Ali Khan

Low cost Airline for Umrah cancelled

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Airline cancels specially planned, low-cost flight for pilgrims at the last moment; travellers who had arranged for accommodation left in the lurch

Thousands of pilgrims were left in the lurch when a leading airline cancelled their flight at the last moment.

Jet Airways, which was supposed to start a low fare, special flight between Mumbai and Jeddah on June 14 for people travelling to Umrah (see box) had to cancel the flight after they failed to get clearance from the Saudi government.

The abrupt cancellation meant that Muslims on their pilgrimage were caught in no man’s land.

Lonely Father’s Day for Zoya

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Mumbai, June 22: Two-month-old Zoya for whom lawyers sought anticipatory bail yesterday after her father’s first wife filed a dowry case against the entire family, as reported in Sunday MiD DAY spent her first Father’s Day yesterday, sans her father.

After Zoya alias Mehak Khan was granted anticipatory bail, MiD DAY visited her house where the atmosphere was sombre since Zoya’s father Shamshuddin Khan was still behind bars.

MTV Roadie in Sex Video?

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New Delhi, June 22: Sex tape captures girl with stunning resemblance to popular MTV Roadies contestant, including the black thread around her neck

MTV Roadies finalist Palak once bitched about her breasts comparing them to “pimples”. But if a sex tape is to be believed Tamanna is surprisingly well endowed.

A 37-second sex tape with a girl, having a stunning resemblance to the Roadie, having sex with a boy has been posted on Rapidshare and Easyshare both video sharing websites.

Expect things to get worse in Iran

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Washington, June 22: The lenses of cell-phone cameras have become the West’s only tool for assessing the scope of the demonstrations now taking place in Iran’s streets, since conflicting blog posts and government pronouncements offer a distorted picture of reality. As a result, the number of people thronging a few Tehran streets has become the sole means by which to measure the “revolution.” This is an important – but it is insufficient.

Siemens, Nokia aided Iran’s Web censorship: Report

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Tehran, June 22: European telecommunications companies Siemens and Nokia, most commonly known for developing advanced cell phones and other network technologies, are responsible for creating the technology behind Iran’s sophisticated Internet censorship, according to a Monday report in The Wall Street Journal.

The tech, which can block Web sites and cut lines of communication, goes much further than many other countries’ Web filtration and actually enables government agents to alter communications to spread disinfo.

From the Journal:

Girl kills mom for not liking her boyfriend

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El Dorado Hills, June 22: 14-year-old Californian and her boyfriend were on the run when they were caught in a restaurant .. Call it deadly love on the run. Joanne Witt did not approve of the relationship between her 14-year-old daughter, Tylar, and 19-year-old boyfriend, Steven Colver.

Witt ended up dead.

sorry saga: Tylar Witt (14) and her 19-year-old boyfriend Steven Colver stabbed her mother Joanne Witt with a kitchen knife till she died.

Total cure of deadly disease, possible: Scientists claim

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Toronto, June 22: In a major breakthrough for AIDS cure, Canadian scientists have finally found where the HIV virus hides in the human body to become impervious to medical treatment.

This breakthrough could pave the way for a total cure of the deadly disease, claim the scientists who carried out the study with researchers from the US.

The current anti-viral treatment for HIV patients can only subdue, not eliminate, the virus as it hides somewhere to lie low and then attack the system again.

Free Seminar & Workshop for Engineering Graduates conducted at Siasat

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Hyderabad, June 21 (Siasat News): In the present scenario of RECESSION where most of the companies going for Job cutting, Siasat takes this initiative of bringing in free workshop/Seminar by corporate employees from Reputed MNC’s to bridge the gap between an engineering graduate and a corporate professional.

A Free Seminar & Workshop for Final Year Engineering Graduates conducted at Mehboob Hussain Jigar Auditorium, Siasat Premises. A huge gathering of the students and parents witness the Workshop.

Old Lebanese woman braves war with Israel

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Haifa, June 21: There is no place like home. To Nemra Abbas, that maxim holds true even when “home” exists at the crossfire between the war-torn Lebanese-Israeli borders, where she has chosen to remain in isolation for nearly a century.

The Lebanese woman Octogenarian is the last woman standing in an abandoned village that lies along the Lebanese-Israeli borders, after witnessing and surviving the bombs and gunfire of every war that took place in the ever-seething area.

US judges can order removal of Muslim veil

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Cairo, June 21: Judges in the United States can now order a veiled woman witness to remove her face covering to testify in court, according to a new court ruling issued last week that has human rights groups worried about potential discrimination against veiled Muslim women.

In a majority 5-2 vote, Michigan’s Supreme Court ruled that judges should “exercise reasonable control” over the appearances of witnesses to judge their body language and facial expressions and to ensure proper identification.

Death threats for anti-abortion groups

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Wichita, June 20: Three Wichita-based anti-abortion groups say they have received death threats in response to last month’s killing of abortion provider George Tiller.

For years, Operation Rescue has received threats, but the number increased dramatically after Tiller’s killing, the group’s president, Troy Newman, said Thursday.

Some of the threats have been aimed at anti-abortion activities planned in Wichita this weekend, Newman said.

Swat running out of food

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Swat, June 20: The refugees hurried down the deserted road in the searing midday heat, their suitcases clattering on the tank-scarred tarmac. Waving white flags, they crossed one ghostly village after another. Shuttered shops, destroyed buildings, stray dogs panting in the shade were all passed as the group veered around ­craters in the road.

