shameen

US drone strikes kill 12 militants in Pakistan

by

US drones fired missiles on militant compounds in the lawless North Waziristan tribal region on Friday killing at least 12 insurgents, the latest in a series of such attacks termed by Pakistan as unlawful and a violation of its sovereignty.

The CIA-operated spy planes targeted compounds and a vehicle in three strikes in Shawal region of North Waziristan tribal agency, which has witnessed a slew of drone attacks in the past few weeks. Twelve militants were killed in the strikes, officials were quoted as saying by TV news channels.

The drones fired six missiles at the targets.

‘Pakistan, US divorce on the table’

by

The relationship between Pakistan and the US has again turned rocky and the divorce option is on the table, a Pakistani daily said on Friday.

“Our relationship with the US is still going through an extremely difficult phase,” said an editorial in the News International on Friday.

“Were this a marriage in the real sense of the word, a divorce might have been considered – and now it may be.”

Corpse of stowaway found inside a jet at Heathrow

by

A South African stowaway was found dead in a British Airways passenger jet after it landed at Heathrow airport, sparking security concerns here.

According to British Airways, the corpse was inside the landing gear bay of a Boeing 747 after it arrived at the London airport from Cape Town in South Africa, on Thursday.

“We are liaising with the South African authorities and Cape Town airport after a body was found in the landing gear bay of one of our aircraft,” a company spokesman was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying.

Missile defence for N Korea threat, not China: US

by

The United States is in discussions with close ally Japan about expanding a missile defence system in Asia, the top US general said.

General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was on Thursday commenting on a Wall Street Journal report that the US is discussing positioning an early warning radar in southern Japan, supplementing one already in place in the country’s north, to contain threats from North Korea and to counter China’s military.

The State Department, however, said the missile defence system is not directed against China.

‘New Cold War may break out between US, China’

by

The Cold War mentality hasn’t disappeared, a state-run Chinese daily said on Friday, and warned of “real worries that a new Cold War may break out between China and the US”.

An editorial in the Global Times on Friday said the Cold War era is long over, “but the Cold War mentality hasn’t disappeared”.

The US and Soviet camps confronted each other militarily, ideologically and economically during the Cold War, but with its end, the political foundations for the confrontation disappeared.

Action only against sites posting inflammatory content: Shinde

by

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Friday said only those social media accounts which have posted objectionable and inflammatory content are being blocked and there is no need for others to be concerned.

“We are taking action only against those sites which can cause damage. We will not level charges unnecessarily on others be it SMS or Facebook or Twitter. Be assured of that. Only those who are involved in this and who have done this job of inciting people will face problems and nobody else,” Shinde told reporters.

Don’t be happy about SC decision: Oppn to Congress

by

The government should not celebrate the Supreme Court verdict rejecting a plea seeking to make Finance Minister P Chidambaram a co-accused in the 2G scam case, the BJP and the CPI said on Friday.

“I have not seen the whole judgment, but the government should not be so happy about it,” said Bharatiya Janata Party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, shortly after the Supreme Court ruling dismissing Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy came in.

Assam MLA arrest: Supporters call for indefinite bandh

by

The situation continues to be tense in Kokhrajhar in Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts (BTAD) after indefinite curfew was imposed Thursday morning.

The curfew was imposed after police arrested Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF) MLA Pradeep Brahma in the wee hours Thursday for his alleged role in the communal violence.

Brahma was remanded to judicial custody by a Kokrajhar court.

‘Action only against sites posting inflammatory content’

by

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today said only those social media accounts which have posted objectionable and inflammatory content are being blocked and there is no need for others to be concerned.

“We are taking action only against those sites which can cause damage. We will not level charges unnecessarily on others be it SMS or Facebook or Twitter. Be assured of that. Only those who are involved in this and who have done this job of inciting people will face problems and nobody else,” Shinde told reporters.

Rhino killed in Assam park

by

A one-horned rhino died in the Kaziranga National Park in Assam’s Golaghat district when a forest guard fired at it in self defence, an official said Friday.

The incident took place in the Bagori range Thursday night. The dead rhino was a male adult.

“The rhino charged at a group of forest guards who opened blank fire to stop it. The bullet hit the rhino and it died on the spot,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Suresh Chand told IANS.

“It is a very unfortunate incident,” he said.

Item number in `Joker` raises activist`s heckles

by

Hindi movie `Joker`, scheduled for release Aug 31, could face legal hurdles over a raunchy item number that allegedly insults patriotic sentiments, an activist said.

A legal notice has been served on the Central Board of Film Certification demanding deletion of the item number.

The song has “caused an intolerable insult to our first warrior of independence, Rani Laxmibai, famous as Jhansi ki Rani,” said Rajkumar Tak, the Maharashtra director of International Human Rights Association.

Court refuses to summon script of `Fashion` film

by

A Delhi court has turned down a plea for issuing an order to present the script of filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar`s movie ‘Fashion’ on an author`s allegation that the plot of the film was illegally copied from her book.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Lokesh Kumar Sharma Wednesday rejected actress-turned-author Seema Seth`s plea but gave her an opportunity to present the script in court through her own efforts.

Seth said in her complaint that presenting in court the “script of the film is essential for proper trial of the case against Bhandarkar and others”.

Thinking about marriage make me weak: Soha Ali Khan

by

As talks of her brother Saif Ali Khan`s impending wedding continue to hog the limelight, Soha Ali Khan, who is in a steady relationship with Kunal Khemu, says she is scared of marriage.

The 33-year-old actress says the thought of marriage makes her weak.

