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Star sensors in Chandrayaan fail, mission may end prematurely

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Bangalore, July 17: India’s ambitious Chandrayaan-I Moon mission might come to a premature end as star sensors on board the spacecraft have failed.

“Star sensors are malfunctioning,” S Satish, spokesperson of the Bangalore-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told PTI.

Star sensors played the crucial role of orientation towards the Moon.

ISRO said it has devised innovative technology and is using antenna pointing mechanism and gyroscopes to overcome the problem.

But the space agency is not confident on how long they can hold to this mode.

Rahul heads to Amethi, silent over Joshi’s remarks

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Lucknow, July 17: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi headed to his parliamentary constituency Amethi today but preferred to maintain silence on the alleged derogatory remarks made by Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi against Chief Minister Mayawati and Joshi’s subsequent arrest.

After arriving at the Amausi airport here in the morning, Gandhi drove to Amethi in Sultanpur district without answering any queries by mediapersons on the issue.

Strauss left with reality check after dream start

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London, July 17: Andrew Strauss kept his side of the bargain here yesterday and, for four hours or so, Australia bowled just about as badly as they can. But England will still go into the second day of the second Ashes Test today knowing that an opportunity to dominate has been missed.

Strauss stressed that the lessons of Cardiff would be learnt. And while the captain and Alastair Cook were putting together a wonderfully secure stand of 196 – a first-wicket record for England against Australia at Lord’s – it seemed as though the home side could not help but cash in.

Chris McGrath: Captain wins respect after Cardiff feud

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London, July 17: It is not just the aching joints and sinews of Andrew Flintoff that measure the difference between Test cricket and the feckless, coppiced versions of the game that will keep him off the streets after this summer.

As we saw the last time these sides contested a second Test, at Adelaide in December 2006, even the deepest foundations – and they don’t come much deeper than 551 for 6 declared – can soon be betrayed by the blokes on the scaffolding.

Showdown as Mousavi breaks cover

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Tehran, July 17: Iranians are bracing for a tense political encounter today as the opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi makes his first official public appearance in weeks at Friday prayers at Tehran University.

From beyond the grave: A searing indictment of Putin’s protegé

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Chechnya, July 17: The abductions in Chechnya started nearly a decade ago. In 2000, Russian forces took control of practically the entire territory of the republic, and started extensive mop-up operations in villages.

Thousands of murders and abductions took place; these operations were declared to be an efficient method in the fight against rebels. In reality, however, the troops and police were looting the houses of unprotected civilians, at times taking away everything from them, from cars and furniture to shampoos and female underwear.

Hamas: Israel corrupting Gazans by distributing ‘sex chewing gum’

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Gaza City, July 17: The Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement is accusing Israel of distributing a form of chewing gum which enhances sex-drive, in a bid to “corrupt” young Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas police spokesman in Gaza Islam Shahwan told reporters on Wednesday that Israeli intelligence services were “smuggling” aphrodisiacs into Gaza, in the shape of both chewing gum and of “drops.”

“The aim according to our initial investigation is to corrupt the young generation of the Gaza Strip,” said Shahwan.

Hong Kong bank manager stole 13 million US dollars from customers

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Hong Kong, July 17: A bank manager in Hong Kong was Friday beginning a jail term for stealing almost 13 million US dollars from the accounts of wealthy customers. A number of prominent Hong Kong socialites were among the victims of Cheuk Sau-yee, 31, a relationship manager in the private banking department of Hang Seng Bank.

Cheuk said she began taking the money to cover up for a 900,000-US-dollar loss she made through a blunder on one client’s account, fearing the mistake would lead to her losing her 14,000-US-dollar-a-month job.

Fatal blasts hit Jakarta hotels

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Jakarta, July 17: Bombs minutes apart ripped through two luxury hotels in Jakarta today, killing nine and wounding at least 50 more, ending a four-year lull in terror attacks in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. At least 14 foreigners were among the dead and wounded.

The blasts at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, located side-by-side in an upscale business district in the capital, blew out windows and scattered debris and glass across the street, kicking up a thick plume of smoke. Facades of both hotels were reduced to twisted metal.

Golden age of Indian writing: How a new generation of writers is making waves in South Asia

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New Delhi, July 17: There was a time, not so long ago, when a visit to a Delhi bookshop to browse its section of Indian literature would be a somewhat depressing experience. There would a handful of stellar stand-out names, of course; Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh and one or two others. But the collection would be a half-hearted affair, seemingly there more out of duty than joy, and usually it would be hidden away at the back of the shop.

Arundhati Roy: ‘What we need is a feral howl’

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New Delhi, July 17: The year before its second nuclear tests, the world’s largest democracy hurled a bomb onto the international stage.

At first, people didn’t realise it was a bomb. It was tiny, looked harmless and took a while to explode. But explode it did and the world’s largest democracy is still reeling.

Or perhaps we should say “democracy”. Perhaps, in fact, we should say “heavily sponsored, TV-friendly spectator sport”.

Border, Harvey, Gower, Underwood in ICC Hall of Fame

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London, July 17: Ashes greats Allan Border, Neil Harvey, David Gower and Derek Underwood were inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame here today.

The quartet was accorded the honour during the tea interval on the first day of the second Test between England and Australia at Lord’s.

Something profound has changed. Iranians are losing their fear and mock the official line

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Tehran, July 17: A journey from east to west Tehran in the morning rush-hour traps you in a long line of cars reduced to a tortuous crawl. Yesterday, a middle-aged beggar woman roamed the traffic trying in vain to sell dish-cloths.

