Beckham makes spectacular come back

David Beckham returned for England and did just about everything but score.

Beckham marked his first appearance in the lineup since resigning as captain at last year's World Cup by setting up the team's goal in a 1-1 friendly draw with Brazil on Friday.

Although Steven Gerrard was named man of the match in the first international at rebuilt Wembley Stadium, it was Beckham who drew the loudest cheers from a crowd of 88,745.

Back wearing the No. 7 shirt after 10 months out of the side, Beckham was one of the best performers against the five-time world champion and provided the 68th-minute free kick that captain John Terry headed to put England ahead.

Only an injury-time goal by Brazil substitute Diego denied England victory.

"Football's a cruel game and sometimes you don't get what you deserve - and we didn't deserve that," England coach Steve McClaren said. "We deserved to win the game."

Preparing for Estonia

McClaren was using the game as preparation for Wednesday's European Championship qualifier at Estonia, and was now sure to include Beckham for a match England must win to boost its hopes of reaching next year's tournament.

The Real Madrid midfielder's famous deliveries were as accurate as ever, he tackled fiercely but fairly, and covered ground on the right of midfield to stymie Brazil's attacks and set up England's.

"He was good and he took advantage of his best feature - the dead balls," Brazil coach Dunga said.

Beckham was slower than at his peak five years ago, but he set up Michael Owen for three chances, and put a curling free kick just wide in the first half.

Standing ovation

The crowd at the stadium, which was hosting England for the first time since September 2000, cheered each time he touched the ball and gave him a standing ovation when he was substituted in the 77th.

"I brought him back because he was playing well," McClaren said. "David Beckham is a player who, when he's playing well, there is no better right-sided player in the world.

"He showed that tonight."

Terry's goal and Beckham's performance roused the crowd after an uneventful first half in which neither goalkeeper had to make a save.

England benefited from the 63rd-minute introduction of substitutes Stewart Downing and Kieron Dyer and improved on its recent performances, but was still disjointed.

"We couldn't get through the middle of them and we tried to move it wide," Terry said. "We did that a bit better in the second half."

But even a Brazil containing Ronaldinho and Kaka struggled to put together passing moves on a pitch that broke up from the start.

Gilberto Silva scored in the 20th minute but had his header ruled out for offside by two other players.

"The players need to have more physical training," Dunga said. "They are a little bit tired but we still had six chances for goals and we only trained 30 minutes."

Each tackle and stumble seemed to create a new divot in the turf. Heavy rain last month and three games in three days last weekend for the English league playoffs left the new field in poor condition.

That meant defenders could slide into tackles and Gerrard made a crucial one on the edge of the area to deny a chance for Kaka, who won the Champions League last week with AC Milan.

Ronaldinho drew the game's first save from Paul Robinson five minutes into the second half with a shot that deflected off defender Ledley King.

Beckham then curled a free kick onto Owen's head, but the ball went just over the bar. Owen shot straight at the goalkeeper from another pass by Beckham, before the midfielder set up Terry for his header goal at the far post.

"David was in a different class today," Terry said. "His delivery is superb. It was a great ball from Becks and it was about time I scored again."

Beckham was one of six players taken off as McClaren tried to rest them for Wednesday and England thought it had beaten Brazil for the first time since 1990 when, with less than one minute of added time left, Diego beat the defense to a cross and headed past Robinson.

KISS boys win U-14 rugby

India's recent triumphs on the world stage aren't limited to the world of cricket, by the looks of it.

The Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga School of Social Sciences, or KISS, has won the under-14 Rugby World Cup in London.

The Jungle Crows, as the KISS rugby team is called, outplayed South Africa 19-05 in the Final.

They had started off as underdogs in the tournament, playing as they were on foreign turf. But soon stunned teams from Zambia, Swaziland, Kenya and Romania, to top Group 'B' and set up a title-clash with the South Africans.

All 12 members of the KISS rugby squad are in fact tribals hailing from different backward regions of Orissa.

Jayawardane, Murali join IPL

The Indian Premier League, the ambitious cash-rich Twenty20 venture launched by the BCCI, on Monday announced the signing of eight current Sri Lankan cricketers, including captain Mahela Jayawardene and spin wizard Muthiah Muralitharan, for its inaugural edition.

Barely three days after the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) released its second list of 18 players, the IPL responded by coming out with the names of its first high-profile signings, intensifying the recruitment battle between the two rival groups.

