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Iran’s president lashes out at Obama, warns him

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Tehran, June 28: Iran’s hardline president lashed out anew at the United States and President Barack Obama on Saturday, accusing him of interference and suggesting that Washington’s stance on Iran’s post-election turmoil could imperil Obama’s aim of improving relations.

“We are surprised at Mr Obama,” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in remarks to judiciary officials broadcast on state television. “Didn’t he say that he was after change? Why did he interfere?”

Jackson was secretly recording a new album: Deepak Chopra

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London, June 28: Michael Jackson had been quietly recording a new album that he hoped would move the world, says his longtime Indian-American friend Deepak Chopra.

The “Thriller” hitmaker passed away Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest at the age of 50. Hs friend of 20 years, doctor and writer Deepak Chopra, revealed that during a recent meeting, the star had shared with him the new material he had written, reports contactmusic.com.

Jackson was on a deadly diet of power narcotic of drugs

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London, June 27: The toxicology report in pop star Michael Jackson is still awaited but the sources close to the pop star’s entourage have revealed the
singer was on a deadly diet of powerful narcotic pain relievers.

The star was injected three-times a day with narcotic Demerol. He was also taking three 3mg tablets of another strong narcotic painkiller, Dilaudid and was recently prescribed Vicodin, an opiate drug derived from codeine, the Sun online reported.

Kashmiri-origin Pandith is US face for Muslim world

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New Delhi/ Srinagar, June 26: A woman of Kashmiri-origin, Farah Pandith, has been made the US’s special representative to the Muslim world. But her appointment in the state department, announced by secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Thursday, has raised eyebrows in India.

Pandith’s task will be to advise Clinton on dealing with Muslim communities around the world, in keeping with US president Barack Obama’s desire to engage with the Muslim world.

Paes crashes out, Sania stays afloat in doubles

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London, June 26: French Open champions Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic crashed out of the Wimbledon tennis championships in a sensational first-round loss to American James Blake and Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the men’s doubles in London on Thursday.

However, India’s Sania Mirza and Chia-Jung Chuang of Chinese Taipei sailed into the women’s doubles second round with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over American Jill Craybas and Carly Gullickson.

Mirza hoping for tennis take-off in India

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London, June 25: Sania Mirza hopes that within a few years she won’t be the only Indian tennis star battling at the highest level.

Mirza said there was finally plenty of talent beginning to come through the ranks as interest in the sport picks up.

And though the 22-year-old does not feel lonely on the tour, she is aware of the pressure on her shoulders as India’s only top-100 player.

“I hope there’s a lot more tennis players, especially women, come up from India,” she said.

Sibal moots free & compulsory education for all

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New Delhi, June 25: The UPA government has rolled out its plan to reform the education sector in India, starting with providing free and compulsory education and doing away with the ‘trauma’ of Class X Board examinations.

The minister said all step should be taken to enact the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, which seeks to make education a fundamental right of every child in the age group of six to 14 years.

“The bill should be passed in this session so that every child is given statutory right to education,” he said.

Kashmiri-origin woman is Clinton aide for Muslims

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Washington, June 25: Farah Pandith, a Kashmiri-origin woman, has been appointed as special representative to Muslim communities in the US State Department.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has appointed Pandith as in charge of a new office that is responsible for outreach with Muslims around the world, according to a notice of the State Department.

Pandith and her staff will carry out Clinton’s efforts to “engage with Muslims around the world on a people-to-people and organisational level”, the notification said.

Cheers, frowns as Delhi varsity’s first cut-off list out

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New Delhi, June 25: Braving the scorching heat and grappling with their fears, Delhi University aspirants went from college to college to check if they had made it to the first cut-off list for admission that has gone up by a few notches this year in popular colleges.

The cut-off list for admissions to Delhi University’s colleges announced early Thursday saw many students jump for joy, while others were disappointed that they would have to wait for the second list to be out.

Indians were not targeted in my state, insists Victoria premier

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Melbourne, June 25: Victoria state Premier John Brumby says he is distressed by the recent attacks on Indian students in Melbourne but insists Indians were not targeted and pointed out how so many Indians settled here were well established and successful in their chosen fields.

“It is a pity that these incidents have happened and it is distressing. But I am determined to fix it. Waves of immigration from Asia, Europe, Africa and the Pacific have always made Victoria, and especially Melbourne, the most diverse and multicultural place in the world,” Brumby told IANS.

Bhakra to cut down water supply to four states

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Chandigarh, June 25: In the wake of delayed monsoon, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) on Thursday decided to cut down the supply of water for irrigation to Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan by 6,000 cusecs till July 10.

After holding a crucial meeting with representatives of all these states, BBMB has decided to supply 22,000 cusecs against the current supply of 28,000 cusecs, a move that would help raise the water level in Bhakra reservoir which has been fast depleting due to lack of rains.

TDP leader raises banner of revolt against Chandrababu

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Hyderabad, June 25: Still recovering from its poll debacle, Andhra Pradesh’s main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Thursday received another jolt when a senior leader raised ae banner of revolt against party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu.

A few days after the TDP suspended one of its legislators for going public with his views criticising the leadership, former minister T. Srinivas Yadav addressed a news conference to blame the party’s crushing defeat in the recent elections on its support to the demand for a separate Telangana.

US troops ready to withdraw from Iraqi cities

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Baghdad, June 25: US combat troops will pull out from Iraq’s cities and main towns as the war-torn country takes sole charge of security in a major stepping stone to a complete American withdrawal.