Man hammers 6-cm nail into head and survives

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Beijing, June 20: A middle-aged man miraculously survived a suicide attempt in which he hammered a 6-cm-long nail into his head.

Gao who has been sick for 15 years, had his left leg cut off by surgery, due to his medical problem. After he used the nail to kill himself, his brother rushed him to a hospital and doctors removed the nail.

–Agencies

Muslim Docs Healing Bal Thackeray

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Mumbai, June 20: Dr Jalil Parkar and Dr Abdul Samad Ansari are in the team of doctors who are treating the ailing Shiv Sena boss at Lilavati Hospital.. Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray treats him like family. Yet, Dr Jalil Parkar, who is treating Thackeray at the Lilavati Hospital, is amazed by the octogenarian’s wit despite his ailments. He tells MiD DAY about the strict disciplinarian that Thackeray is and his road to recovery.

Dr Parkar says Thackeray treats him like family.

How is he coping with the illness?

SRK clarification on insult row

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Mumbai, June 20: SRK clarifies that he has never said anything against the Prophet in an interview.. It is really unfortunate that a section of people are reacting to some interview of mine in the way that is best describeable as an unfounded overreaction.

To clarify…there is a mistake either in the way my statement is printed or misinterpretation on behalf of the writer of the piece.

Quote and misquote: Shah Rukh Khan.

Alcoholism among US troops double: report

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Nearly twice as many US army soldiers today are either alcoholic or engage in damaging behavior such as binge drinking than six years ago, and experts blame the rise on repeated tours in war zones.

A report in the USA Today daily on Friday said US army statistics showed more than 11 soldiers per 1,000 were diagnosed in the first six months of this year as suffering from alcoholism or alcohol abuse problems such as binge drinking — a jump from 6.1 per 1,000 in 2003.

Jab miya biwi razi, toh kya karega HIV

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Pune, June 20: An increasing number of responsible HIV infected Puneites are opting for spouses who are also infected by the virus to prevent passing on the condition to unsuspecting partners

When Abhay tested positive for HIV eleven months ago, the graduate lost hope of ever leading a happy life.

Then he met Manisha who too was HIV positive and his life changed. They got married a few months ago.

SRK effigy beaten with chappals in Bhopal

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Bhopal, June 19: A large number of Muslims today put a garland of shoes round an effigy of film star, Shah Rukh Khan here to protest against his alleged “derogatory” remarks against Prophet Mohammed.

The protestors, gathered at Jehangirabad square after Friday prayers, beat up Shah Rukh’s effigy with footwear to vent their anger with film star. Later, they dispersed peacefully at the end of the protest which lasted about 30 minutes.

Shah Rukh in an interview to a magazine compared Prophet Mohammed with Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill

–Agencies

‘Hack a govt website possible in 1 min’

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Pune, June 19: Ethical hacker Harold D’Costa breaks into a government website and intimates them immediately so they can secure the systems

Guess how long it took ethical hacker Harold D’Costa to hack into the website of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department? Just a minute. D’Costa, who is the director of Intelligent Quotient System, a city-based cyber security firm, demonstrated to MiD DAY how simply and quickly www.mahatranscom.in can be hacked.

NSA analysts spied on own wives and girlfriends

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Washington, June 19: According to the reporter who first broke the NSA wiretapping story, there is no proof the agency has scaled back its interception of the personal phone calls and email messages of American citizens as promised by the Obama administration or even that it is being straight with Congress about its activities.

James Risen and Eric Lichtblau revealed the NSA’s over-collection of data in an article for the New York Times on Tuesday, noting that one NSA analyst was even found to have been reading the private email of former President Bill Clinton.

N Korea May Launch Missile Toward Hawaii

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Washington, June 19: Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun is citing officials in the Japanese Defense Ministry as saying North Korea is preparing a launch in early July of a new Taepodong-2 missile over the Japanese prefecture of Aomori, and toward the US state of Hawaii.

Officials believe the missile would have roughly the same range as the rocket used in April’s failed satellite launch by the North Korean government. As such, it is not expected to have sufficient range to hit the Hawaiian islands.

Jobless man steals just for free prison lunch

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Taipei, June 18: A jobless Taiwan man released from prison stole a box of cotton swabs just to get arrested again because he “could not forget the police department boxed lunches,” officers and local media said Tuesday.

The homeless man in Taipei first stole a pair of shoes on Sunday, was detained and released, the Liberty Times said. He then resorted to stealing again the next day just to get back inside and be fed for free.

US laws stop Muslims paying Zakat: Report

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Washington, June 18: Across the United States Muslim charities are being shut down, raided or questioned under terrorism finance laws that give the government unchecked power and creates a climate of fear that is stopping American Muslims from carrying out one of their fundamental religious duties, an advocacy group said Wednesday.

Business leaders out to put India on US map

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New Delhi, June 17: US and Indian business leaders are set to meet in a bid to put a new focus on the South Asian power, whose warming US ties have ironically kept it off the new administration’s first priorities.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to deliver an address charting out the administration’s path with India, where US-friendly Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has just won a convincing election mandate.

‘Chand does not share my bedroom’

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New Delhi, June 17: Amid the drama surrounding the on-today-off-tomorrow Chand Mohammed-Fiza saga, lady love Fiza insists that she may have let Chand back into her house, but he is yet to conquer her heart

Chand Mohammed alias Chander Mohan may have returned to his love nest, but is yet to conquer his love.

After months of hiding from his lady love Anuradha Bali alias Fiza Mohammad, Haryana’s former deputy chief minister is back in her Mohali home.

On the first day of his return the couple held hands and put up a show for the media waving in apparent joy.