Apart from Jayawardane and Muralitharan, the dashing Sanath Jayasuriya, wicketkeeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara and pacemen Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Zoysa, Farveez Maharoof and Dilhara Fernando were the other players to play in the inaugural season.

The IPL had already roped in the likes of spin great Shane Warne, former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming and Aussie speedster Glen McGrath for the Twenty20 tournament, seen as a counter to the Subhash-Chandra owned Essel Group's breakaway League.

Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner of IPL said, "We at the IPL are committed to enticing an entire new generation of sports fans into the grounds by showcasing some of the best cricketing talent on offer from the world over.

"It is in line with this philosophy that we have signed eight of the current Sri Lankan squad. We are also in talks with some of the finest players in the International cricketing arena. I promise Indian fans that the IPL will truly be one of the finest cricketing leagues anywhere in the world," he said.

The BCCI had recently launched the IPL to be played in the globally popular Twenty20 format, offering a whopping $ 3 million as prize money.

The Champions League, which will feature the two top teams from the four participating countries, has a prize money of $ 5 million.

In stark contrast, the ICL has a winner's purse of $ 1 million with West Indies batting great Brian Lara and former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq being the star recruits.

"T20 cricket is an exciting new format for both cricket players and fans. We are all thrilled to be joining the IPL, an innovative venture that has the potential to fuel crickets growth around the world during the coming years. We are looking forward to making our mark in the league," Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene was quoted as saying in a press release.

The IPL, scheduled for an April 2008 launch, will feature eight franchises in the first season, with each team playing seven home and away games against one another.

Shoaib may face six-month ban

The Pakistan Cricket Board has charged Shoaib Akhtar with five counts of indiscipline, including the one involving his brawl with teammate Mohammad Asif, which may lead to a six-month ban on the mercurial pacer.

A PCB official said the five charges also include violating a probation period of six weeks, going to England to play a charity match without board's permission, making accusations against teammate Shahid Afridi and addressing an unauthorised press conference after being sent home from South Africa.

"Shoaib has to respond to these charges when he appears before the disciplinary committee on October 6," the official said.

He said a fine of Rs 300,000 was now automatic for violating the probation period of six weeks while he could be banned for up to six months if he did not come up with a satisfactory reply before the committee.

After being sent back from South Africa before the Twenty20 World Cup, Shoaib held a press conference and accused Afridi of instigating the brawl with Asif.

He also claimed that he accidentally hit Asif with the bat.

But the fast bowler faces a tough time ahead because when the incident took place in South Africa, he was already on probation for six weeks after he was fined for leaving the training camp here without permission.

"The problem is that though an appeals panel later accepted his plea that he informed Shoaib Malik before leaving the camp but the probation period remained and secondly he didn't tell anyone he was going to England to play a charity game in August," the official said.

The disciplinary committee will also question Malik, Afridi, Asif along with some other players about the incident in South Africa.

Shoaib has a history of problems with the establishment and of violating regulations.

The mercurial bowler was not invited for a reception in honour of the Pakistan team last night, a clear indication that he is not very high on the popularity list of the board at the moment.

Team India gets an attitude makeover

The Indian team was never known to be mentally tough or aggressive, but all that seems to be changing.

In fact, in recent times when it comes to Team India, the bat and ball are not the only ones doing the talking.

At heart, they are still boys, but in the tough nonsense world of sledgehammer cricket, Indian cricket's Generation X has learnt the art of stares and glares.

If the T20 World Cup was indication, the Indian team knows how to put on the war paint.

From Munaf Patel to Yuvraj Singh and even the mild-mannered Irfan Pathan - the son of a cleric - proved that pumping fists could do as much as prayers on a cricket field.

But what stood out most was S Sreesanth's ground-pumping celebrations after dismissing Mathew Hayden in the semifinals, which was almost like a war cry.

"It was Australia and they are the world champions, and there was an opportunity given, and it was a great opportunity to test yourself. The Australians really intimidate you with their looks and the way they talk and I thought why not, they may be huge and they stare at your eyes."

"So I thought why not give them a stare back and if they talk why don't you talk back and I think it worked. I can get anyone out. I don't have to get scared just because someone is huge but off the field, no I'll just say, 'Hi what's up?'" said Ssreesanth.

But it was not just the bowlers who took the mantle of being aggressive. The batsmen too were not politely backing off or looking the other way if a bowler tried to browbeat them.

