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Karzai seeks negotiations with Taliban

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London, July 19: Observing that deployment of more foreign troops is not a solution to rid his country of extremists, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has appealed to the West to develop a new strategy for the war-ravaged nation, including talks with the Taliban, even their top leader Mullah Omar.

“Military operations are no longer enough,” Karzai told ‘The Sunday Times’ as the offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan continued to claim the lives of British and other coalition soldiers.

Jemaah Islamiyah blamed for Jakarta blasts

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Jakarta, July 19: Indonesian police confirmed regional terror outfit Jemaah Islamiyah as the culprits behind twin suicide blasts at Jakarta hotels, and said one of the bombers had been identified.

Jemaah Islamiyah, which draws inspiration from al Qaida, has carried out dozens of bombings in Indonesia in the past decade including 2002 attacks in Bali that left more than 200 dead, mostly foreign tourists.

“We confirm that the attackers are from Jemaah Islamiyah because there are similarities in the bombs used,” national police spokesman Nanan Soekarna told a press conference.

Govt may seek more time in SC on gay sex

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New Delhi, July 19: The Delhi High Court verdict legalising gay sex has put the government in a fix as it remains undecided about its stand in the Supreme Court, 10 days after a response was sought from it on the vexed issue.

“No affidavit has been filed in the court as yet. It has to be seen what happens in the court,” Attorney General G E Vahanvati, who will appear in the matter said.

“You have to wait and watch what happens in the court tomorrow,” he said.

Gandhi’s gift to friend to go under hammer

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London, July 19: With Mahatma Gandhi memorabilia doing well at a recent Sotheby’s auction, a bronze statue of a seated Buddhist deity presented by him to his Irish friend Emma Harker will now go on sale on September 8.

The 13-inch-high figure, possibly of the Bodhisattva of compassion Avalokitesvara, is estimated to sell for 3,000-5,000 pounds at Bonhams sale of Asian Art.

On July 14, three of Gandhi’s autographed letters sold for 4,750 pounds while a signed khadi cloth which was said to have been woven by him went under the hammer for 2,125 pounds.

Scarlett ditches golden locks for ‘Iron Man 2’

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London, July 19: Bollywood star Scarlett Johansson has ditched her golden locks to turn into raunchy redhead for her upcoming film Iron Man 2. The 23-year-old star who is seen into a skin-tight cat suit in a still from the film has dyed her blonde hair for the more fiery look to become ‘The Black Widow’ in the comic book sequel, Sun online reported.

Rihanna comes up with edgiest hairstyle

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New York, July 19: R&B star Rihanna who is all about maintaining her fashion-forward mane unveiled her new shaved hairdo in the city. The Umbrella singer hit the Manhattan streets yesterday showing off her feathery head of hair and a close shave around the base, New York Daily News reported.

The 21-year-old fashionista who changes her hairstyles nearly as often as her clothes is not the only singer shedding her locks. Another R&B singer, Cassie, shaved her head in April, debuting the new look via Twitter.

Windows PC users warned about security hole

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Berlin, July 19: Windows PC users should keep the “Video ActiveX Control Element” deactivated until further notice.

While helpful for playing back some films, it also presents an “actively exploited” security hole for hackers. Under some circumstances it could even be used to sneak viruses onto a user’s computer, warns the German Federal Agency for IT Security.

Millions of Shiite pilgrims flock to battered Baghdad shrine

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Baghdad, July 19: Millions of pilgrims poured across the Imam’s Bridge in Baghdad on Saturday, on their way to a Shiite shrine that has been the target of some of the bloodiest attacks in Iraq this year.

That the bridge was open was a sign of Iraqi security forces’ confidence as they faced the biggest challenge to their ability to keep order since US forces withdrew from Iraqi cities and towns on June 30.

Beyond Bing: Specialised search engines have plenty to offer

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Washington, July 19: Microsoft’s recent launch of its search engine bing (http://www.bing.com) prompted many to stray from Google for the first time in a while. What they found was a search engine with a few nifty tricks up its sleeve.

But Bing isn’t the only alternative search engine that has managed to introduce features that search kings Google and Yahoo don’t have.

Plenty of newcomers are innovating in ways that can add up to significant productivity gains for you as you search for information on the Internet. Here are a few.

— Social networking search

Targets Of TCS $3bn Recover From BPO In 5 Yrs

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Mumbai, July 19: Targets Of TCS $3bn Recover From BPO In 5 Yrs, Tata Consultancy Services on Saturday said it is targeting business process outsourcing (BPO) revenues of 3 billion dollars in the next five years.

“There is a huge amount of opportunity through BPO. The global spend of BPO is estimated at $400 billion by 2013,” TCS COO N Chandrasekaran told reporters.

“We want to take our BPO revenues to $3 billion in the next five years from Rs 800 crore, which we registered in the first quarter of this year,” he said.

Pakistani students launch legal action over arrests

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London, July 19: Janas Khan, one of two Pakistani students released from prison yesterday months after terrorism charges against them were dropped, has told The Independent on Sunday he was “shocked and angry” at his treatment by the UK Government.

Lawyers acting for the remaining seven Pakistani students still held in prison have also announced they will launch a legal challenge against the Government this week.

Shopping Centres Of UK On Alert For Terror Attack

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London, July 19: Shopping Centres Of UK On Alert For Terror Attack, Shopping centres across Britain have been placed on alert for a terrorist attack that would probably result in the deaths of dozens of innocent people.

