Ujjain, June 30: A couple died when a truck collided head-on with their motorcycle on Indore-Ujjain Road here, police said today.
Narayan Prasad Sharma (50) and his wife Meera were en route Ujjain after attending a marriage ceremony, when the mishap occurred last night, in which Ms Sharma was killed on the spot, while Mr Sharma died on the way to hospital.
A search was on to nail the truck driver, police added.
—-Agencies
New Delhi, June 30: Despite government declaring it as a “top priority”, the Women’s Reservation Bill is unlikely to come up in the Budget session of Parliament beginning on Thursday.
This has become clear as the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, to which the bill was sent for scrutiny, has not yet been reconstituted.
The Bill will have to be referred to the new Committee for scrutiny and it could take a week to constitute the panel.
Tehran, June 30: Iran confirmed hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president and said a row over his June 12 re-election was over, leaving opponents who cried foul with few options.
Iran’s top legislative body, the Guardian Council, said a partial recount on Monday had disproved complaints of irregularities by pro-reform opponents, who said the count was inadequate and that only annulling the election would do.
Jeddha, June 30: Saudi Arabia yesterday welcomed the election of Nabih Berri as speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and Saad Hariri as prime minister and said the moves would strengthen the country’s security and stability.
The Council of Ministers, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, said Saudi Arabia would stand by Lebanon in order to bolster its stability and sovereignty.
New Delhi, June 30: The BJP today declined to comment on the report of Liberhan Commission, probing the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, saying the party would react only after the contents of the report were made known.
BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad in his initial remarks, said the report had been submitted only today and there were other processes like preparation of the Action Taken Report by the Government.
Baghdad, June 30: Iraq opened up some of its massive oil and gas fields to foreign firms on Tuesday, kicking off a landmark licensing round it hopes will help fuel its postwar reconstruction efforts.
In a televised ceremony, international oil companies were invited to submit bids for six oil and two gas fields, a process that marked their return to the country over 30 years after Saddam Hussein nationalized the oil sector and expelled the foreign firms.
Jeddha, June 30 : Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah yesterday met with experts from WHO and other international agencies and discussed precautionary measures to prevent the spread of contagious diseases, such as swine flu, among pilgrims.
The experts were in the Kingdom to attend a workshop on precautionary health measures during Haj and Umrah seasons, which was organized on the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
New York, June 30 : Convicted swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison yesterday for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he needed to send a symbolic message to potential imitators and to victims who demanded harsh punishment.
London, June 30: As Michael Vaughan, a major pillar of England’s 2005 Ashes success, prepares to call time on his career, the current group of players hoping to replicate his feat of four years ago have been quick to laud his contribution.
Baghdad, June 30: More than six years after US forces captured Baghdad, American combat troops will withdraw from all Iraqi cities and towns by tonight, handing over full control to the 600,000-strong Iraqi army and police and marking a crucial step in Iraq’s return to independence.
Rome, June 30: At least 13 people were killed when a freight train derailed and set off an explosion and fire in a small Italian town, officials said today.
More than 50 people were injured, many seriously, in the crash in the Tuscan seaside town of Viareggio shortly before midnight.
The rear of the train crashed into homes beside the railway station and a car filled with liquefied natural gas exploded, causing at least two buildings to collapse and setting fire to a vast area.
–Agencies
Baghdad, June 30: Four U.S. soldiers were killed in combat on the eve of the withdrawal of American troops from Baghdad and other Iraq cities, the U.S. military said, as Iraqi forces on Tuesday assumed control for security in urban areas.
The U.S. military said the four soldiers served with the Multi-National Division-Baghdad but did not provide further details pending notification of their families. It said they died as a “result of combat related injuries.”
Karachi, June 30: Pakistan’s cricket board said Tuesday it had disbanded its senior and junior selection committees, with an interim body headed by former captain Wasim Bari now overseeing selection for both teams.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announcement came after the chairman of the senior selection committee Abdul Qadir resigned in June, citing interference in his work by the national coach, captain and others.
“The PCB chairman (Ijaz Butt) has disbanded the national senior and junior selection committees with immediate effect,” said a PCB statement.
Seoul, June 30: North Korea appears to be enriching uranium, potentially giving the state that has twice tested a plutonium-based nuclear device another path to making atomic weapons, South Korea’s defense minister said on Tuesday.