Most American troops will retreat to their main bases and only re-enter urban areas if the Iraqi security forces ask for their support in tackling unrest or conducting other operations.

Formal ceremonies will take place on Monday but the government has declared the official departure day a national holiday.

NRI litigant throws acid on High Court lawyers in court room

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London, June 25: A non-resident Indian litigant threw acid at three lawyers after a High Court ruling went against him in a racial discrimination case, a jury heard today.

Ashok Mahajan, 54, went berserk inside the Royal Courts of Justice here as justice Underhill delivered the ruling against him.

Mahajan threw a bottle of corrosive liquid at barrister Richard Liddell, solicitor Claire White and trainee lawyer Lucy Colter, the Southwark Crown Court heard.

Colter screamed in pain when she was hit in the eyes and acid that landed on her leg burned her thighs, the court heard.

No restrictions at Arthur Road jail, gangsters take leave at will

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Pune, June 25: A highly confidential inquiry report by the Maharashtra prison department has revealed that several key undertrials, including Mohammad Dossa, underworld don-turned-politician Arun Gawli and DK Rao (the right-hand man of fugitive gangster Chhota Rajan), among others, freely availed of “leave” out of the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai over the last three years.

The jail authorities neither reported the leave granted to these high-profile undertrials to senior prison authorities, nor did they raise objections to the leave applications in court.

Pakistan using Sarabjit to bargain with India

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New Delhi, June 25:Pakistan Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh’s review petition challenging his death sentence in the 1990 Lahore bomb blast case. The petition was rejected by a three -member bench of Pakistan’s Supreme Court on the grounds of non-pursuance of the case by his lawyer. Sarabjit’s lawyer Rana Abdul Hamid was not present on Wednesday despite a directive to him. The lawyer was also absent for the last hearing on Monday.

Talking to CNN-IBN Hamid said that he would file another appeal on Sarabjit’s behalf.

Hindu or Muslim, they are flocking to Ajmer Sufi shrine

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Pilgrims, both Hindu and Muslim, are thronging the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer for his 797th annual Urs or death anniversary, which is not treated as a sad occasion but a celebration of the soul’s union with god.

About 250,000 to 300,000 pilgrims visit Ajmer during the Urs, which this year begins Thursday and will go on till June 30. The dargah (shrine) of the saint, who was popularly known as Khwaja Gharib Nawaz by his devotees from both communities, symbolises a touching synthesis of the hopes and prayers of various faiths and communities.

Heat grips North; Hisar sizzles at 45.8

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New Delhi, June 24: Heat wave continued to sweep the Northern belt on Wednesday with Hisar in Haryana sizzling at 45.8 degrees Celsius even as the government said monsoon rainfall is likely to be less than what the weatherman had forecast.

Rajasthan, intense heat wave prevailed in most parts of Punjab and Haryana with the mercury remaining between one to five degrees above normal in the two states.

Churu was the second hottest place in Rajasthan with a maximum of 43.6, a fall by a degree from yesterday.

Indians were reluctant to play us in T20 World Cup, says Afridi

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Islamabad, June 24: The Indian team under Mahendra Singh Dhoni was reluctant to play against Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup and it showed in their attitude, alleged flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi.

Even though the arch-rivals did not meet in the main tournament, they featured in a sold-out warm up match and Afridi alleged Dhoni and his men did not look keen to play Pakistan even though they claimed so.

Arabs vow to support Obama’s Mideast peace drive

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Cairo, June 24: Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo vowed on Wednesday to support US President Barack Obama’s Middle East peace efforts, but said normalisation with Israel depends on its halting settlement activity.

Arab countries “are prepared to deal positively with the proposals of President Obama to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict,” the ministers said in a statement after a meeting at the Arab League headquarters.

Fresh Clashes in Tehran as Cleric Says Iran Will Not Yield

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Tehran, June 24: Hundreds of protesters clashed with waves of riot police and paramilitary militia in Tehran on Wednesday, witnesses said, as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, insisted the authorities would not yield to pressure from opponents demanding a new election following allegations of electoral fraud.

No Blank cheque to Air India: Praful Patel

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New Delhi, June 24: PM Manmohan Singh is ready to extend full support to the ailing national carrier Air India on the condition that it cuts its cost and restructures its organisation, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Wednesday.

“The Prime Minister was sympathetic. But he has asked to plan out the strategy, cost cuts, judicious use of resources and restructuring of Air India,” Patel said.

Amidst speculation over the bailout package to Air India, Patel said the government supported the national carrier but refused to divulge the amount of bailout.

‘Depressed’ over losing job,software engineer from Maharashtra ends life

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Hyderabad, June 24: Allegedly depressed over losing his job, a software engineer “ended his life” by hanging himself at Kachiguda here, police said today. Sachin B Khandewar (29), a native of Solapur in Maharashtra hanged himself, by using a nylon rope, to the ceiling fan in his room between 11.15 pm and 12.00 pm last night, Kachiguda police said.

Sachin’s relatives came to know about the incident at about 6.30 am today after one of his aunts noticed his body hanging in the room, an investigation officer said.

Toyota to invest Rs.8 bn more in India plant

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Bangalore, June 24: Japanese auto major Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) will invest an additional Rs.8 billion ($165 million) in its Indian joint venture with the Kirloskar group to expand capacity of its Bangalore plant and roll out a small car for the domestic market, Karnataka Industry Minister Murugesh R. Nirani said Wednesday.