dujail in 1982. Six subordinates were also found guilty of crimes against humanity, which came after what Saddam said was an assassination attempt against him.

Shiites rejoiced at the death sentence for the former dictator who terrorized their population. But Saddam's fellow Sunnis paraded through his hometown in protest. With sectarian violence already pushing Iraq to the brink of civil war, presidential counselor Dan Bartlett said Bush is confident U.S. forces and Iraqi soldiers were prepared to contain any spike in bloodshed.

November 3, 2006 - LONDON - A British Muslim on trial for inciting murder at a demonstration outside the Danish embassy in London called for "another 9/11" across Europe.

Web designer Mizanur Rahman, 23, denies charges of inciting murder and racial hatred during demonstrations against the publication of cartoons in a Danish newspaper that many Muslims considered insulting to Islam and the Prophet Mohammad.

Muslims around the world demonstrated against the cartoons. But British prosecutors say speeches at protests in London in February went further and were an incitement to kill.

He said:, "Oh Allah, we want to see another 9/11 in Iraq, another 9/11 in Denmark, another 9/11 in Spain, in France, all over Europe. Oh Allah, destroy all of them, Amen'.

"Bomb, bomb France. Bomb, bomb France. Nuke, nuke France. Nuke, nuke France'. We don't want to see them in Baghdad or in Iraq any more. We want to see them coming home in body bags. We want to see their blood running in the streets of Baghdad and Falluja."

"We want to see the Mujahideen shoot down their planes like the way they shoot down birds. We want to see their tanks burnt, just like we burn their flags. We want to see their freedoms destroyed. We want to see all of them removed from Muslim land. Oh Allah, don't leave any of them alive in Iraq, don't leave any of them alive in Afghanistan, don't leave any of them standing in France."

The trial continues.