faheem Islamabad, June 23: Pakistan’s Interior Ministry Chief Rehman Malik says Maunalan Fazalullah a pro-Taliban leader in Swat valley has been surrounded by Pakistani troops.
“By and large we know the location where he [Fazalullah] is hiding,” Malik told reporters in Islamabad.
This is while some other reports suggest that the notorious leader may have been killed during recent offensives against the insurgents in the valley.
Mumbai, June 23: Just on the heels of the reports that they have split, Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra were spotted together having a cosy lunch. What must be the reason for the sudden reunion after keeping their affair low of late? It is said that Shahid wanted to celebrate Priyanka’s success.
California, June 23: The most powerful camera that has ever been used to survey another planet is capturing spectacular pictures of the surface of Mars to reveal a rich tapestry of geological features. Located on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a Nasa probe launched in 2005, the HiRise camera has already taken detailed images of the outlines of ancient extra-terrestrial seas and rivers – the first unambiguous evidence that shorelines once existed on the Red Planet.
New Delhi, June 21: Having already created a buzz with her ‘no make up’ look in the promos of her forthcoming venture “New York”, Katrina Kaif says her character Maya in the movie is a reflection of what she is in real life.
“The first brief that I got from my director (Kabir Khan) was that ‘it (the character) is the Katrina whom you have not seen in other films… She is not the one by whom you are intimidated when you see her’. I have just been myself in the film,” Katrina told media in a telephonic interview from Mumbai.
Tehran, June 21: The daughter of Iran’s former president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani and four relatives were arrested over their involvement in protests against alleged election fraud in Iran, the Fars news agency reported Sunday. Faezeh Hashemi, a renowned women’s rights activist, former parliament deputy and head of women sports in Iran, has in the recent years emerged, like her father, as one of the main opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ahmadinejad had before the June 12 election accused Rafsanjani and his children of corruption.
Johannesburg, June 21: A war of words erupted between the Egyptian football team and authorities in South Africa Sunday over the circumstances in which members of the Egyptian team were robbed, following their Confederations Cup win over Italy. On Friday, members of the Egyptian announced they had been returned to their hotel rooms after their historic 1-0 win over Italy at Ellis Park in Johannesburg to find thieves had made off with 2,400 dollars of their cash.
New Delhi, June 21: A man, accused of attempting to sell three minors from West Bengal in flesh trade market here, has been acquitted by a city court as the victims failed to depose in the case. “The appearance of complainant was necessary, so that no vacuum remained in the chain of events or corroboration.
Tehran, June 21: Mir-Hossein Moussavi helped found the Islamic republic of Iran and led the country as prime minister during the grinding war against Iraq in the 1980s. For the close confidant of revered revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini to now be the leader of the opposition is unprecedented in Iranian politics.
A year ago, Iran experts would have laughed at the idea of Moussavi becoming a dissident. Now, a sizeable portion of the one- time political elite from the 1979 revolution has joined him in the opposition, including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
New Delhi, June 21: In another setback to the BJP as the party meets for its crucial introspection on Lok Sabha poll debacle, forensic experts have said the hate speech CD of the BJP leader and MP from Pilibhit, Varun Gandhi, is not doctored.
Sources said the Forensic Science Laboratory in Hyderabad has submitted its report to the District Magistrate of Pilibhit.
Varun had alleged that the CDs were doctored, a line that was also the official BJP stand on the row. He had also refused to give his voice samples for examination.
Shimla, June 21: An 18-year-old British volunteer teacher, who was allegedly raped by two taxi drivers in Palampur town of Himachal Pradesh, has left for Britain, police said Sunday.
The charity worker, who was on an exchange teaching programme and was staying on the outskirts of Palampur in Kangra district along with a few other British nationals, was allegedly abducted and raped by locals, Rakesh Kumar (28) and Sunil Kumar (26) Thursday.
Washington, June 21: Roll up, roll up! With OJ behind bars and Phil Spector serving life for murder, the US legal system is about to raise the curtain on what promises to be its next great celebrity media circus: the prosecution of Chris Brown on charges of beating up his ex-girlfriend and fellow pop star, Rihanna.
The R&B singer will appear at Los Angeles Superior Court tomorrow morning for a preliminary hearing to determine whether he should face trial for an altercation that occurred in a rented Lamborghini car in the early hours of the morning of February’s Grammy Awards.
Jaipur, June 21: A girl, 4, who feel into a 200-feet deep bore-well on Saturday evening will be reached by rescuers soon, say authorities in Moradi village in Rajasthan’s Dausa district.
Anju is stuck 50 feet below in the bore-well but she is alive. Authorities are digging a tunnel parallel to the eight-inch wide bore-well and have lowered oxygen pipes for her.
Anju’s father told reporters she fell into the bore-well while returning home at around 4 pm (1600 hrs IST) on Saturday. Police officials say earthmoving machines are being used to dig the parallel tunnel.
Delhi, June 21: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad today warned the party that excessive dependence on its ally in Bihar, Janata Dal-United (JD-U), could affect its fortunes.