Andrew Flintoff and England got a first hand demonstration of the new Team India, as Yuvraj Singh gave back as good as he got and with a little extra as he unleashed his wrath smashing six sixes off Stuart Broad.

NDTV: In that England game what set you off was that chat with Flintoff that set you off?

Yuvraj Singh: Whenever you have a chat it's always when both teams are competing you want to say a few things to each other.

NDTV: So what did he say?

Yuvraj Singh: I can't say what happened over there. So I got fired up and made me play a good innings. So I was happy about it.

However, this new attitude has led to several discussions with match referees around the world.

Sreesanth, for instance, was docked half his match fee on the recent England tour, and the veterans have already called for caution.

"Aggression is fine. But you have to be careful of the match referee. Performance is all important," said Dilip Vengsarkar, Chairman of Selectors.

But for skipper MS Dhoni, who leads the brave new brat pack, it's all in the game.

If fear was the key earlier, this band of boys epitomizes the freedom from it.

NDTV: We have never seen the Indian team so charged. You were talking back to the Australians, giving attitude to the South Africans?

Robin Uthappa: I think we got to fight fire with fire. And that's going to be the attitude from hereon. You are going to see a very aggressive Indian team from hereon.

Clearly Team India has found a new aggressive streak which they believe will now propel them to greater heights.

UN envoy's meet with Myanmar junta chief delayed

Myanmar's leader stalled a UN envoy for yet another day on Monday, delaying until Tuesday his chance to present world demands for an end to the junta's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

Ibrahim Gambari, the UN special envoy who has been in Myanmar since Saturday, has finally been given an appointment to meet with Senior General Than Shwe on Tuesday in the junta's remote bunker-like capital, Naypyitaw, an Asian diplomat said.

Instead of the meeting that he had hoped for on Monday, Gambari was taken on a government-sponsored trip to attend a seminar in the far northern Shan state on EU's relations with Southeast Asia, said other diplomats.

The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.

Gambari is expected to return to Yangon on Tuesday to catch a flight out of the country, the diplomats said.

In a two-line statement, the UN said Gambari ''remains in Myanmar. He looks forward to meeting Senior General Than Shwe and other relevant interlocutors before the conclusion of his mission.''

While the junta stalled Gambari, a show of force over the weekend in the country's main cities virtually snuffed out protests.

On Monday, the troops pulled back, removing road blocks and appearing to ease their stranglehold on Yangon, the country's biggest city.

Public anger, which ignited August 19 after the government hiked fuel prices, turned into mass protests against 45 years of military dictatorship when Buddhist monks joined in.

Crushing dissent

Soldiers responded last week by opening fire on unarmed demonstrators, killing at least 10 people by the government's account.

A Norway-based dissident news organization, the Democratic Voice of Burma, said pro-democracy activists estimate 138 people were killed.

''Our own estimate is about 6,000 people detained, not killed, but detained,'' including about 2,400 monks, said DVB chief editor Aye Chan Naing in Oslo.

He said they are being held in at least four places - the infamous Insein Prison, a pharmaceutical factory, a technical institute and a disused race course.

He said his reporters had spoken to one family whose son was wounded by gunfire in Yangon, brought to a hospital on September 28 and disappeared on September 30.

In Yangon, there was a clear sense that the anti-democracy protests had once again failed in the face of the junta's overwhelming military might, which was last used in 1988 to crush a much larger uprising.

''The people are angry but afraid - many are poor and struggling in life so they don't join the protests anymore,'' Thet, a 30-year-old university graduate who is now driving a taxi, said Monday.

''I think the protests are over because there is no hope pressing them,'' said a 68-year-old teacher.

In the afternoon, trucks full of police and soldiers arrived in downtown Yangon. Small vendors immediately packed up and left, while other stores hurriedly closed their windows, fearing trouble.

Some monks were allowed to leave monasteries to collect food donations, watched by soldiers lounging under trees.

Shwedagon and Sule pagodas, the two main flash points of unrest, were also reopened, but there were few visitors.

Monks appeared to be paying a heavy price for their role in spearheading the demonstrations.

Another Asian diplomat said on Monday that all the arrested monks were defrocked - stripped of their highly revered status and made to wear civilian clothes.

Some of them are likely to face long jail terms, the diplomat said, also on condition of anonymity.

In Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, security forces arrested dozens of university students who staged a street protest on Sunday, a witness said.

