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Six dead, 40 wounded in Philippines bomb attacks

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Manila, July 07: At least six people were killed and more than 40 others wounded by twin bomb blasts in the southern Philippines Tuesday, in what officials described as coordinated attacks by Al Qaeda-linked militants.

The first bomb exploded in a commercial area on Jolo island, killing six people and wounding around 30 others, police said. It was followed around two hours later by a blast next to a parked military patrol jeep in Iligan city.

The second blast wounded at least 10 people, including three soldiers, the military said.

insurgents proud to be on US terror list

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Baghdad, July 07: An Iraq-based Shi’ite insurgent group rejoiced at the U.S. government’s decision to designate it a foreign terror organisation, calling it a point of pride, a U.S. militant monitor said on Monday.

Just days after Kata’ib Hizballah was designated a foreign terror group by U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, the group posted a triumphant message on a Shi’ite jihadist forum praising the move, according to SITE Intelligence.

US denies giving Israel ‘green light’ to attack Iran

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Washington, July 07: US President Barack Obama’s administration denied Monday that it is giving Israel the green light to attack Iran or that it is reconsidering plans to engage diplomatically with the Islamic Republic.

Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani, formerly the country’s top nuclear negotiator, warned Tehran would hold Washington responsible for any such strike after Vice President Joe Biden said Washington would not dictate how Israel deals with Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Health Insurance for Orphans and Prisoners

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Abu dhabi, July 07: The Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD) issued on Monday two new health insurance cards for free medical treatment for people with special needs, orphans and prisoners following a generous gesture from the Abu Dhabi leadership.

According to a press statement 
issued by HAAD, the first card ‘Aonak, is for people with special needs, orphans and their foster mothers, while the second card ‘Riaaya’ is for prisoners, detainees and inmates at correctional institutions.

Obama, Medvedev agree to deal to cut nuke weapons

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Moscow, July 07: Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev confidently committed to a year-end deal to slash nuclear stockpiles by about a third on Monday, but the U.S. leader failed to crack stubborn Kremlin objections to America’s missile defense plans.

Both men renewed pledges to pull U.S.-Russian relations out of the dismal state into which they had descended during the eight years of the Bush administration.

Croatia’s first woman Prime Minister takes office

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Zagreb, July 07: Jadranka Kosor became Croatia’s first woman Prime Minister vowing to revive the country’s bid to join the European Union and tackle the economic crisis.

The journalist-turned-politician and her Centre-Right Cabinet were approved by 83 deputies in a late night vote in the 153-member Parliament. Forty-five voted against, no one abstained while the remaining were not present.

UN fact finding mission on Gaza begins hearing

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Washington, July 07: A fact-finding mission tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with probing rights violations committed during the recent Gaza conflict began its Geneva round of public hearings following a similar exercise held in the Gaza Strip last week.

“The purpose of today’s interviews was to hear from victims, witnesses and experts from southern Israel and the West Bank,” United Nations spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters at the world body’s headquarters in New York.

Class XI admissions in govt schools: 628 students admitted

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Chandigarh, July 07: After a brief hiatus on Sunday, the counselling for centralised admissions to Class XI in government schools resumed at GMSSS-10 today. Around 628 students in the percentage bracket of 68 per cent and above were admitted on Monday, taking the total admission tally to 3,243 till date.

Humanities and vocational streams, which have received a poor response from students till now, did not show much improvement with only 30 and 36 admissions respectively.

Asim happy with mega Aila aid, Trinamool raises a storm

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Kolkata, July 07: While expressing happiness over the allocation of Rs 1,000 crore in the Union Budget for the relief and rehabilitation of those affected by Cyclone Aila, West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta rued that there were not adequate allocations in other important sectors.

Dasgupta was reacting to the Union Budget Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented on Monday in Parliament.

Kin seek action against cops who beat up driver

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Chandigarh, July 07: The family of the driver who was recently beaten up by drunken police officers met the Panchkula SP to seek the registration of case against the erring policemen.

On July 4, Sushil (22), a taxi driver, was allegedly assaulted in the public by two cops— ASI Shiv Lal and constable Rajesh. After the residents of the area protested, they were assured of appropriate and strict action against the cops.

A DDR was lodged against the two, and the urine samples of the cops were sent to

Madhuban Forensic lab but no case has been registered by the police till date.

Finance Minister grants Rs 50 cr to Panjab University

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Chandigarh, July 07: The Union Budget presented on Monday gave the Panjab University a reason to cheer.

A grant of Rs 50 crore has been sanctioned for the university.

It is for the first time that the university has managed to find a place in the Union Budget.

The grant comes as a major relief, as the university is facing acute shortage of funds. “I am grateful to the Ministry of Human Resource and Development for the amount they have sanctioned. Also, it is an honour for our university to have its name being mentioned in the Parliament,” Vice-Chancellor Prof R C Sobti said.

Dacoit Ashok Kewat dies in encounter

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Lucknow, July 07: The police claimed to have gunned down dacoit Ashok Kewat — wanted in six cases of dacoity and murder in Chitrakoot — on Monday.

Kewat had robbed a man of his motorcycle early in the morning on Sitapur Road and opened fire when the police tried to intercept him in Gudamba. The place where the alleged encounter took place is a deserted area.

Sixth officer to head probe on missing Mumbai designer

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Lucknow, July 07: The case of missing Mumbai-based fashion designer Aadesh Bajpai is proving tough for the Kanpur police.

