Month: July 2009

Land of snake charmers to land of thieving cabbies

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Mumbai, July 30: British High Commission issues advisory on ‘taxi scam’, Oz grades India with a ‘high degree of caution’ warning

The feud between private AC cabs and prepaid black and yellow cabs has now crossed the border and made it on the travel advisories of Britain and Australia.

The British High Commission (BHC) in its travel advisory issued on July 27 has asked citizens to be wary of a ‘taxi scam’ at both the terminals of Mumbai airport.

It warns against thieves posing as government officials at the airport and advises them to travel by coach.

DubaiSat-1 Heads into Orbit Martin Croucher

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Dubai, July 30: Engineers were celebrating the successful launch of the UAE’s first government satellite last night.

DubaiSat-1 took off on a Dnepr rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan last night on schedule at 10.46 UAE time.

It will orbit 680km above Earth, at a speed of 27,000kph. It is expected to beam back its first images in a matter of days. The satellite was stacked in the nose cone of a converted intercontinental ballistic missile with five other satellites from around the world.

Pakistan hope to turn things around against Sri Lanka in the ODI series

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Dambulla, July 30: That’s what Pakistan skipper Younis Khan is hoping for against Sri Lanka

Pakistan are banking on a fresh set of players to deliver as they seek to avenge Sri Lanka’s Test victory in a one-day series starting here today.

Pakistan were beaten in a Test series for the first time on Sri Lankan soil when Younis Khan’s men lost the first two matches before drawing the final game in Colombo last week.

But Younis is confident a change in personnel and infusion of new blood for the five one-day matches will revive the tourists and provide entertaining cricket for fans.

Dias and Khutia are waiting in the wings

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Mumbai, July 30: Disappointed at not being selected in the superior ‘A’ team, Henderson Dias and Romil Khutia are doing everything possible to prove they deserve to be among the cream players.

Yesterday, when Don Bosco ‘B’ (Matunga) took on Balmohan Vidyamandir (Dadar), the duo scored a brace each in the team’s 7-1 win in the MSSA U-16 Div IV match at Azad Maidan yesterday.

Henderson plays on the right wing while Romil handles the left and tend to make every defensive wall look brittle.

Kerala CM, ministers mourn Dev’s death

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Thiruvananthapuram, July 30: The Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and his cabinet colleagues on Wednesday expressed grief over the death of actor Rajan P Dev.

In his message, the Chief Minister said Dev’s contributions to Malayalam Cinema and Theatre would be remembered forever.

Culture Minister M A Baby said in acting, Dev took his own path both in Theatre and cinema. The villain roles he played in films were also different, he said.

Fisheries Minister S Sharma, Revenue Minister K P Rajendran and Forest Minister Binoy Viswam also condoled the death.

–Agencies

Pak did mentioned Baloch issue but gave no proof against India: US

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Washington, July 30: Richard Holbrooke, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, today said that Pakistan did mentioned India’s involvement in trouble-hit Balochistan but gave no credible evidence in this regard.

Holbrooke said that Pakistan leadership raised the issue during his last week’s visit to the country.

“I would be misleading, if I said Balochistan issue didn’t come up,” Holbrooke told newsmen.

India’s stand on terror not diluted: Manmohan

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New Delhi, July 30: Seeking to put at rest concerns over the Indo-Pak joint statement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday insisted that India’s stand has not been diluted and maintained that dialogue cannot be resumed till Pakistan fulfils in letter and spirit its commitment not to allow its territory to be used for terrorism against this country.

Dhaka may get over $10 bn in remittances

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Dhaka, July 30: Bangladesh could receive $10.87 billion in remittances in the current fiscal from its vast manpower employed abroad if the global oil price does not fall, the World Bank has said.
It has said that remittance inflow increases when a country’s economy goes through hardship.

The findings were based on a survey conducted in 2007 and presented to the media in a report titled “Remittances in Bangladesh: Determinants and Outlook”, released here Wednesday.