Orange allies poised to win

Ukraine's Orange Revolution allies made a strong combined showing in parliamentary elections and looked poised to win a majority that could unseat the prime minister and steer the country more firmly onto a pro-Western course, an exit poll showed.

Sunday's election was called early in an attempt to end a standoff between Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and President Viktor Yushchenko and shake sense into the ex-Soviet nation's politics after years of infighting.

The independent poll showed Yanukovych's bloc was the top vote-getter with 35.2 per cent, but Yulia Tymoshenko, the fiery Orange Revolution heroine, followed closely with 31.5 per cent.

Yushchenko's party was trailing a distant third with 13.4 per cent.

Tymoshenko, smiling triumphantly after the exit polls were announced, said she would meet with Yushchenko on Monday to quickly formalize their new alliance.

Their coalition could mend a rift in Orange Revolution forces that had thrown the nation into political turmoil.

''In one or two days we will announce the coalition,'' Tymoshenko told reporters.

Yanukovych draws his support from the Russian-speaking east and south and is considered more Russia-friendly, though he has increasingly underlined his push for Ukraine's integration into Europe.

The exit poll was conducted by a team of Ukraine's three leading polling agencies and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points. Other exit polls had similar results.

About 60 per cent of the 37.5 million eligible voters cast ballots, according to the Central Election Commission.

Critical election

The vote - the fourth in three years - will either boost Ukraine's hopes to integrate more closely into Europe or stir more infighting.

Forging a coalition with Tymoshenko could take weeks of bargaining, and Yanukovych is unlikely to give up power easily.

Yuriy Lutsenko, the leader of Yushchenko's party, said it was ready to back Tymoshenko as prime minister after the coalition is formed.

Tymoshenko, clad in immaculate white, pledged that the new government would push strongly for Ukraine to integrate more closely into Europe and quickly join the World Trade Organization.

At the same time, she said Ukraine would seek to develop good relations with Russia and hold talks shortly on imports of Russian gas and its transit to Europe.

''We will guarantee a balanced, harmonious relationship with Russia,'' she said.

While Tymoshenko's headquarters celebrated the results with champagne, a gloomy silence hung over Yanukovych's campaign office.

A somber-looking Yanukovych made a brief statement in which he tried to present the results as his party's victory, saying it would now start talks with potential coalition partners.

However, exit polls suggested those parties, including the Communists, would not get enough seats to overcome an Orange alliance.

''We consider the election results as a carte blanche for our party to form a new government,'' Yanukovych. He took no questions and left.

Earlier, Yushchenko dismissed concerns about tensions worsening amid coalition talks.

''There will be emotions, but these will be just episodes. I'm sure that the political community will find mutual understanding,'' Yushchenko said.

Ukraine's political fortunes seemed firmly determined after hundreds of thousands of protesters paved the way for Yushchenko's victory in the Orange Revolution protests against Yanukovych's fraud-tinged win in the 2004 presidential vote.

But the Orange camp plunged into infighting shortly after the victory, with Yushchenko firing Tymoshenko in 2005 as prime minister after only seven months on the job.

And the party of Yanukovych, a 57-year-old former metal worker, made a stunning comeback in the March 2006 parliamentary elections, propelling him back into the premiership.

Yanukovych sought to change his image, casting himself as a democrat, preaching compromise and stability and easing his affiliation with Russia.

Unlike the 2004 vote when the Kremlin backed Yanukovych, Russia is staying away from the parliamentary election.

Yanukovych resisted Yushchenko's April decision to dissolve parliament and call new elections after the president accused him of seeking to usurp power.

Yanukovych grudgingly agreed to Sunday's vote, but has hinted he would accept only one outcome: his victory.

Yanukovych has accused Yushchenko and Tymoshenko's parties of preparing widespread falsifications, and warned he could organize protests similar to those during the Orange Revolution.

He said that his party would not accept an ''unlawful'' outcome.

In the Orange camp, Yushchenko, 53, has struggled with disillusionment and a loss of support among many voters now backing Tymoshenko, 46, who wears a flaxen braid wrapped on her head and is known here simply as Yulia.

''I'm sure that Yushchenko and Yulia won't repeat their mistakes. I want to live in Europe, and only the Orange forces can take us there,'' said Oleg Kileiko, a 46-year old businessman who voted for the president's bloc.

