News

Fresh cases of swine flu: Hyderabad reports two cases

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Hyderabad/New Delhi,June 06: India Saturday reported three fresh cases of swine flu, including a woman and her four-and-a-half-year old daughter, in the Andhra Pradesh capital, taking the total confirmed cases to eight so far.

Those who tested positive for influenza A (H1N1) also include the 24-year-old brother of a techie who had returned from the US May 31 with the infection. Doctors and health officials said this is the first indigenous case of swine flu in India.

First case of human to human transmission

Arab Prince bought £300 Million flying palace

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London, June 06: Concert hall, garage for Rolls-Royce, elevator all part of Arab prince’s…
An Arab prince has bought a £300 million (Rs 2,300 crore) “flying palace”.

The unnamed royal rumoured to be Saudi Arabia’s Prince al-Waleed bin Talal has splashed out on the plane which, when completed in three years’ time, will be the world’s largest private jet.

Star-studded Haji Ali promenade revamp soon

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Mumbai, June 06: After nearly a year-and-a-half of delays, the work on revamping the Haji Ali promenade with structures in the shapes of the zodiac signs will finally begin.

The BMC and state government are ready to invite architects and designers from across the world to recreate the Haji Ali promenade.

“We will soon call for global tenders for this project,” confirmed M K Srivastava, Secretary (special projects) who is one of the men behind the revamp.

As per this Rs 25 crore plan, the BMC will extend the existing promenade with semi-circular curves at 12 places.

Islamists battle for Somalia

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Nairobi, June 06: Chosen with the overwhelming support of clan elders in January and thought to be Somalia’s best hope for stability and peace, the government of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed now appears to be engaged in a fight for survival.

An unrelenting military assault by militant Islamist forces – coming just days after an international donors conference in Brussels promised some $213 million in direct aid to Mr. Sharif’s moderate government – has chased Sharif’s forces into retreat. The fighting has killed more than 150 since May 7 and has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

Terror: Cops on their toes in AP

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Hyderabad, June 06: Despite the Centre downplaying the possibility of Hyderabad being a terror target in the latest IB alert, both the city and state police on Friday continued with their checking of vehicles on the road and raiding hotels to hunt for three young suspects alleged to have entered the country to carry out attacks.

Dutch beat England in T20

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London, June 06: The Netherlands enjoyed their greatest day in international cricket as they stunningly beat hosts England by four wickets in the opening match of the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord’s on Friday.

Two off the last ball, which saw bowler Stuart Broad miss with a shy off the stumps, saw the Dutch home to a total of 163 for six in reply to England’s 162 for five.

England who had been 102 for one were made to pay for their failure to build on a superb opening stand by some enterprising Dutch batting led by a fine 49 from Tom de Grooth.

I will ruin Chand’s life, says angry Fiza

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Mohali, June 06: Fiza, the estranged wife of former Haryana deputy chief minister Chander Mohan alias Chand Mohammed, declared here Friday that she would “ruin” Chand’s life.

“I am not going to spare him in any condition and I would prove to be the black chapter of his life. It is just the start of terrible days ahead for Chand and I would certainly ruin his life,” an angry Fiza told reporters at her house here Friday.

No T-20 match on TV at hotels

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Mumbai, June 06: Those planning to cheer their favourite teams while dining with friends in city restaurants and hotels may have to change their agenda and stay home to watch T-20 World Cup matches.

Reason: A spat between Novex, which owns screening rights, and Ahar, an association of Indian hotels and restaurants, which has appealed to more than 6,000 of its members in the city to switch off their TV sets till the T-20 World Cup is over.

The tournament, which started in England on Friday will end on June 21.

Lost in Delhi, adopted in US, girl hunts for her family

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New Delhi, June 06: Like Latika in Slumdog Millionaire, 17-year-old Janaki Hedstrom escaped a life of poverty through circumstances she had no control over. HOPE FLOATS: 17-yr-old Janaki’s sister used to work as a maid for a family in Delhi.

When she saw the film, this Std X student in a Florida school cried for her mother back in India but hid her emotions from her American mother. Now, she desperately wants to see her original family again.

Secret Swiss patron donates Rs 2cr to TNadu temple

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Chennai, June 06: She’s the Rameswaram temple’s biggest — and most mysterious — benefactor. Over the last three years, Swiss national Elizabeth Ziegler has been donating about Rs 4 lakh every year to the Ramanathaswamy temple, and most recently sent Rs 2.08 crore, but none of the temple officials has ever seen her.

Is Qasab more important than Sadhvi?

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Treating Qasab and the sadhvi at JJ Hospital together will overburden security forces, say police..

The lone surviving terrorist of the 26/11 terror attacks, Mohammed Ajmal Qasab, has been receiving preferential treatment, quite literally. Qasab, who is suffering from an eye infection, will soon be rushed to J J Hospital, but at the cost of the Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. The police seem to have taken Qasab’s infection more seriously than the sadhvi’s spondylosis.

Obama admits US involvement in Iran coup in 1953

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Cairo, June 05: US President Barack Obama made a major gesture of conciliation to Iran on Thursday when he admitted US involvement in the 1953 coup which overthrew the government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.

“In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government,” Obama said during his keynote speech to the Muslim world in Cairo.

It is the first time a serving US president has publicly admitted American involvement in the coup.

Bankruptcy filings rise to 6,000 a day as job losses take toll

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Washington, June 05: Consumer and commercial bankruptcy filings are on pace to reach a stunning 1.5 million this year, according to a report from Automated Access to Court Electronic Records.

While well below the record 2 million filings in 2005, the number of filings is up sharply from last year’s 1.1 million, says Robert Lawless, professor of law at the University of Illinois.

Bankruptcy filings took a dramatic nose dive after a 2005 bankruptcy reform measure was signed into law to curb bankruptcy abuse and make it harder to erase debts.

