faheem Tehran, July 22: Riot police clashed with hundreds of pro-reform protesters in Tehran and arrested dozens of them yesterday, a witness said, in the latest unrest over last month’s disputed election.
Demonstrators were chanting slogans against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the government, including: “Ahmadinejad – resign, resign” and “Death to dictators”.
Mumbai, July 22: Abbas Kazmi the lawyer of Mumbai attacker Amer Ajmal Kassab has said that “statement of of kassab given in court not a confession to crime”.
“Kasab was merely replying to the questions asked by the judge. This can’t be treated as confession to the crime. The mention of Indian link needed to be probed,” says the defence lawyer.
“Now, judge has to decide on the veracity of the statements by Kasab,” Kazmi said.
He also alleged that his client is being mentally harassed in the prison.
Washington, July 22: Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani on Monday phoned detained scientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui and discussed with her the government’s efforts to secure her release and repatriation to homeland.
Ambassador Haqqani enquired Ms Siddiqui about her health and assured of the efforts the government of Pakistan is making for her release and legal details in this respect.
Ms Siddiqui, a US-educated Pakistani neuroscientist, is accused of allegedly attempting to attack U.S. officials in Afghanistan.
–Agencies
Kabul, July 22: Male suicide bombers disguised in womens’ burqas stormed government buildings and security headquarters in co-ordinated attacks which killed a dozen people and injured 22 others in eastern Afghanistan yesterday.
Hamid Karzai’s government described the “commando-style” raids as a new tactic being employed by the Taliban in what has been one of the most violent months in the country’s war.
Belgrade, July 21: Bosnians on Tuesday welcomed sentences handed down by a tribunal in Holland against two Bosnian Serbs convicted of war crimes, but said the punishment was too mild for the crimes committed.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Monday convicted Milan Lukic to life imprisonment. His cousin Sredoje Lukic received a 30-year prison sentence. Both were found guilty of crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims in the 1992- 95 Bosnian war.
Srinagar, July 21: Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani was Tuesday booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), an official here said. The head of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference has been under detention since June, when he spearheaded the agitation against the rape and murder of two women in south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
‘Syed Ali Geelani has been booked under the PSA. The time period for which he shall remain under detention shall be determined by the state home department,’ said Srinagar district magistrate Meraj-ud-Din Kakroo.
Mumbai, July 21: Model-turned-actress Gauhar Khan, who will be seen with Ranbir Kapoor in some parts of ‘Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year’, doesn’t idolise anyone but admires yesteryears actress Rekha for her overall persona.
‘Rekha has so much dignity around her and she is presentable on all occasions. In all her movies, she has portrayed her characters with so much depth,’ said Gauhar, who believes in acquiring the good qualities of everyone she meets.
Gauhar also loves the way Rekha dresses up.
Hyderabad, July 21: Volvo Car India, the Indian arm of Swedish car major Volvo Car Corp, is upbeat about the Indian luxury car market and is gearing up to expand its footprint across the country.
Volvo, which entered the Indian market in 2007, is planning to introduce new models in India from its global line-up, but is looking for right partners in big cities.
‘Our biggest objective is to make Volvo brand available in major markets across the country and get new models here,’ Sudeep Narayan, marketing manager of Volvo Car India, told IANS.
Washington, July 21: India has been allocated the equivalent of about $4.78 billion as its share of International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) worth $250 billion announced Monday to provide liquidity to the recession hit global economic system.
The equivalent of nearly $100 billion of the new allocation to supplement IMF’s 186 member countries’ foreign exchange reserves will go to emerging markets and developing countries, of which low-income countries will receive over $18 billion, IMF said.
Washington, July 21: Whether it’s getting a cold during exam time or feeling run-down after a big meeting, we’ve all experienced feeling sick following a particularly stressful time at work or school. Is this merely coincidence, or is it possible that stress can actually make us sick?
Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, psychologist from the Ohio State University College of Medicine (OSUCM), reviews research into how stress can wreak havoc on our bodies and offers suggestions.
London, July 21: Michael Jackson’s six-year-old son Blanket is still unsure of what has happened to his father and asks whether he has gone on holiday, says Mark Lester, godfather to the late pop star’s children.
Jackson, who died June 25, has three children — 12-year-old Michael Jr, 11-year-old Paris Michael Katherine and six-year-old Prince Michael II whom Jacko called Blanket.
New Delhi, July 21: Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was subjected to a body search for the first time by employees of a US airline in Delhi when he was boarding a flight in April to Newark, his office said Tuesday, adding he does go through the standard security drill while travelling abroad.
The issue created a storm in the Rajya Sabha with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel promising a probe into the incident and saying a show-cause notice would be sent to the carrier.
Mumbai, July 21: After shooting in dense Sri Lankan jungles, Priyanka (Nisha) Kothari has convinced director Ram Gopal Varma to shoot the promotional videos of his latest ‘Agyaat’ on safer and calmer locales like beaches.