According to The Telegraph, the National Counter Terrorism Security Office now holds training days for shopping centres and other vulnerable targets up and down the country, warning: “Terrorist attacks in the UK are a real and serious danger.”

Babar Awan And Rehman Malik Should Be Arrested For Bhutto Assassins: PPP

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Islamabad, July 19: Arresting federal ministers Babar Awan and Rehman Malik could lead to the masterminds of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Chaudhury Aslam has said.

Aslam said he has already written a letter to the UN Commission probing the assassination asking it to arrest the ministers.

In an interview with an Urdu daily, Aslam said that Awan and Malik had deliberately boarded the vehicle which was meant for escorting Bhutto’s car.

First US Conference Held By Islamic Supremacist

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Chicago, July 19: First US Conference Held By Islamic Supremacist, A group committed to establishing an international Islamic empire and reportedly linked to Al Qaeda is stepping up its Western recruitment efforts by holding its first official conference in the U.S. today.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is a global Sunni network with reported ties to confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Al Qaeda in Iraq’’s onetime leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It has operated discreetly in the U.S. for decades.

Boxing: Khan turns on style to claim world title

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Manchester, July 19: Exactly four years and eleven months to the day after he became the teenage Olympic silver medallist, Amir Khan has graduated to a professional World Champion taking the World Boxing Association light-welterweight title from the battle hardened Ukrainian Andreas Kotelnik at the MEN Arena last night.

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At 22 and only in his 22nd fight the boy from Bolton has grown into a man of the world – King Khan they acclaimed him after a unanimous points win earned by a scintillating and scientific exhibition of boxing skills as you could wish to see.

Prior ensures England hold all the cards

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England, July 19: History beckons for England. After 75 years, the place which had become a fortress for Australia has begun to collapse around them like a house of cards.

It is certain that they will resist, since this record above all records – never having lost a Test at Lord’s since 1934 – is one they are desperate to preserve because much else would disappear with it.

Democracy hangs by a thread in Honduras

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Washington, July 19: The international group of right-wingers who staged the coup d’état against the democratic government of Honduras on 28 June are watching their plot fast unravel.

There is stiffening international opposition to their protégé, Roberto Micheletti, who, in his capacity as President of Congress, ordered President Manuel Zelaya to be expelled from the country by plane in his pyjamas.

Film festival cancelled by ‘official parties’

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Riyadh, July 19: Saudi Arabia’s only film festival has been cancelled, dealing a blow to hopes of an easing of clerical control over culture in a country where cinemas had been banned for almost three decades. Mamdouh Salem, one of the organisers of the Jeddah Film Festival, said yesterday:

“Late last night, the governorate of Jeddah notified us of the festival’s cancellation, after it received instructions from official parties. We were not told why.”
–Agencies

Neil Armstrong: The reluctant hero

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Washington, July 19: (After the 1969 flight, Armstrong stayed on at Nasa for just two years. Wearied by the unending attention and demands on his time, he left to teach engineering at the University of Cincinnati in his native Ohio, not to return to public life again.)

The remarkable thing about the men who have walked on the Moon is how normal they are.

Is this the first black Miss England? (And do we call that progress anyway?)

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London, July 19: Rachel Christie is no ordinary beauty queen. After an ice cream breakfast, she is tucking into a chicken and bacon club sandwich for lunch, and enjoying the experience.

But it is not just her appetite for fatty foods that will make Ms Christie stand out from her peers when she takes her place alongside the other 49 Miss England finalists in London today.

She is one of only a handful of black finalists in the contest and – if the bookies’ predictions come true – she is set to become the first black woman to win the pageant.

2010: A new space odyssey beckons

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Washington, July 19: This weekend, 40 years after man first landed on the Moon, more human beings than ever before are orbiting on a single spacecraft. In 1969, three men squeezed into Apollo 11’s command module, a craft little bigger than a Mini.

Raveena lends helping hand to education sponsorship prog

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New Delhi, July 19: Raveena Tandon has always been associated with different charitable programmes. Now the actress has associated herself with a sponsorship programme to provide quality education to poor children.

The 34-year-old who has been part of programmes by Child Care and You (CRY) and Unicef, among others, visited Delhi along with the marketing head of Hindi general entertainment channel Colors, Rameet Arora, to hand over a sponsorship certificate by the channel to Nai Disha — a school for children from poor families.

Govt wants Ambani pact declared ‘null’ and ‘void’

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New Delhi, July 18: The government today filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking a direction to declare as “null and void” the private family agreement of the Ambanis that provides for gas supply by RIL to RNRL.

The government petition has named as respondents RIL led by Mukesh Ambani and RNRL headed by Anil Ambani which have separately filed cross-petitions against the Bombay High Court June 15 judgement.

Tight security at St. Xavier’s College for Clinton visit

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Mumbai, July 18: Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s College — to be visited by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Saturday afternoon — was crawling with policemen hours ahead of her arrival.

Security personnel were positioned on top of all neighbouring buildings and were out in strength on the road outside the college, where she is scheduled to arrive 4 p.m.

‘Police are everywhere — standing atop buildings, on the roads, in the Azad Maidan opposite the college… the area is teeming with police, they are crawling all over,’ said a bystander.

SP announces candidates for three assembly seats

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Lucknow, July 18: The Samajwadi Party today announced its candidates for three assembly seats, which will go to by-polls on August 18.

Geeta Shakya will be the party candidate from Vidhuna, whereas former MP Reena Chaudhary will contest from Malihabad reserve seat, party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said.

Former MLA Rafaqat Hussain will contest from Moradanad (West), he said.
–PTI