Reporter Sam

I thought I'll just do a round up of some current news and some interesting news stories that I've come across in the last couple of days.

First of all, the big news as far as India is concerned... 23 constituencies of the state of Jammu and Kashmir went to polls yesterday, i.e. 16th of September 2002, in what was the first round of elections in the state troubled by terrorism. The overall average voter turnout was a modest 44 percent, but that should be put into perspective while passing judgement. The votes were cast under the shadow of guns as the terrorists desperately tried to stall the progress of the polls. As a result, 44 percent assumes bigger significance when one also considers that sometimes lower voter turnout than 44% is recorded in some elections in other peaceful parts of the country. So, hats off to the spirit of the Kashmiri people! Well done!! A more complete coverage of the J&K polls is available here.

On to sports now... The ICC Champions Trophy got underway in Sri Lanka last week and matches are being played almost everyday. Yesterday, the hosts Sri Lanka played Holland (an absolute novice side as far as cricket is concerned). The result was a foregone conclusion... Sri Lanka, playing in their usual blue outfits, walloped the Dutch, playing in almost obscenely bright orange clothes, by a huuuuuge margin. It was a mismatch really... which leads me to wonder why did they invite Holland to play in a tournament that is termed as the Champions Trophy?!! Anyways, today, West Indies took on Kenya and hoped to avoid the repeat of their shock defeat, years ago in Pune. Brian Lara scored 111 runs helping West Indies to reach a total of 261. Kenya could not quite match up to the task of overhauling the target and fell short by some 29 runs. But the news of the day was that Brian Lara was rushed to the hospital after his batting since he was feeling fatigued and uneasy. The preliminary reports indicated that Lara might be suffering from Hepatitis. Thats a bad news! hope he recovers soon!!! Read about this story here.

Shekhar Kapur, India's most prominent star on the firmament of world cinema, is ready with his next film. The film, titled, The Four Feathers, based on AE W Mason's novel is supposed to be a a lavish mounted gripping tale of a young English soldier who quits the army on the eve of a crucial war and is branded a coward by his friends and fiancée. The soldier, played by Heath Ledger, returns to the battlefield few months later to save the lives of the very same friends who had denounced him not too long ago. Many critics and reviewers have already predicted that this might be a strong Oscar contender. Well, I hope Shekhar Kapur does manage to win Oscars this time around. Anyways consider for a moment, the list of hits that this talented director has produced over the years... Masoom, Mr. India, The Bandit Queen and Elizabeth. What a list to adorn his CV!!

Now, just a set of links to some interesting news...

They had a little time after picking peaches and before swimming, so Marie and Tom Burrows decided to take their grandson Zack to America's newest tourist attraction: an enormous pile of radioactive waste. Confused?!! ... read about the nuclear dump for the whole family.

What happens when national television reports, on prime time, an incident that never took place?! ... Embarassment... feet in the mouth... and red faces. All this must have happened when Pakistan Television (PTV) announced the rigging of polls in one of the constituencies in the J&K elections. Investigative reporting at its best you would say... fair enough! But what if election never took place there at all! Read about this terrible faux pas here.

Skippy goes clubbing in Milan. Anybody would! ... in this trendy and chic Italian city. But Skippy is five-and-a-half feet tall kangaroo!! Read about Skippy, the pub-hopping kangaroo.

*LOL* ... I think I bored you enough with news. But before I take your leave, here's a last bit of tidbit...

This one is from the irrepressible Navjyot Singh Sidhu...
In the last test match between India and England recently, there was an incident when a streaker ran across the ground in his birthday suit. Speaking about the incident during the luncheon break, Sidhu exclaimed that "Streakers are the people who want to show they're nuts!"... *LMAO*... Go figure!

cheers!