Left rules out immediate withdrawal

The CPI(M) dismissed on Monday the possibility of immediate withdrawal of support by Left parties to the UPA government over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Party's General Secretary Prakash Karat said that the Manmohan Singh government should choose between Left support and its endeavour to have a strategic alliance with the US.

''The Americans will ask us to snap relations with Iran and scrap our gas pipeline project. This is an attack on our sovereignty. The Left will not allow the US to shape Indian foreign policy,'' said Karat.

''As long as Left parties support the UPA, US demand for privatisation of the bank, insurance and agriculture sectors will not be allowed,'' he added.

Karat emphasized that the Left parties were not against nuclear energy but Indo-US deal, which would ''affect'' India's indigenous nuclear programme. ''We have a self-reliant nuclear energy programme.''

He also said ''the deal does not have majority support in Parliament. ''All non-UPA political parties are against the deal but the government it seems places it word given to the US President George Bush above Parliament.''

Stating that the Left would not compromise on its stand, Karat said the UPA government instead of addressing the problem of price rise and strengthening PDS, was ''wasting'' time with its ''pro-America'' stand.

Speaking about the Sethusamundram project he said that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi's daughter's house was attacked in Bengaluru and BJP's office was attacked in Chennai.

''All these are happening. They should not make it a political football and the project must go forward. Now, there is a DMK government in Tamil Nadu. Earlier, it was AIADMK and the stand of both governments is the same. The NDA had earlier initiated the project,'' he said.

He said BJP had also given consent to the project during the AIADMK government and it should not be scrapped.

Karat said, the government should consult technical experts and consider environmental aspects to take the project forward.

Asked whether the Sethusamundram project has not given leverage to BJP, he said ''Let us see. Let the people decide. As far as I know, all political parties, including BJP in Tamil Nadu, are of the opinion that the project should go ahead.''

Karat was present in Ranchi in connection with the party's nation-wide campaign against the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Flashpoint for Karnataka coalition

As October 3, the agreed date for the handover of the Chief Minister's post in Karnataka from the JD (S) to the BJP gets closer; the two parties seem headed for a confrontation.

Twenty months of a JD (S) Chief Minister followed by 20 months for the BJP - that was the agreement.

And the BJP says that in Karnataka's political version of Twenty-20 cricket, it is now the BJP's turn to bat.

''We have fielded and bowled for 20 months, now it is our time to bat. There is no scope for negotiation. October 3 is our deadline and the Chief Minister must resign by the evening of October 2,'' said Yashwant Sinha, BJP Leader.

But as political meetings followed, speculations flew around and not everyone in the JD (S) was in the mood to meet the BJP's deadline.

''What deadline, what agreement was there between the two parties? There was an agreement between Kumaraswamy and Yediyurappa. He now has to listen to the party,'' said Meerajudin Patel, State President, JDS.

October 3 was the agreed upon date for H D Kumaraswamy to hand over the CM's post to the BJP.

The BJP says this has to happen even as the JD (S) says there was no agreement between the parties, only between individuals.

Politics in Karnataka looks all set for a confrontation.
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Rajasthan: Gujjars on war path

The Gujjars in Rajasthan are resuming their agitation on Tuesday to demand ST status for the community.

Huge security arrangements have been put into place in Rajasthan as lakhs of Gujjars are expected to court arrest.

Around 235 makeshift jails have been set up across Rajasthan and hundreds of trucks and buses readied to take into custody, thousands of agitating Gujjars who plan to court arrest, demanding ST status for their community.

After an agreement in June this year, the Rajasthan government had set up the Chopra Committee to look into their demands but with the Chopra Committee asking for more time, the Gujjars are once again on the war path.

''More than five lakh Gujjars will court arrest. But if the government does not give in to our demands by the October 11, another two lakh women will start filling the jails in the state,'' said Prahlad Gunjal , Gujjar Leader.

Incidents of violence had marked the Gujjar agitation in June this year and this time around the government is taking no chances.

More than 70,000 police personnel have been deployed across the state and additional forces from the centre have also been called in.

''We are ready. We will take into custody all those who court arrest and keep them in jail for as long as they want. But we will treat them as prisoners,'' said Gulab Chand Katariya, Home Minister, Rajasthan.

Since the Gujjars launched their agitation, the sizable Meena community has been opposing any move to give them ST status and with thousands of Gujjars marching across the state, the government will also be at pains to avoid caste tension between these two politically volatile communities.