“I am not a responsible person. I am a child. I don`t really feel like a grown up and marriage is meant for mature people. The thought of marriage makes me weak. I think that 30 is the new 20. So, I am not tying the knot anytime soon,” Soha said.

J&K to step up measures to control tobacco consumption

by

As part of efforts to minimise the consumption of tobacco products, the Jammu and Kashmir Government is mulling to set up a committee to monitor the progress of initiatives for controlling the menace.

Voicing concern over increasing cases of cancer every year due to use of tobacco in different forms, state Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma sought strong measures to minimise the consumption of cigarettes, gutka and other such products.

Big spurt in AIDS in Chinese above 50 years age

by

There is a big spurt of HIV and AIDS cases among people aged 50 and above in China in recent years, a trend, Chinese health officials say is unique requiring “targeted intervention”.

In South China`s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, men aged 50 and older accounted for nearly 40 per cent of newly reported HIV cases in recent years, government epidemic surveillance statistics showed.

The figure stood at about 20 percent across the mainland.

Cup of tea with cucumber sandwich `best way to keep cool`

by

Having a cup of tea with a cucumber sandwich is the ideal way to cool off in a heat wave, say scientists.

According to the researchers, however tempting ice creams may be, they will not work to beat the heat.

Even water should be drunk at room temperature rather than ice cold during the hottest days of the year, a newspaper reported.

While the British colonial favourite of cucumber sandwiches works best during summer, the crust free, white bread versions served in posh hotels and tea rooms, do not seem to work best.

Why is Ashish Sharma disturbed?

by

‘Rab Se Sona Isshq’ lead actor Ashish Sharma is upset how anonymous texts are being sent to the show`s producer, complaining of preferential treatment given to him during the show`s ongoing London shoot.

A unit insider is said to have harboured angst against Ashish, and has been sending texts to Zee TV officials and the producers of the show, insisting that the actor does not deserve any `superstar` perks just because he is an established actor, said a source.

Ready to discuss threadbare CAG report on coal issue: Govt

by

Asserting that it has nothing to hide, the government on Thursday said it was prepared to discuss threadbare the CAG report on coal block allocation in Parliament and reply to the issues raised by the opposition.

“The government is already prepared to discuss anything they want. The Prime Minister has already said that. We are prepared to discuss the issues threadbare,” Home Minister Shushilkumar Shinde told reporters outside Parliament House.

Law Minister Salman Khurshid expressed the hope that the opposition will join in ensuring proper functioning of Parliament.

Australian lawmakers to join hands against corruption

by

Legislators across the political spectrum from around Australia will converge in Melbourne on Thursday, joining hands in their fight against corruption and for integrity in government.

As the Australian national chapter of the Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) hosts its inaugural working meeting of legislators, for two days the parliamentarians will engage in deliberations to advance anti-corruption efforts across Australia.

They will focus on the role of independent anti-corruption commissions.

Australia hikes annual refugee quota to 20,000

by

Australia on Thursday said that it was stepping up its refugee intake to 20,000 from 13,750 annually — the “biggest” increase in 30 years — under new changes to its humanitarian programme which would focus on accepting more Afghans and Sri Lankans as well as Burmese who are in India.

The hike in the annual refugee quota is in line with one of the key points of an expert panel’s report on asylum seeker policy submitted to the Government earlier this month, ABC reported.

Masterpiece of Jesus Christ destroyed

by

A Spanish woman ended up destroying a 19th century portrait of Jesus Christ as she attempted to restore the damaged religious masterpiece herself.

The plaster portrait titled ‘Ecce Homo’ painted by Elias Garcia Martinez had begun to crumble owing to damp and was set to be repaired by professionals thanks to a donation from the artist’s granddaughter.

However, the 80-year-old woman decided to restore the masterpiece herself, which was admired by worshippers at the Sanctuary of Mercy Church in Zaragoza, Spain, for more than 120 years.

Will accord more respect to Pakistan: Romney aide

by

In hope of getting more co-operation from Pakistan, a top foreign policy aide to presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has said the Republican administration would treat Islamabad with “little bit more respect”.

He also expressed concern over the rise of extremism in Pakistan and security of its nuclear weapons.

Bank strike day 2: ATMs running out of cash

by

Normal operations in public sector banks, including cheque clearances and fund transfers, were today hampered for the second day because of the strike called by unions to protest against reforms in the sector and outsourcing of non-core services to private sector.

“The strike is total success all over the country. Banking services have been affected,” All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said.

Normal banking operations, including cash transactions, cheque clearances, foreign exchange dealings were affected, he added.

Gold futures zoom to record high of Rs 31,029

by

Buoyed by a firm trend in the overseas markets, gold futures prices on Thursday climbed to all- time high of Rs 31,029 per 10 grams as speculators indulged in enlarging positions.

Rising spot demand in domestic markets for the wedding season also pushed gold futures to trade at record high, traders said.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in December rose by Rs 352, or 1.23 percent, to new record of Rs 31,029 per 10 grams, with a business turnover of 209 lots.

India start Nehru Cup campaign in style, beat Syria 2-1

by

Dutchman Wim Koevermans` stint as the coach of the Indian football team started on a positive note as Portugal-returned skipper Sunil Chhetri and Anthony Pereira`s strikes propelled the hosts to a 2-1 win over Syria in the Nehru Cup opener on Wednesday.

Chhetri`s neat header found the net just at the stroke of half time to put the defending champions ahead, after rain forced a brief 15-minute suspension at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here.

Pereira struck in the 84th minute with a rasping left-footer from the top of the box to put it beyond Syria.