Priyanka had a tough time shooting for ‘Agyaat’ as Varma made her wear skimpy clothes. As a result, after the shoot in the jungle she would end up having bruises and scars across her arms, legs and abdomen as well as swellings.
New Delhi, July 21: The government today said it has received requests to enact a law banning cow slaughter in the country but observed that states, and not the Centre, are competent to pass such a legislation.
“Being a state subject, state legislatures are competent to legislate in the subject,” K V Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, responding to a demand of the BJP yesterday, had told the Lok Sabha that the Centre was “not in favour of banning cow slaughter by law.”
Shimla, July 21: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes today termed wasteful the move of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati to install statues of her mentor Kanshi Ram, herself and that of elephants across UP.
Describing the move of the BSP supremo as “wasteful expenditure”, Chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes Buta Singh today said, “The fact is that UP is number one in atrocities on the weaker sections.”
“She has disfigured the famous city of Lucknow by installing statues everywhere. It is a wasteful expenditure,” said Singh.
Patna, July 21: An alert has been sounded across Bihar in the wake of the 24-hour bandh call by the banned CPI(Maoist), beginning this midnight.
The Maoists have given a call for bandh in five states — Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and Chhattisgarh — to protest the rise in prices of essential commodities and petroleum products.
“All police stations have been put on a maximum alert to thwart any attempt by the Maoist rebels to disturb peace,” Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) Neelmani said.
New York, July 21: R’n’B star Chris Brown issued a public apology for beating up his former girlfriend, singer Rihanna.
Brown said he was “truly, truly sorry”, adding that what he did was unacceptable and that he had apologised to his victim “countless” times.
He is due to be sentenced on August 5, having pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna just hours before the pair were due to perform at the Grammy Awards in February.
Islamabad, July 21: Leading English dailies in Pakistan today front-paged the news but otherwise downplayed the confession of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone gunman captured alive during the Mumbai terror attacks, owning up to his role with the only comment being a statement from defence minister dismissing the admission. There were no editorials but this was not surprising as Pakistani newspapers normally take 48 hours to comment on important developments.
Gangtok, July 21: Sikkim will witness total solar eclipse for one minute during the two-hour long cosmic event which will begin at 5.30 am and last till 7.33 am tomorrow.
The eclipse will be visible in the state from 6.28 am to 6.29 am. It will be visible clearly in South, West and East districts, including the state capital, according to a State Council of Science and Technology report.
Jaipur, July 21: Ajmer police has written to Army seeking arrest of five army personnels after their names cropped up in the investigation into the recruitment scam of sepoys at Ajmer, a senior police official said today.
“We have written to the authorities concerned, including the Army headquarter, for arrest of three Major and two Subedar Major rank personnels who are suspected to be involved in the scam,” SP Ajmer H Sharma said.
Mumbai, July 21: A special court today adjourned the proceedings in the 26/11 trial till tomorrow after the prosecution sought time to file its reply on the confession of the lone surviving terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab.
The court proceedings today began with the continuation of Kasab’s confession in which he yesterday admitted to his crime in the dastardly attack on November 26.
An hour after the court recorded Kasab’s confession, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the court that he wanted a day’s time to file a reply on the confession.
Hyderabad, July 21: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Monday surprised everyone by riding a two-wheeler.
The occasion was the inauguration of driving test track of Road Transport Authority (RTA) at Uppal on the city outskirts.
YSR, as the chief minister is popularly known, took a Honda Activa and covered some distance on the track, much to the surprise of a few ministers and officials present there.
The chief minister’s security personnel had a tough time as photographers and television crews vied with each other to capture the rare moment on their cameras.
New Delhi, July 21: Heavy rains lashed several parts of the city today bringing much awaited relief for the people who had been reeling under sweltering heat for the last couple of weeks.
The downpour that lasted for over an hour resulted in water logging and slowing down of traffic in some areas.
The rain has brought down temperature to a comfortable level as the mercury plummeted to 33 degrees.
The maximum temperature was recorded at 36.3 degree Celsius yesterday while the minimum was recorded at 31.2 degrees.
Islamabad, July 21: Former Pakistan Test opener Aamer Sohail Monday decided to step down as Pakistan Cricket Board’s Director-Game Development, creating more problems for the embattled board.
Sohail, 42, told IANS that he was getting no ‘job satisfaction’ and so he decided to resign. The former batsman said he will revive his career as a television commentator.
‘It has always been my principle in life that I have to achieve the task given to me,’ he said.
‘But while working with the PCB I wasn’t able to do that. There was no job satisfaction,’ he added.
Hyderabad, July 21: In an effort to save vultures from extinction the Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) here is all set to begin breeding of the endangered white-backed vultures in captivity.
Conceived on the lines of a vulture breeding centre at Pinjore in Haryana, the project is being built with funding of Rs 41 lakh from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), officials said.
“As part of a CZA programme towards conservation breeding of vultures, a project to help breed the scavengers in captivity is being taken up at the Nehru Zoological Park.