“It is clear that they are moving forward with it,” Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee told a parliamentary hearing, adding such a programme was far easier to hide than the North’s current plutonium-based activities.
Srinagar, June 30: Security forces today opened fire on a group of youths, who were protesting against the alleged police misbehaviour with a woman, in violation of curfew in Baramulla leaving a teenager critically injured.
About 50 youths took to streets this morning demanding action against the policemen, who allegedly misbehaved with a woman in a local police station on June 28.
Security forces opened fire on the youth staging a demonstration at Cement Bridge in the town in which 11-year-old Bilal Bashir received a bullet on his head, the sources said.
Srinagar, June 30: Curfew continued in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla town for the second day and restrictions were extended to other places in the valley today, a day after two protestors were killed in clashes with police following an allegation by a woman that she had been harassed by cops. The row that had triggered widespread protests on Monday led to restrictions also being imposed in Sopore town and parts of the summer capital Srinagar.
Mumbai, June 30: Yash Raj Films’ Kabir Khan directed New York has not openly opened to great reviews but to a great welcome at the box office.
Amongst the main leads of the film, Neil Nitin Mukesh has every reason to be happy not just because it is his first mega box office success but the running that he did on Mumbai streets to bag this film ended up paying rich dividends. Confused? Well read on.
Mumbai, June 30: The Bombay Stock Exchange index Sensex fell by over 220 points at midsession today on profit selling by funds at existing higher levels.
The Sensex, which opened higher by 121 points, fell by 220.40 points to 14,565.34 at 1330 hrs with heavyweight stocks in realty, power and metal segments recording hefty losses.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 75.45 points at 4,315.50 points. Nifty had gained 35.80 points in early trading.
Marketmen said selling pressure gathered momentum as funds indulged in booking profits at existing higher levels.
Chennai, June 30: Tension prevailed at the International Airport here as Police recovered a “hand grenade like” bomb along with an iron pipe in front of the Airport this morning, putting security personnel on tenter-hooks.
Thanks to the timely action by the Airport police and Bomb disposal squad, the bomb, described as “granite 90 mark 3 lot 78” category was recovered on time, avoiding a flutter at the airport.
Islamabad, June 30: The Taliban has declared an end to the peace deal it signed with the Pakistani government last year due to the ongoing military operation in northwest Pakistan.
The Taliban made the announcement Monday after a meeting of the group’s local shura (council) in North Waziristan, the website of the Dawn newspaper said.
On Feb 17 last year, the group signed a nine-point agreement with the government to restore peace in the area.
Melbourne, June 30: John Buchanan’s link with the Lions may have annoyed Ricky Ponting, but the Australian skipper believes the former coach’s brief stint with England’s second XI will not have any impact on the visiting side, as they prepare for the Ashes, starting July 8.
New Delhi, June 30: “I am independent today”. This is what Justice (retired) M S Liberhan said today after submitting the one-man Commission’s report on the 1992 Babri Masjid Demolition to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Refusing to divulge the contents of the report, he said, “I submitted the report to the Prime Minister. There are various things that I have stated in my report. You can read
“It is up to the media to commend it or condemn it,” he said.
Islamabad, June 30: At least four people were killed and three wounded Tuesday in a blast at a petrol pump in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, TV reports said.
According to Geo TV, the blast occurred in a car parked at a petrol pump in the Sorab area.
The police have cordoned off the area and begun an investigation.
–IANS
Kolkata, June 30: Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on Monday told the core committee of his cabinet that people arrested during Operation Lalgarh will be charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and not the more stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act(UAPA). This is a major change for the CM who had so far appeared to favour stern action against the Maoists.
PWD Minister Khsiti Goswami said, “CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told the core committee that none of the 22 people arrested so far will be charged under the UAPA. They have been arrested under sections of the IPC.”
Baghdad, June 30: Four U.S. soldiers were killed in combat on the eve of the withdrawal of American troops from Baghdad and cities, the U.S. military said, as Iraqi forces on Tuesday assumed control for security in urban areas.
The U.S. military said the four soldiers served with the Multi-National Division-Baghdad but did not provide further details pending notification of their families. It said they died as a “result of combat related injuries.”