First group of ‘rioters’ to be tried in Iran

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Tehran, July 30: Iran’s Judiciary has announced that the trial of the first group of ‘rioters’ who had provoked post-election unrest in the country will begin on Saturday.

Tehran’s Public Prosecutor Office declared in a statement on Wednesday that the first court session to prosecute the suspects will be held on August 1, 2009, IRNA reported.

The statement also blasted the US and Britain over their stance towards Iran’s presidential election and “their interference in Iran’s internal affairs which was aimed at plunging the country in post-election chaos.”

Sonia backs PM, welcomes Indo-Pak dialogue

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New Delhi, July 30: Backing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today said that Centre will welcome dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad.

However, the Congress President said, Pakistan will have to assure India that its soil won’t be used for anti-India activities.

At the same time, Sonia mentioned that dialogue will depend on Pakistan’s stand on terrorism.

—Agencies

Iran to build huge wall along Afghan border

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Tehran, July 30: Iran plans to construct a wall along its border with Afghanistan to bring it under strict control, an Iranian official says.

“The entire Iranian border along Afghanistan will be sealed with concrete walls and barbed wire by the end of the current year [ending March 20, 2010],” IRNA quoted the deputy head of Iran’s Drug Control Headquarters as saying on Wednesday.

Taha Taheri noted that the barriers will be constructed along the 700-km (435-mile) border between the two countries.

No change in stand on climate change: Manmohan

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New Delhi, July 30: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said India’s stand that global temperature should not exceed two degrees celsius was a possible threshold guiding global action and is “entirely in line” with country’s stated position on global warming.

“India has not changed its stand on climate change and the declaration at the Major Economic Forum (MEF) adopted at L’Aquila, Italy, is not a declaration of its climate change policy,” he said in the Lok Sabha while replying to a debate.

Success is a better teacher than failure

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Washington, July 30: If you’ve ever felt doomed to repeat your mistakes, researchers can explain why. Brain cells seem to learn only when we do something right and not when we fail.
Earl K. Miller, professor of Neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and colleagues have created for the first time a unique snapshot of the learning process that shows how single cells change their responses in real time as a result of information about what is the right action and what is the wrong one.

Narrow escape for Aish, Abhi as elephant runs amok

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Kerala, July 30: Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and his husband Abhishek Bachchan have narrow escape during shooting of Maniratnam’s new venture ‘Ravana’ as elephant ran amok.

However, mahout was trampled to death by the elephant

The incident took place when elephant ran amok after taking part in the shoot. However, actors and no crew members were injured in the incident which took place after the shooting at Athirapally waterfalls area.

The enraged tusker Kunju blocked the road halting the traffic.

Later, wild animal experts and doctors controlled the Kunju.

Saudi has no plan to normalize ties with Israel

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Riyadh, July 30: Saudi Arabia has rejected calls by the United States to normalize relations with Israel.

On Wednesday, Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman Osama Nugali strongly criticized Israel’s refusal to halt the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

He termed Tel Aviv’s insistence on the construction work as an obstacle to the peace process in the Middle East region.

Nugali also slammed Israel’s policy of changing the geographic and demographic facts on the ground by building the settlements in the territories occupied in the 1967 war.

‘Kasab’s in-camera confession should be taken as evidence’

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Mumbai, July 30: Pakistani gunman Mohammed Ajmal Kasab’s lawyer on Wednesday filed an application before a special court seeking that a “confession” by his client being aired on television channels be taken on record as evidence.

“An alleged confession recorded by the police is being shown on television channels. It should be produced before this court and taken on record,” Abbas Kazmi said in an application submitted to special judge M.L. Tahiliyani.

Chandrayaan doing fine: Nair

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Chennai, July 30: India’s Moon mission spacecraft ‘Chandrayaan’, which developed a technical snag following failure of one of its star sensors, is doing fine and a review meeting would be held in September, ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair said on Wednesday.

“Chandrayaan is doing fine,” Nair said on the sidelines of a function organised to launch the ‘Integrated GIS and Image Processing Software’ developed by Scanpoint Geomatics in partnership with ISRO.

