Month: July 2009

Musharraf snubs Pakistan Supreme Court

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Islamabad, July 29: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday snubbed a summons from Pakistan’s top court to explain his decision to impose a state of emergency and controversially sack judges two years ago.

A 14-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, issued notice to Musharraf to appear in person or through counsel on July 29.

But neither the former head of state, who lost power last year and has been a vocal critic of the current Pakistani administration, nor a lawyer speaking on his behalf attended the session Wednesday, said an AFP reporter.

Himesh Reshammiya undergoes vocal surgery for dual tone

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Mumbai, July 29: When it comes to making news, Himesh Reshammiya is known for outrageous antics in his desperate bid to grab the arc lights.

The singer cum actor, who creates more flutter by experimenting with his looks, and has repeatedly resorted to hair transplants, has now beaten his own wacky record. Vying to fulfill his perfection-seeking syndrome, the singer, this time round, has undergone a vocal surgery.

Mobile Phones Another Way to Ride Metro Joy Sengupta

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Dubai, July 29: Commuters using Dubai Metro, which starts rolling from September 9, eventually will be able to pay fares using their mobile phones, the Roads and Transport Authority said on Tuesday.

Authorities said they were working on a system to allow passengers with a special chip fitted to their phones to pay by just putting the phones to the card-reading machines at all stations.

Commuters who forget their nol cards can use this system. The details are being worked out, said Paymen Younes Parham, the director of marketing and corporate communications at the RTA.

New York ranked top US city for singles

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New York, July 29: New York has been rated the best US city for singles, bumping Atlanta out of the top spot.

The Big Apple also edged past Boston, Chicago, Seattle and Washington, DC, which rounded out the top five cities in the Forbes.com survey.

Atlanta fell to No 6, followed by San Francisco, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Philadelphia.

Space shuttle Endeavour headed home

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Washington, July 29: The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour bid farewell to their colleagues on the International Space Station on Tuesday to head back to Earth.

The space shuttle undocked at 1726 GMT, carrying its seven-member crew after 10 days, 23 hours and 39 minutes at the ISS. Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata is to return to Earth aboard Endeavour after spending four months as a long-term ISS crew member.

US astronaut Tim Kopra is replacing Wakata on the six-member ISS permanent crew.

Tanning beds as deadly as arsenic: Study

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London, July 29: International cancer experts have moved tanning beds and other sources of ultraviolet radiation into the top cancer risk category, deeming them as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas. For years, scientists have described tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation as “probable carcinogens.”

Vegetables, pulses rise out of common man’s reach

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New Delhi, July 29: Prices of potatoes, tomatoes and pulses in the national capital have risen to such an extent that some harried families even find meat a cheaper option.

Not just exotic broccoli and mushrooms but the relatively affordable tomatoes, onions and potatoes — basic ingredients in most Indian meals — are moving away from the common man’s reach as prices continue to soar because of erratic and low rainfall in major pulse- and vegetable-producing states.

Palestinians will overthrow Hamas one day: Israeli PM

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Jerusalem, July 29: Predicting a defeat for radical Islamists at the hands of ‘global information revolution’, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the Palestinian masses will one day topple the Hamas’ rule in Gaza.

“One day the Palestinians will topple Hamas’ rule in Gaza. If the Palestinians could, they would overthrow Hamas, and believe me, one day they will,” the Israeli premier said at the National Security Academy’s graduation ceremony here.

Virgin Blue raises 110 mln dlrs in share offer

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Sydney, July 29: Australian budget airline Virgin Blue Wednesday said it had raised 133 million dollars (110 million US) in a share offer to institutional investors aimed at countering expected record losses.

Virgin said it had completed an institutional placement of 105.2 million shares worth 21 million dollars and an entitlement offer of 560.4 million shares worth 112.1 million.

Another 491.5 million new shares will go on offer to the public in the retail component of the entitlement offer, which will raise an estimated 98.3 million dollars, the company said.

Sudan woman journalist faces flogging for ‘indecency’

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Khartoum, July 29: A Sudanese woman journalist was preparing to be flogged 40 times in Khartoum on Wednesday for wearing “indecent” clothes, with 10 women already whipped for similar offences against Islamic law.

Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein, who writes for the left-wing Al-Sahafa newspaper and works for the media department of the United Nations Mission in Sudan, was arrested in Khartoum earlier this month after being caught wearing trousers.

Pak rejects reports about ‘secret negotiations’ with Mehsud

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Islamabad, July 29: Pakistan Interior Advisor Rehman Malik has rebuked media reports that the government has entered into ‘secret negotiations’ with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud.

Malik denied that any negotiations with Mehsud were underway.

He said military offensive against Mehsud and other extremist groups would continue until their elimination.

“The operation against Baitullah Mehsud would continue until the total elimination of the militant commander’s network or his surrender,” The Daily Times quoted Malik, as saying.

Singh is king: Queen gets Sikh guards

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New Delhi, July 29: Two Sikhs will now be part of the royal guard whose main job is to ensure the queen’s safety.

Signaler Simranjit Singh, a 26-year old made history as the first soldier to wear his turban on Public Duties guarding the monarch and protecting the Crown Jewels, and Lance Corporal Sarvjit Singh will be part of Queen’s security.

Simranjit will serve in Wiltshire while Sarvjit will be part of the Army Air Corps based in Suffolk.

World Bank refuses 102 million dollar loan to Pak

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Lahore, July 29: The World Bank (WB) has refused to grant a loan of 102 million dollars to Pakistan.

Sources said the refusal came after the government failed to meet certain requisite conditions necessary for disbursement of loan by the World Bank.

Accordingly, the amount was supposed to be spent for providing telecommunication services in rural areas across Pakistan.

