Washington, October 04: Two American journalists have been arrested after police found 11 marijuana plants growing in their yard, a media report said.
CBS Radio News correspondent Howard Arenstein, 60, and his wife Orly Katz alias Orly Azoulay, 57, a Washington correspondent for Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, were charged with possession of marijuana with an intent to distribute it, Fox News reported Sunday citing The Washington Post.
Colombo, October 04: At least five people were killed by lightning and many were missing due to floods triggered by torrential rains in different parts of Sri Lanka, officials said.
Pradeep Kodippily, national co-ordinator of the disaster management centre said five people were killed by lightning in Moneragala, Gampaha and Ratnapura districts during the weekend.
The island has been experiencing heavy rains since Friday, Xinhua reported.
Kodippily said Badulla district’s main highway between Badulla and Haputale was closed Sunday following landslides.
Paraguay, October 04: Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, who has lymphatic cancer, was urgently transported from capital city Asuncion to a hospital in Brazil, after doctors detected a blood clot in a vein near his heart, officials said.
The health of the 59-year-old Lugo has, however, improved.
He “woke up without any problems, in good general condition,” Alfredo Boccia, one of the doctors attending the president, said late Sunday.
New York, October 04: A baseball fan in the US state of Connecticut was stabbed over an argument with another man over a rivalry between two teams, police said.
Police in Branford, 128 km from New York, were investigating the Saturday night stabbing of a man, reportedly sparked off by an argument over the rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox baseball teams, Fox News reported.
A man named Monte Freire was stabbed at a restaurant around 10.42 p.m. Saturday by John Mayor, 45.
Washington, October 04: US and allied intelligence agencies are on a near-global manhunt for teams of Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists thought to be preparing multiple attacks on major European cities, according to US media reports.
US and allied services were examining multiple plots as well as multiple modes of attacks ranging from paramilitary-style raids similar to the 2008 Mumbai attacks to the vehicle bombs that to this day ravage Baghdad, The Washington Times reported Monday citing US counterterrorism officials
New Delhi, October 03: It was both cheers and jeers for Suresh Kalmadi, the chairman of the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games, when he made his speech while it was cheers all the way for Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
Kalmadi, who has been under attack over alleged corruption and several missed deadlines, received a round of boos when he made his speech at the opening ceremony of the Games.
Kalmadi was followed by Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell, whose references to Dikshit were received by rounds of applause by the audience.
Ongole, October 03: Congress MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy continued his ‘Odarpu yatra’ or tour for consoling in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh today.
Jagan began his tour from Yedugundlapadu village in the district and consoled the families of a police official, who died along with his father late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in the chopper crash last year and a few others who died of shock after YSR’s death.
The 37-year-old Kadapa MP met the family members of ASC Wesley, the police official, at Miryalapalem village.
New Delhi, October 03: The wait is finally over. The biggest Commonwealth Games so far was inaugurated by Prince Charles and President Pratibha Patil at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi.
An impregnable security blanket of 7,500 personnel, including commandos, has been thrown over the grand Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, the venue of today’s opening ceremony of the 19th Commonwealth Games.
Hyderabad, October 03: The bodies of three trainee technicians of the Indian Air Force were recovered from a lake on the city’s outskirts Sunday, police said.
The trio from Helicopter Training School of the Air Force Station Hakimpet were drowned Saturday evening during a picnic at Shameerpet Lake.
The dead have been identified as R.S. Badaria, Satyam Chowdary and Manish Tiyagi, all in their mid-20s.
A group of eight technicians had gone to the picnic, which turned tragic when Tiyagi, from Uttar Pradesh, stepped into the water to wash his legs and slipped.
New Delhi, October 03: “We have more important issues than Commonwealth Games but now it is a matter of national pride,” so said Marxist Sitaram Yechury as he entered the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the opening of the Commonwealth Games.
Yechury was his unassuming self as he walked in with his journalist wife. “I am looking for my son, I don’t know where he is,” Yechury told. “I am looking forward to a colourful and creative opening ceremony.”
–Agencies
Washington, October 03: Authorities in the US Sunday warned its citizens of the potential threat of terrorist attacks in Europe.
There was information to suggest that Al Qaeda and affiliated organisations were planning such attacks, the US State Department said in the travel alert.
“Terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons to target both official and private interests,” according to the alert.
The State Department also noted “the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure”.
New Delhi, October 03: An Indian parliamentary delegation led by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar will attend the 123rd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in Geneva from Monday, a statement said Sunday.
The delegation leaves for Switzerland Sunday night, said a parliament official.
The meeting will focus on preventing electoral violence and ensuring smooth transition of power, management of natural resources, agricultural production and demographic change and transparency and accountability in political party funding.