We moved for a few seconds but then ground to a halt again, just like Iran’s political paralysis. The driver of our shared taxi, in between grumbling about the traffic, lit up a cigarette and turned on the CD player. The words of the song could hardly have been more appropriate: “Once again I feel crying tonight”.

Milestone man Koertzen praises Tendulkar, Lara

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London, July 17: Rudi Koertzen, who today became only the second umpire to officiate in 100 Tests, said Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara are the two cricketers he has highest regard for.

Less than a week after becoming the first umpire to stand in 200 One-Day Internationals, Koertzen today became the only person after Steve Bucknor to officiate in 100 Tests by taking the field in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.

Looking back on his career, the 60-year-old South African said he was fortunate to have seen Tendulkar and Lara bat from close quarters.

French Navy helps free hijacked Indian boat off Somalia

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New Delhi, July 16: The Indian and French navies have helped free a small boat with 14 Indians on board that was hijacked by Somalian pirates last week, an official said here today.

The small boat was hijacked by the pirates off the Somalian coast on Friday and was freed on Wednesday after a joint operation by the two navies, the official said.

The Somalian pirates carrying rocket propelled grenades and AK-47s hijacked the Indian boat about 10 nautical miles off Boosaaso in Gulf of Aden waters. The vessel had discharged its cargo at the Somali harbour and was proceeding to Dubai.

Hoax bomb call at Ashok Hotel

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New Delhi, July 16: A call to the police today claiming a bomb had been placed in the Ashok Hotel here turned out to be a hoax, police said.

An unidentified man called the Chanakyapuri police station around 9:45 a.m., saying that there was a bomb in the five-star hotel, a police officer said.

Bomb disposal teams accompanied by sniffer dogs were sent to the hotel. However, no bomb was found.

“It would be difficult to trace the caller as he had directly called the police station. Had he had called Police Control Room, it would have been easy to catch him,” the officer said.(IANS)

Heavy rains leave 8 dead in Kerala

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Thiruvananthapuram, July 16: Heavy rains in north Kerala have killed eight people, destroyed crops and caused damages worth Rs.19 crore (Rs.190 million) in the past two days, state Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran said today.

Heavy monsoon rains have affected life in northern districts of Wayanad, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Malappuram.

“A total of 5,000 homes have been partially damaged while 1,300 homes have been fully destroyed. Crops on more than 4,500 acres of land have been destroyed and the total damages have been roughly estimated to be at Rs.19 crore,” Rajendran told reporters.

How I got within sniffing distance of £80m Ronaldo

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London, July 16: Ever wondered what £80m smells like?

If, like me, you’ve been lucky enough to get within sniffing distance of the world’s most expensive player, you’ll know Cristiano Ronaldo is fond of his cologne and hair gel.

Even as he trudged to the showers after a training session in muggy, damp Ireland, the Real Madrid star was still smelling rather… erm… fragrant. Is the 24-year-old wonder kid too good to work up a sweat?
Or is it just that all those rumours about his love of grooming were all true?

Indian police arrested over rape-murder

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Srinagar, July 16: Four police officers were arrested in Indian Kashmir after being accused of destroying evidence in the rape and murder of two women that triggered weeks of anti-India protests, officials said today.

Witnesses said the arrests ended a 47-day protest strike on Thursday in the southern Kashmiri town of Shopian, where the bodies of the two Muslim women were found on 29 May.

Amy Winehouse divorced on grounds of adultery

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Washington, July 16: Singer Amy Winehouse was divorced by her estranged husband today on the grounds of her adultery.

Blake Fielder-Civil, who said the star confessed to him in April last year, was granted a “quickie” divorce from the 25-year-old star at a brief hearing in London.

Fielder-Civil, 27, who described himself as a music video producer, stated in divorce papers before the court he found it “intolerable” to live with Winehouse.

Hartson critically ill after brain surgery

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Washington, July 16: The former international footballer John Hartson remains in a critical but stable condition after undergoing emergency neurosurgery to relieve pressure on his brain, a hospital spokesman said today.

It was revealed earlier this week that the 34-year-old was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which had spread to his brain.

Doctors at the Morriston hospital in Hartson’s home town of Swansea later discovered the disease in his lungs as well.

He is now receiving round-the-clock care following the emergency procedure.

Microsoft to set up shop next to Apple

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Washington, July 16: Microsoft’s chief operating officer says the software maker is planning to open retail stores “right next door to Apple” in the fall.

The executive, Kevin Turner, also says Microsoft is “in the game for the long-term” and has hired a retail team.

Microsoft brought on a 25-year Wal-Mart veteran in February to lead the effort, but has said little since. Turner was speaking to a gathering of technology partner companies in New Orleans.

Microsoft and Apple have been sparring for years.

Congress calls state-wide bandh in West Bangal

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Kolkata, July 16: The state Congress decided to observe a 12-hour bandh tomorrow in West Bengal in protest against the “brutal attack” allegedly by CPI(M) supporters on its legislators at Mangalkot in Burdwan district.

“The Pradesh Congress Committee met here today and unanimously decided to call a 12-hour state-wide Bandh over yesterday’s incident at Mangolkot,” state Congress working president Subrata Mukherjee said here.

Indian Govt to introduce e-passports for diplomats, officials

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New Delhi, July 16: In an effort to check forgeries and misuse of passports, the Indian Government is rolling out E-passports that will carry biometric information in a chip.

Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor informed Rajya Sabha that a pilot project to issue E-passports to diplomats and officials have already been started.

“A pilot project for the issue of e-passports in the category of official and diplomatic passports has already been launched on June 25 last year,” he said replying to a question.