After the refusal, the Universal Service Fund Committee has agreed to provide funds for the project.

The WB has also delayed the approval of a 100 million dollar loan for the Higher Education Commission until 2010.

PDP rips CBI ‘clean chit’, NC guns for Baig

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Srinagar, July 29: Armed with a clean chit from the CBI, Jammu and Kashmir’s ruling National Conference Wednesday decided to move a breach of privilege motion against Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig who had alleged that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was involved in a sex scandal.

Law Minister Ali Muhammad Sagar told the speaker of the assembly that the PDP member had made a false accusation against the chief minister and the NC would move a breach of privilege motion against him.

I would love to do a period film: Konkona

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Mumbai, July 29: After portraying a string of intense and serious contemporary characters on the silver screen, National Award-winning actress Konkona Sen Sharma says she would now love to act in a period film. “I would love to do a period film now.

J&K sex scandal: PDP accuses CBI of defending Omar

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Srinagar, July 29: PDP, on Wednesday, accused the CBI of defending J&K CM Omar Abdullah in the sex scandal that rocked the Kashmir Valley in 2006.

PDP members, led by Mehbooba Mufti, tore apart the CBI letter which denied the involvement of Omar Abdullah in the scandal.

PDP demanded judicial investigation into Abdullah’s involvement in the sex scandal. Abdullah was yet to arrive in the J&K Assembly.

This was the third consecutive day when there was uproar in the J&K Assembly for the issues ranging from Shopian murder case to the infamous sex scandal.

-Agencies

Blast outside Pakistani courthouse kills one

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Islamabad, July 29: A bombing outside a courthouse in north-western Pakistan Wednesday killed at least one person and wounded three, police said.

The explosion took place in a parking lot adjacent to courtrooms in Dera Ismail Khan, located close to Pakistan’s lawless tribal region near the Afghan border.

‘A police constable deployed in the parking bay was killed, and three civilians were injured,’ said Gul Afzal Khan Afridi, the district police chief. Several cars were damaged in the blast.

Pakistan, ICC move closer to resolving World Cup dispute

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Lahore, July 29: The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Tuesday they were closer to resolving their dispute about the staging of the 2011 World Cup.

Pakistan’s cricket authorities mounted a legal challenge in May after the ICC decided to move all the tournament’s matches out of the country for security reasons in the light of the armed attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore in March.

UK cuts costs, to outsource 100 IT jobs to India

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London, July 29: More than 100 finance and IT jobs at the British Council are to be outsourced to India as part of a cost-cutting drive to save the taxpayer money, according to a report in The Times.

The report said that 500 of the council’s 1,300 British workers would have to go in the next 18 months to save 45 million pounds ($74.44 million) with more than a fifth of the posts being filled in India.

The Times did not cite a source for its story.

Taliban beheads a Swat police constable

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Islamabad, July 29: Though on the run from the major Pakistani offensive, the retreating Taliban militants have carried out a gruesome beheading of a captured police official.

The police found the decapitated body of a constable in a town in Swat valley, where for the last three months the Pakistan Army is carrying out a flushing operation against the Taliban, officials were quoted by TV channels as saying.

They said the police constable was kidnapped a week ago by militants. His corpse was found today with his head severed about four kilometres from Swat”s main town Mingora.

Kingfisher to delay pay, asks employees to brace

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New Delhi: These are bad times for the airline industry in India. After Air India, Kingfisher Airlines has now warned its employees of a delay in salaries and “an uncertain future”.

An e-mail sent out by Kingfisher Executive Vice-President Hitesh Patel to the company’s 6000 plus employees asks employees to adjust to delayed salaries and embarrassing dealings with unpaid vendors ahead.

The email says the company is in a tight financial situation regarding finances and that it has trimmed its fleet to 69 from 89 to cut costs.

Irrfan Pathan smitten by Amrita

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Mumbai, July 29: The connect between cricketers and B-Town babes cannot be called a new story.

Though we have heard of similar things in the past, but this time two names have been added to the list. Buzz is that hot-shot cricketer Irfan Pathan is totally smitten by actress Amrita Rao.

Such is his fascination for her that he seems to be completely bowled over.

According to reliable sources Irfan would love to date Amrita despite the fact that he is already into a steady relationship.

It’s not a Fake. I’m really getting married on 2nd August

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Mumbai, July 29: Apparently all that talk about the bizarre self-marriage show Rakhi Ka Swayamvar of the entire concept being doctored and rigged, is untrue.

The audacious never-day-die dimestore diva Rakhi Sawant is actually tying the knot with one of the contestants on her avidly-watched reality show.

And if sources close to Rakhi and NDTV Imagine are to be believed Rakhi has already made up her mind as to which of the 3 finalists Elesh Parujanwala, Chitiz Jain and Manas Katyal she has chosen to be her husband.

I’ve been betrayed by so-called friends: Sanjay Dutt

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Mumbai, July 29: Sanjay Dutt who turns 50 on July 29 pours his heart out from Cape Town.

In Mumbai the buzz is that your friends and family are flying in for your birthday?
I don’t want any celebrations until Amar Singhji recovers. Once he returns to Delhi I’ll have a birthday celebration with him.

But I heard from the grapevine here that the unit of No Problem are planning a small get-together for my birthday. But when I asked them they said, no party. But my friends are flying down.

Who are they?

Rakhi to wed LIVE on 2nd Aug

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Mumbai, July 29: Rakhi Sawant has made up her mind. The item girl is all set to tie the knot with the NRI Gujarati boy Elesh Parujanwala and end her swayamvar.

A sources reveals that Rakhi’s decision to commit to the shaadi was last minute, “She asked the channel heads options to have an exit strategy. However, after long meetings with the producers and channel officials, she decided to go ahead to the wedding, and honour her contract obligations.”