New Delhi, October 03: Watched by millions across the globe, the 19th Commonwealth Games got off to a spectacular start here Sunday evening amid traditional Indian music and a burst of colour at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the heart of the city.
Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Indian President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh watched as 1,000 drummers stirred up a thumping beat.
After the national anthem was sung, the opening act, Rhythm of India, set the mood for the much awaited sports event with electrifying energy.
Dhaka, October 03: Bangladesh has made it clear it will not send its troops to Afghanistan while refuting reports that the US had requested the country to contribute soldiers to the war-torn nation.
“Bangladesh will not send soldiers to Afghanistan,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told a meeting of ruling Awami League’s advisory council late on Saturday, according to the ‘Samakal’ newspaper.
Bangalore, October 03: A three-day special session of the Karnataka legislature will be held in the first week of November to discuss all issues, including a series of scams that have been rocking the state over the past 10 years, Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa said Sunday.
“I am requesting the legislative assembly speaker to convene a three-day special session of the house in the first week of November for a detailed discussion on various scandals, which are said to have happened in the past 10 years,” Yeddyurappa told reporters here.
Hyderabad, October 03: Observing that sensationalism has crept into the media, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah on Sunday underscored the need for the fourth estate to exercise self-regulation and maintain high standards of professionalism and ethics.
“News is sacred. News and interpretation should not be mixed. The news appearing in newspapers and TV channels have a profound impact on the society. These days, we often see sensational, inaccurate and biased news being carried. Media should exercise self-regulation,” he said.
Thiruvananthapuram, October 03: Military collaboration could transform the relationship between India and Pakistan, former minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor said at the Kovalam Literary Festival here Sunday.
Hyderabad, October 03: Alleging that the four-laning work being carried out on Rajiv Rahadari (road) were substandard, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao today demanded that Andhra Pradesh government invite fresh bids for the projects.
“Accidents have been taking place frequently on Rajiv Rahadari. That’s why four-laning is being taken up. But people told us that the works are substandard. More over, there are no bypass roads or underpass roads. So, how is the four-laning going to help,” he told reporters.
Hyderabad, October 03: The Management of Vishnu Sree Institute of Technology ( affiliated to JNTU) has resolved to extend a Special Offer of granting admission in to B.Tech and MBA courses, free of cost without tuition fees, to the students falling under certain categories.
Though the students have expected fee reimbursement, the state government could not exercise their options during EAMCET counseling due to many technical and technical reasons.
Hyderabad, Oct.3: Hamdard Study Circle, New Delhi is offering free coaching for eligible Muslim students for Civil Services-2011.
An entrance test will be held for the applicants in November 2010. AP students can opt Hyderabad as test centre. The last date for submission of application is October 11. Candidates can have the application cum-prospectus by paying Rs. 75 at MESCO education & Career Guidance Centre, Darulshifa
Lucknow, October 03: Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh today demanded that the Centre give the 67-acre land acquired by it for construction of Ram Temple there.
“There is no dispute over 67 acre land acquired by the Centre in Ayodhya therefore it should be given for the construction of a grand temple of Ram,” Kalyan, who was the Chief Minister when Babar Masjid was demolished in 1992, told reporters here.
“I have written a letter to the Prime Minister today in this regard,” he said.
London, October 03: Iran has arrested several “spies” who were involved in an attempt to sabotage the country’s nuclear programme, said Iranian intelligence minister Heydar Moslehi.
The arrest followed an attack on Iran’s industrial computer network by a software bug Stuxnet that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities, including its main Bushehr power plant, British newspaper The Guardian reported Sunday.
Agra, October 03: Commonwealth Games athletes and officials visiting the Taj Mahal here have not been exempted from buying entrance tickets, an official said.
“The railways catering corporation has made the arrangements. They will buy the tickets in advance and give these to the visitors. Visitors from SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) nations will have to pay Rs.550 while other foreign tourists will have to pay Rs.750,” Shamshuddin, president of the Agra Guides Association, told IANS.
Gaza, October 03: Israeli paramilitary border police killed a Palestinian who violently resisted arrest on Sunday after entering East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank without a permit, a police spokesman said.
The 37-year-old man, a resident of the West Bank city of Hebron, was shot while trying to grab a policeman’s pistol in the confrontation before dawn, the spokesman said.
An Israeli human rights group said the man appeared to have been killed after he first tried to flee.
New Delhi, October 03: RJD chief Lalu Prasad is the favourite punching bag in the campaigning for Bihar assembly elections.
The man who changed the rules of the game in the state for 15 long years but failed in the last assembly elections is at the centre of attacks and counterattacks.
In the run-up to the polls, his detractors are reminding people against the return of the “jungle raj”.