At the party’s two-day national execitue meeting that started here Saturday, Prasad voiced his concern during discussions over the party performance in various states.
Tehran, June 21: Now that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has placed himself shoulder to shoulder with his officially elected president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the very existence of the Islamic regime may now be questioned openly in a nation ever more divided between reformists and those who insist on maintaining the integrity of the 1979 revolution.
Mumbai, June 21: The intruder US-chartered Russian-make aircraft AN-124-100 took off from the airport here on Saturday night, nearly 24 hours after it was ordered to land following its violation of Indian air space, an official said.
The drama at the the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) that caused security worries lasted 23.59 hours as the flight, VDA 446, took off at 10.40 p.m. but its destination was not disclosed, an airport spokesman said.
Tehran, June 21: Iranian security forces used water cannon, batons and tear gas in clashes with protesters in Tehran yesterday after crowds demanding fresh presidential elections gathered in defiance of government and police warnings. Eyewitnesses described fierce clashes near Revolution Square in central Tehran after some 3,000 protesters chanted “Death to the dictator!” and “Death to Khamenei”.
Washington, June 20: Barack Obama got a basketball, his first name and ambition from his father. Little else.
The son gave back more than he received: a lifetime of ruminations about the man who abandoned the family, a memoir named Dreams from My Father, and endless reflections on his own successes and shortcomings as a parent of Sasha, 8, and Malia, 10.
As a candidate and now president, he’s been telling men what sort of father they should be. It’s become his Father’s Day ritual and he’s not shy about it.
He’s asking American men to be better fathers than his own.
Bangalore, June 20: Popular Kannada actress Roopa Iyer’s debut directorial venture “Mukhaputa”, which deals with the problems of young children suffering from HIV, has been applauded by the film fraternity.
Veteran film director D. Rajendra Babu, actress Sumithra, cameraman H. Ramachandra, Satish of HIV/AIDS Foundation and well known lyricist Jayanth Kaikini have applauded Roopa for her effort to present a bold subject to the people who have misconceptions about HIV patients.
Lalgarh (West Bengal), June 20: High on confidence after steam-rolling the Maoist resistance to reach Lalgarh, security forces today threw a challenge to the leftwing rebels in West Bengal saying “We have surprises in store for them”.
Soon after establishing a base camp at the Lalgarh police station, on the third day of their operation to flush out the radicals, Deputy Inspector General (Midnapore range) of state police Praveen Kumar said the security forces would establish the rule of law in the entire troubled area.
Washington, June 20: The United States will order all its troops in Afghanistan to undergo new training after concluding that pilots violated orders in air strikes last month that it accepts may have killed as many as 86 civilians.
In a long-awaited report, released six weeks after US B1 bombers killed large numbers of civilians unleashing fury among Afghans, the Pentagon acknowledged that rules had not been followed, although it said the mistakes fell short of breaking the law.
Lucknow, June 20: An eight-year-old boy has been booked under the Goonda Act – a tough anti-gangster law, in Uttar Pradesh. The police today promised an inquiry into the matter.
Jagannath, a resident of Baghauli village in Hardoi district, was booked under the law about four months ago after his family was involved in a row with a neighbour. The Goonda Act provides for preventive detention up to three months and imposes stringent conditions for bail.
Notthingam, June 20: It is exactly 10 years to the day since Pakistan – and Shahid Afridi – last appeared in the showpiece Lord’s final of a global cricket tournament.
It all went horribly wrong for Pakistan and Afridi, then 19, in the 1999 World Cup final as Australia bowled them out for 132 and raced to a nine-wicket win.
One of Pakistan’s most embarrassing days on the field finished very early, in front of a packed and disappointed crowd, as Australia completed the job with almost 30 of their 50 overs unused.
Sydney, June 20: The ejection from Australia’s Senate of a member’s two-year-old daughter, who subsequently screamed in distress, ignited a national debate yesterday about whether parents should take their children to work.
First-time mother Senator Sarah Hanson-Young couldn’t find anyone to look after her daughter Kora while she voted in the Senate late Thursday, so she took the girl into the chamber with her. The child played quietly for several minutes before Senate president John Hogg ordered her to be ejected.
Chennai, June 20: After successfully holding an international screenwriting workshop here, acclaimed actor-director Kamal Haasan now plans to produce, direct and act in some short films – based on the Tamil Nadu capital.
“My whole life revolves around Chennai. I can never forget those moments I spent in Kodambakkam and AVM Studios. I am surprised to see the old Chennai onscreen,” Kamal Haasan told reporters after announcing his new venture.
Italy, June 20: A showgirl who claims that she and other women were paid to attend Silvio Berlusconi’s private parties said yesterday that she had pictures showing her with the Italian prime minister in his bedroom.
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Patrizia D’Addario, a former model and escort girl, said that she had given prosecutors audio tapes but also had secretly recorded video footage of her encounters in Mr Berlusconi’s Rome residence, the Palazzo Grazioli.