Saina down with chicken pox, may miss World Cup

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Hyderabad, July 30: India’s ace badminton player Saina Nehwal has been reportedly afflicted with chicken pox. The temporary health setback is likely to affect her participation in the World Badminton Championships.

Incidentally, Saina seeded sixth in the world had got a bye in the women’s singles first round of the World Badminton Championships to be held in Hyderabad on August 10-16.

Recently, the duo of coach Pullela Gopichand and badminton champion Saina Nehwal had been awarded the prestigious Dronacharya and Arjuna awards, respectively.

Yahoo!, Microsoft in Web search, ad partnership

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Washington, July 30: Yahoo! and Microsoft, after months of negotiations, unveiled a 10-year Web search and advertising partnership on Wednesday that sets the stage for a joint offensive against Internet titan Google.

Under the no-cash deal, Yahoo! will use Microsoft’s new Bing search engine on its own sites while Yahoo! will provide the exclusive global sales force for the companies’ premium search advertisers.

Russell Crowe to star in `Next Three Days`

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Los Angeles, July 30: Is to star in a Hollywood remake of the French thriller “Pour Elle,” entertainment industry Daily Variety reported on its website.

Crowe, 45, the Oscar-winning star of “Gladiator” and “A Beautiful Mind,” will play a teacher trying to free his wife from prison after she is wrongly convicted of murder.

The film — to be released as “The Next Three Days” — will be shot by Paul Haggis, a best director Oscar-winner in 2006 for “Crash.”

Haggis, 56, told Variety that Crowe had been chosen for the part for his “everyman” qualities.

AICTE chairman suspended over graft case

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New Delhi, July 30: Facing graft charges, Chairman of All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) R A Yadav was on Wednesday suspended by the government to ensure that the probe into the criminal offence lodged against him by the CBI is not influenced.

Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal took the step after Yadav, appointed as the chairman of the premier regulatory body in 2008, defied the Ministry’s instruction to step down or go on leave in view of the inqury against him in the case filed by CBI early this month.

Mehbooba tears CBI letter in J&K Assembly

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Srinagar, July 30: Pandemonium reigned in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly for the third straight day on Wednesday with PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti tearing a copy of a CBI letter clearing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s name in the 2006 sex scandal case and alleged a cover-up.

As the chaos continued, a privilege motion against senior PDP leader Muzzafar Hussain Beigh who levelled the allegation against Omar on Tuesday triggering a controversy was admitted by Speaker Akbar Lone. Omar, who made a conditional resignation yesterday, was not present in the Assembly.

Two Iraq hostages very likely dead: British PM

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London, July 30: Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday said that two hostages from a group of Britons kidnapped two years ago in Baghdad were “very likely” dead.

Brown said he believed one hostage, Peter Moore, was still alive, and reiterated his call for the computer consultant to be released.

Moore and his four security guards were snatched in Baghdad in May 2007. He is now the only one thought still alive as the remains of two guards were handed over to Britain last month.

Share prices mask uncertain India economy outlook

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New Delhi, July 30: India’s corporate profits have shot up and share prices have rocketed but Asia’s third-largest economy is not out of the woods yet, analysts say.

In fact, the central bank this week forecast just six percent growth for the current fiscal year, down from last year’s 6.7 percent — the weakest since 2003. The forecast is also a percentage point below the government’s estimate.

India’s economic recovery has not yet “reached what might be termed a self-sustaining phase,” said HSBC economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde.

Hunk John Abraham gets Michael Jackson’s bodyguard!

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Mumbai, July 30: Given his Greek god looks, well-sculpted body and those charming dimples that make pretty girls go weak in their knees; John Abraham is the ultimate wild fantasy of every girl!

When it comes to wild fans, it seems poor John is at his wits end as the hunk of an actor often runs into the risk of security scare. According to latest Bollywood news, John has recently got himself a new body guard – Lee Flisher – a onetime personal protector of the late King of the Pop Michael Jackson.