Dhoni giving Viru the cold shoulder?

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London, June 05: The team management clams up and the players have fingers on their lips. But reports about simmering tensions between Indian captain MS Dhoni and vice-captain Virender Sehwag are fast threatening to undermine India’s defence of the ICC World Twenty20, which begins on Friday.

Blog: Why Dhoni’s Men in Blue are not in pink of health

Rumour mills are abuzz that the two had an ugly faceoff during a team meeting, though it could not be independently confirmed if it was over the status of Sehwag’s shoulder injury.

Symonds went missing from team hotel, reveals CA

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Melbourne, June 05: Cricket Australia (CA) revealed controversial all-rounder Andrew Symonds had gone missing from the team hotel, prompting the management to throw him out of the Twenty20 World Cup squad for breach of discipline.

Blog: Why Dhoni’s Men in Blue are not in pink of health

Soon after the all-rounder was ordered home two days before the team’s opener against the West Indies following “alcohol-related incidents”, CA general manger of public affairs Peter Young provided partial detail about what exactly happened.

LS debate: Congres takes potshots at BJP

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New Delhi, June 05: Upbeat over its victory in the Lok Sabha polls, Congress on Friday took potshots at the BJP saying that its ideology of “hate speeches” and “raking up” religion have been rejected by the people.

Initiating the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President for her address to the joint sitting of Parliament, Congress leader Girija Vyas also accused the BJP of stealing the issues of development of the Congress.

Advani demands inquiry commission on Mumbai attacks

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New Delhi, June 05: Describing the Mumbai attacks as an “invasion of India” launched from Pakistan, Leader of Opposition L K Advani on Friday demanded setting up of an inquiry commission at central level to determine what went wrong and suggest steps to prevent recurrence of such terror strikes.

Speaking on the Motion of Thanks to President’s address in the Lok Sabha, he also asked the government to share with the House the evidence given to Pakistan on 26/11, especially in the wake of release of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed apparently on the grounds of insufficient proof.

Men with links to Taliban arrested

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Islamabad, June 05: Several key figures connected to the Taliban in Pakistan’s Swat Valley have been arrested, Pakistani authorities said.

The arrests come as Pakistan’s military has surged into the Swat Valley, in the country’s north, in an offensive against the Taliban.

Authorities arrested Amir Izat Khan and Maulana Muhammad Alam, both senior members of an organization run by Sufi Muhammad, local information ministry officials said Thursday.

PC confirms link between nabbed LeT man Madni, Saeed

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New Delhi, June 05: Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday confirmed that Omar Madni, the LeT commander nabbed from Delhi, is indeed a close associate of 26/11 mastermind JuD chief Hafiz Saeed.

“Man who has been arrested does has links with Hafiz Saeed,” said Chidambaram, adding – with regards to reports that a terror attack in imminent in the South – that there’s no need for alarm.

Debris found in Atlantic not from missing Air France plane

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New Delhi ,June 05: French search teams have so far found no evidence of the Air France plane that vanished over the Atlantic and areurging “extreme prudence” about suspected debris retrieved so far, France’s transport minister said today.

Dominique Bussereau said an earlier announcement by Brazilian officials that they had recovered plane debris from Air France flight 447 turned out to be false.

He told RTL radio that the search must continue and stressed that the priority was finding the flight recorders or black boxes.

Who will sit next to Advani?

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New Delhi ,June 05: For many of us in school, it was all about sitting next to our friends or best friend in class. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders it seems haven’t outgrown that stage.

It’s not such an innocent thing for BJP leaders in Parliament. They just want to sit next to the boss, Lal Krishna Advani.

First he failed to make it to the ruling benches in the Lok Sabha, and then his juniors fighting to take over his place in the party. And now L K Advani has a new headache – the BJP’s GenNext leaders desperate to succeed him – are now fighting for the right seat in Parliament.

President outlines road map for next five years

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New Delhi, June 05: Union Government on Thursday declared that it will pursue a policy of “zero-tolerance” towards terrorism from whatever source it originates and seek to reshape relationship with Pakistan which should confront terror groups inimical to India.

Outlining 10 broad areas of priority for the next five years, President Pratibha Patil said in her address to the joint session of the Parliament that the internal security and preservation of communal harmony, stepping up of economic growth and agriculture, manufacturing and services are among those areas.

Militant arrested in Delhi linked to JuD chief: Police

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New Delhi, June 05: Arrested Pakistani national Mohd Omar Madni is a top aide of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed, a prime accused in the Mumbai attacks case, police said on Friday.

Madni was arrested on Thursday evening by Delhi Police’s elite anti-terror wing Special Cell from near the Qutab Minar in South Delhi.

“He is a close aide of Hafiz Saeed and has been operating from Nepal from the past one year,” a senior Delhi police official said.

Madni has been a close aide of Saeed since 2000 and was involved in “talent scouting” for the Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit, he said.

Israel welcomes Obama speech

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Jerusalem, June 05: The Israeli government has welcomed Barack Obama’s speech to the Muslim world, saying it hoped the speech would bring a “new period of reconciliation” in the Middle East.

The government statement made no mention of the issue of settlements, after the US president used his speech in Cairo to reiterate his call for an end to Israeli construction on Palestinian land.

President unveils UPA government’s 100-day action plan

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New Delhi, June 04: President Pratibha Patil on Thursday unveiled the new government’s agenda that includes reviving the economy through more investments in sectors such as infrastructure, a blueprint for national security and a host of social welfare programmes focused on creating a more inclusive society and economy.

“In 2004 my government had set before the country a vision of an inclusive society and an inclusive economy. My government sees the overwhelming mandate it has received as a vindication of the policy architecture that it put in place,” Patil said.