China criticises Taiwan resolution

China has condemned a resolution passed by Taiwan's ruling party, which asserts the island's separate identity and calls for a referendum on its sovereignty.

''Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and has never been a country,'' an unnamed official with the ruling Communist Party's Taiwan Work Office said. ''We firmly oppose any 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities in any form.''

The comments were posted on the Chinese government website and printed in many state-run newspapers on Tuesday, highlighting the sensitivity of the issue.

While the resolution, which passed on Sunday after heated debate, will likely ratchet up tensions between the rivals, its contents also appear to be carefully worded so as to not provoke Beijing into responding militarily.

The two sides split during civil war in 1949, but the mainland still considers the democratic island part of its territory, and has threatened to attack if it moves toward formal independence.

Calls for referendum

The resolution by the Democratic Progressive Party calls for a referendum on Taiwan's sovereignty, and making the island's formal name ''Taiwan.'' It also calls for the enactment of a new constitution.

But it appears to lack teeth because it does not demand that the current official title of the ''Republic of China'' be abolished and offers no timetable for the enactment of the constitution or the holding of the referendum.

The Chinese official said he hoped that ''DPP members recognise the trend of future development of cross-Strait relations ... and prevent the risky separatists from pushing the Taiwan people into a disaster.''

The resolution is the latest in a series of steps taken in the waning months of President Chen Shui-bian's final term aimed at strengthening Taiwan's de facto independence.

His campaign this year to try to get the island to rejoin the United Nations under the name of Taiwan for the first time has been unsuccessful.

For the past decade it had tried without success to rejoin the world body as the Republic of China, the name it used in the UN before being expelled in 1971.

Pak suicide attack kills 15

At least 15 people, including four policemen, were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a market in Pakistan's restive North West Frontier Province this morning.

Defence spokesman Wahid Rashid told reporters that 11 civilians along with four policemen were killed in the bombing at the local market in Bannu, a garrison town.

The militant apparently blew himself up when the police tried to intercept him, local reports said.

Bannu has been witnessing a spate of suicide attacks by Pakistani Taliban since the military raid on Islamabad's Lal Masjid in July in which nearly 100 extremists were killed.

Putin suggests he may run for PM

President Vladimir Putin suggested on day that he could become prime minister, the strongest indication yet that he will seek to retain power after he steps down as president early next year.

Putin is barred from seeking a third consecutive term in the March presidential election. But he said on Monday that he has agreed to head the ticket of the dominant United Russia party in December's parliamentary election.

It could open the door for him to become a powerful prime minister - leading in tandem with a weakened president.

Putin, who had already strongly indicated he would seek to keep hold of the reins of power, called a proposal that he become prime minister ''entirely realistic,'' but added that it was still ''too early to think about it.''

He said that, first, United Russia would have to win the December 2 vote and a ''decent, competent, modern person'' must be elected president.

Putin's announcement sent an ecstatic cheer though the crowd at a congress of United Russia, which contains many top officials and dominates the parliament and politics nationwide.

The move will likely ensure that United Russia retains a two-thirds majority in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, enough to change the Constitution.

Significant influence

Leading the party's ticket does not mean Putin will take a seat in parliament; prominent politicians and other figures often are given the top spots to attract votes, but stay out of the legislature after elections.

The 450 seats in the Duma will be distributed on a proportional basis among parties that receive at least 7 per cent of the votes.

The popular Putin has repeatedly promised to step down at the end of his second term in May, as the constitution requires, but has suggested he would maintain significant influence.

He offered some initial hints of his strategy last month when he named Viktor Zubkov - a previously obscure figure known mainly for his loyalty - as prime minister.

With no power base of his own, Zubkov would likely play his preordained part in any Putin plan. If he became president and Putin prime minister, Zubkov could be expected to cede certain powers to Putin or step down to allow him to return to the presidency.

If he becomes prime minister, Putin would be first in line to replace the president if he is incapacitated.

Putin has amassed authority as president, but as he prepares to step down he has been setting up a system of checks and balances that would weaken his successor by putting him at the mercy of rival centers of power.

By leading the United Russia party list, Putin instantaneously creates the strongest such rival power, with himself as its head.

The move means that Putin's successor ''will not be a czar,'' Kremlin-connected analyst Gleb Pavlovsky said on Ekho Moskvy radio. ''There will be a new center of influence outside the Kremlin.''