Gali Nagaraja

A Russian helicopter Friday landed in Georgia due to problems in the navigation system, authorities said.

According to the Russian emergency situations ministry, the helicopter lost its way while delivering a consignment of humanitarian aid to Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia, reported Xinhua.

“The helicopter made an emergency landing on the territory of Georgia not far from the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinval, because its navigation equipment started malfunctioning,” the ministry’s spokesman told reporters here.

Pakistan and India’s “engine of bilateral trade is primed for start-up”, said a daily Saturday.

An editorial in the News International said: “…An extremely large and potentially powerful engine, it appears, is ready to fire up, and the first day of the Pak-India trade talks in Islamabad ended Thursday with the two sides agreeing to resolve the issues of the non-tariff barriers and the phasing out of the negative lists.”

To many, it is surprising that Anurag Basu is the same man who helmed “Kites” and “Barfi!”. The director, who believes touching a hundred hearts is more important than Rs.100 crore box-office takings, says versatility often turns out to be a disadvantage in the film industry.

“I personally feel it is a disadvantage to be a versatile director. Producers don’t know where to place you because they don’t know what next you will come up with,” Basu told IANS.

The report of the independent commission investigating Osama bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan would be available next month, the visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said.

“We are awaiting the report of the independent commission. That report is going to be out in October,” Khar said in response to a question during a speaking engagement yesterday at the Council on Foreign Relations, an eminent American think-tank.

As SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav offered a prop to beleagured UPA after Trinamool Congress walked out of the ruling coalition, BJP said it has no intention of toppling the government and will “wait and watch”.

“I don’t want to talk about instability in the government. They (Congress) should take care of their alliance partners. We don’t want to topple the government. We have adopted a ‘wait-and-watch’ policy and are watching the developments taking place,” BJP president Nitin Gadkari said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for her work towards establishing peace and democracy in her country.

Ban Friday lauded Suu Kyi’s “commitment to peace, security and human rights” and called the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner a “global symbol of human rights”, Xinhua reported.

“We have great expectations and hope that she will lead this path of reconciliation and greater participatory democracy and development of her country, together with (Myanmar) President Thein Sein,” Ban said.

In his first interview in weeks, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said rebels fighting his government “will not be victorious”.

“The armed groups exercise terrorism against the state. They are not popular within society… they will not be victorious in the end,” Assad told Egyptian weekly al-Ahram al-Arabi.

In his last major interview in August, Assad said it would take some time for his government to put down the uprising, which activists say has claimed around 23,000 lives since it began in March last year.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has met Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdesslem in Washington amid a wave of anti-US protests in the Arab world that was ignited by a movie that allegedly insults Islam.

Clinton thanked the government of Tunisia for helping secure the US embassy amid the recent protests. She said Washington was “monitoring events closely”, Xinhua reported.

Stressing America’s priority to protect its diplomats, Clinton urged all governments to stick to their duty to defend foreign diplomatic missions.

One person was fatally shot while demonstrators set ablaze two cinema halls in Pakistan’s Peshawar city during a protest against an anti-Islam film, police said.

The demonstrators set fire to the two cinemas Friday, a day when Pakistan marked a day of protests against the anti-Islam film “Innocence of Muslims” that has triggered angry demonstrations around the world.

Protestors damaged the Chamber of Commerce building while in a firing incident on GT Road, an employee of a private TV channel was killed and seven others were injured, Geo News reported.

The home ministry has clarified that Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) is exempt from all provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and there is no bar on the university receiving or spending foreign contributions, a university statement said Friday.

Following reports in some sections of the media in August that the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) Registration of Jamia Millia Islamia along with many other organisations and NGOs had been cancelled, the university gave a report of its returns to the government, the statement said.

A month after its release, Salman Khan’s “Ek Tha Tiger” is still creating records. The film has become the longest standing movie to be featured in the most viewed list on mobile devices in India.

The film broke opening day records by collecting Rs.33 crore at the box office.

According to the latest Global Video Insights (GVI) report published by independent mobile video company Vuclip, Kabir Khan-directorial “Ek Tha Tiger” was at the number one in terms of searched video in August and September.

The first success of the recently-concluded ‘Emerging Kerala’ investors’ meet could be the seaplane project to be operationalised in seven tourist destinations in the state in January, says Tourism Minister A.P. Anilkumar.

“We got 58 proposals, including two from seaplane manufacturers, for this project. A feasibility study indicated it as a viable project and a detailed report is expected to be out next month. We want to launch the project in January next year,” Anilkumar told reporters here.

The government’s policy notification on FDI is “the single biggest step” that will destroy the livelihood of those engaged in India’s retail trade, the CPI-M said Friday.

“Notwithstanding the widespread opposition to FDI in multi-brand retail trade, the government has gone ahead with the notification (Thursday night),” the Communist Party of India-Marxist said.

It said the rules announced by the government for FDI in multi-brand were designed to serve the interests of MNCs like Wal-Mart, TESCO and Carrefour.

As anger in the Muslim world over anti-Islam film continued to smolder, the US Administration has turned to social media and television ads to try to stem global protest.

The Obama Administration’s campaign was launched in Pakistan by the US embassy in which President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton figure.

In the 30-second TV advertisement broadcast across seven networks, both Obama and Clinton explained American position in a bid to disassociate the US Administration from the provocative film.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address the nation tonight to explain the government’s recent decisions on economic reforms which have triggered widespread political protests across the country.

The Prime Minister will address the nation at 8 pm on Doordarshan about the recent decisions on economic reforms, officials said.

Singh is expected to spell out the reasons that prompted the government to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, hike in diesel prices and put a cap on subsidy on LPG cylinders.

Trinamool Congress leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay Friday said he will move a privilege motion against former Congress legislator Arunava Ghosh on charges of insulting assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee.

“Ghosh has made some remarks against the speaker which are derogatory. I will bring a privilege motion against Ghosh on Monday,” said Chattopadhyay.

Ghosh made the remarks after the speaker disallowed former legislators from entering the assembly to pay respects to late chief minister Jyoti Basu on his 99th birth anniversary in July.

The Trinamool Congress, which is to formally withdraw from the UPA Friday, announced it will launch countrywide protests against the government’s economic policies, especially FDI in multi-brand retail.

Announcing this here Friday, Trinamool leader Mukul Roy said: “We will launch a protest all over the country to protest the FDI. The manner in which they (government) have introduced FDI is absolutely unethical.”

China Friday vowed to resolve its differences with neighbours concerning territorial rights through friendly negotiations.

China will be more determined to pursue peaceful development, and implement the policy of building friendship, Vice President Xi Jinping said at the China-ASEAN summit in Nanning city.

“We are firm in safeguarding China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and are committed to resolving differences with neighbours concerning territorial land, territorial sea and maritime rights and interests peacefully,” Xi said.

Two people, including a girl student, were killed and 11 others injured in a lightning strike in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district, around 125 km from here, police said Friday.

“Two persons – a girl student and an old woman – were killed and 11 students injured when lightning struck near Markatola Higher Secondary School in Narharpur block, around 15 km from district headquarters Kanker, Thursday afternoon,” superintendent of police Rahul Bhagat said.

According to school authorities, the lightning struck around 1.45 p.m. as soon as the bell for lunch was sounded and students rushed out.