Though a fresh investigation has been ordered, the Investigating Officer (IO) was transferred even before he could begin.

The new IO is AK Upadhyay, the new Station Officer of Kalyanpur. He is the sixth officer to take charge of the case in the last 11 months.

The fresh investigations were ordered after the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad, failed to extract DNA from the skull and bones recovered from IIT-K premises.

Soon, Press button, get grain from automated machine at ration shops

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New Delhi, July 07: Ration shops would soon go hi-tech, if a Delhi government project goes as per schedule.

The government is planning to intriduce automated machines as part of the Public Distribution System after a series of cases of corruption, fake ration cards, black marketing of grains supplied to public distribution outlets.

Shiney’s bail plea to be heard on Tuesday

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Mumbai, July 07: A local Mumbai court will hear a bail plea of Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja.

On July 3, a court had deferred the hearing of the bail plea till July 7.

Meanwhile, the judicial custody of Ahuja, who was arrested for allegedly raping his domestic maid, was extended till July 16. He is lodged at the Arthur Road jail.

The DNA test report of Ahuja confirmed that he had sexual relations with the victim. Earlier, medical reports had suggested that Ahuja’s maid was raped.

We’ve too many spokespersons these days, says Advani

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New Delhi, July 07: Caught in the throes of a vigorous debate after the party’s debacle in the recent general election, senior BJP leader L K Advani, in an apparent reference to the intra-party feud, on Monday cautioned against the growing trend of “every second leader in the party willing to hold forth on virtually everything to see their name in print and face on television”.

“Hamare yahan pravakta bahut ho gaye hain. Keval akhbar mein naam dekhne ke liye aur television mein chehra dekhne ke liye aatur rehte hain (We are having too many spokespersons in the party these days.

Manmohan, Obama likely to meet at G-8: Menon

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New Delhi, July 07: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to meet US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G-8 summit in Italy, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon indicated on Monday. He also confirmed the possibility of meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir on the sidelines of the NAM summit in mid-July.

When asked about PM-Obama meeting, Menon said, “I am sure they will be meeting, but we will tell you once we have it all sorted out, (with) precise timings and places.”

Fire breaks out at DC office

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Chandigarh, July 07: A major tragedy was averted due to presence of mind of ex-serviceman Gurdarshan Singh as he used fire extinguishers to douse a fire that broke out at the Suvidha centre in the Deputy Commissioner’s office at Phase I in Mohali on Monday.

Though no major loss was reported, the electric wiring and allied installations were reportedly damaged in the inferno.

Bus crushes girl to death, mob breathes fire all around

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Kolkata, July 07: Irate locals set on fire eight buses and a fire engine and ransacked a police van following the death of a girl who was run over by a bus at Uttarjhapar at Domjur in Howrah district. The incident occurred at 5.30 pm on Monday. Twelve shops in the adjoining area were also torched by angry locals.

According to police, Riya Das (13), Class VII a student of St Thomas, had alighted from her school bus at the bus stop and was crossing the road to go home when a route 63 Howrah-Domjur bus run over her. The student died on the spot.

‘Rs 1000 cr will go into CPM’s pocket’

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Kolkata, July 07: The budgetary grant of Rs 1,000 crore by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to the state government for relief and reconstruction of the Aila-devastated areas of Sunderbans has left the Congress ally Trinamool unhappy.

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee has been exerting pressure on the Centre against granting funds to the state claiming these would be misused by the LF government.

Happy or sad, over to admission centres

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Mumbai, July 07: The reactions were predictable: students of the state board were disappointed, those of other boards jubilant. Whatever their mood, all got ready for admission, with decks for the process cleared after the verdict.

“It is a victory for parents, students and the Association of ICSE Schools of Maharashtra. Our students can now go ahead with a normal admission procedure,” said Perin Bagli, principal of Activity High School, Gamdevi.

No boardwise quota : Court quashes 90:10 policy, says made with political agenda

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Mumbai, July 07: The state government’s second attempt at wooing the majority SSC (state board) students fell flat on Monday when the Bombay High Court set aside the government resolution that reserved 90 per cent of seats for SSC students and the rest for those of other boards like the ICSE and the CBSE.

The court said it had seen through the government’s political agenda and observed, “The GR has been issued only for political ambitions and to favour students belonging to the SSC board.”

At over Rs 3k crore, Budget makes cops happy

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New Delhi, July 07: Budget 2009-2010 has kept aside a substantial Rs 3,041 crore for the Delhi Police, of which Rs 22.61 crore has been specially earmarked for upgrading security for next year’s Commonwealth Games.

A senior officer said this was the first time that the Delhi Police has been handed a special package for the Games.

The present allocation — considerably more than the Rs 2,170 crore given last year — will be spent mainly on salaries, on modernising the force, buying traffic equipment and weapons and funding housing projects.

CM hints at CBI probe as experts question encounter

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New Delhi, July 07: Three days since a youth from Ghaziabad was gunned down by the police in Dehradun, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank on Monday said he is ready for a CBI probe even as experts questioned credibility of the ‘encounter’ claims.

Big push for rural development projects in Union Budget

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New Delhi, July 06: Giving a push to its rural development projects, the government on Monday announced a 144 per cent jump in the allocation for the flagship job guarantee scheme, NREGA, and 45 per cent hike for the Bharat Nirman programme that seeks to improve infrastructure in villages.

Presenting the 2009-10 Budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced an allocation of Rs 39,100 crore for NREGA for 2009-10, an increase of 144 per cent over 2008-09.