Month: July 2009

Nigerian troops seek to flush out Islamic militants

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Maiduguri, July 29: Nigerian troops were Wednesday tracking down remnants of an Islamic fundamentalist sect who went on a violence spree killing more than 250 people in the Muslim-dominated north.

The offensive came after soldiers shelled the mosque and home of Mohammed Yusuf in Maiduguri, the capital of northern Borno state, to end an uprising by the self-styled Nigerian “Taliban” which has said it wants to lead an armed insurrection and rid society of “immorality” and “infidelity.”

President Umaru Yar’Adua said late Tuesday the group would be hunted and punished.

China seized North Korea-bound missile component vanadium

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Seoul, July 29: China seized 70 kilograms of a strategic missile- making metal bound for North Korea, South Korean media reported Wednesday, quoting a local Chinese newspaper.

The seizure took place Friday at Dandong on the Chinese border with North Korea. While inspecting North Korean-bound trucks, a Dandong customs agent discovered the metal vanadium hidden under a fake fruit box, the Dandong News reported.

In all, 68 bottles were seized totaling 70 kilograms of vanadium, valued at 200,000 yuan (29,280 dollars).

Akshay’s character in ‘Blue’ named after his kid Aarav

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Mumbai, July 29: Bollywood’s original daredevil Akshay Kumar is surely a doting father! According to latest B-town buzz, news has it that Akki’s onscreen character in his upcoming flick ‘Blue’ is named after none other than his son Aarav!

It is believed that Akshay Kumar agreed to draw on his son’s name as it perfectly complemented the character and storyline. ‘Blue’ is an out-and-out spine chilling action thriller that is exclusively shot along the harbor with macho Akshay sporting his well sculpted torso in swimming trunks.

Imran’s heart position unlucky for LUCK!

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Mumbai, July 29: Yet another biggie has fallen on its face. ‘Luck’, touted to be the next action hit, has been a disappointment at box-office.

The weekend collections in India read a mere 12 crores which isn’t quite heartening considering the fact that a- the film boasted of number of top stars and b- the film had been given a major release.

Indian companies lead recruitment drive at IIMs

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Hyderabad, July 29: While recession kept most foreign multinationals away from the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) this year, it was Indian companies that came to their rescue.

MNC recruitments fell by 50 per cent across the IIMs, from 920 last March to 497 this year. In contrast, Indian companies increased their intake from 493 to 658.

Some MNCs hired students, but gave them deferred placements — that is, asking them to join several months later.

Horror takes over Tanushree and Udita

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Mumbai, July 29: Udita Goswami and Tanushree Dutta are working together in a True Story film “ROKKK’.

Rokkk is a horror genre, which deals with mature thematic and super natural thriller having paranormal experiences throughout, that will keep the audiences glued to their seats till the end. Film is presented by Ikkon Films and is produced by Krishan Chaudhery, Sumeet Saigal and Vipin Jain.

Rajesh Ranshinge directs the film; he has made thrillers for T.V like, Sssh Koi Hai, Aahat and CID in the past.

Ronaldo scores first goal in Real friendly win

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Madrid, July 29: Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal for Real Madrid netting the opener from the penalty spot in a 4-2 friendly win over Ecuador’s Liga de Quito at the Bernabeu.

The Portuguese winger, signed from Manchester United for 80 million pounds last month, sent the goalkeeper the wrong way after being tripped as he dribbled into the area in the 48th minute.

Christoph Metzelder and returning former youth team players Esteban Granero and Alvaro Negredo added the other goals for Real as they booked a Peace Cup semi-final encounter with Juventus on Friday.

–Agencies

Friendship – a hit recipe in Bollywood

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New Delhi, July 29: Before “Dil Chahta Hai” happened in 2001, romance and action thrillers were ruling the roost in Bollywood. But the film about three urban youngsters not only proved to be a huge hit, it also brought the theme of friendship back in vogue.

“New York” is the latest film successfully exploring bonding among friends. It comes after last year’s three big hits – “Dostana”, “Rock On!” and “Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na” – which also revolved around changing equations among pals.

Filmmaker Kabir Khan, who gave this year’s first big hit “New York”, said:

Cameron Diaz to marry fan?

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London, July 29: Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz agreed to marry an unknown fan at the Comic-Con 2009 convention in San Diego, California.

The “What Happens in Vegas” actress was given the unexpected proposal when answering questions from fans at the convention. An unidentified man shouted out to the star: “Will you marry me?” and she answered: “Yes! Where are you? Why not?”, reports imdb.com

Diaz, however, did have one stipulation for her potential fiance – that they tie the knot in the US gambling capital Las Vegas.

China casts a wary eye on India’s nuclear sub

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Hong Kong, July 29: China took wary note of India’s launch of its first indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine, but with Chinese focus shifting to the upgraded, high-profile Sino-US strategic and economic dialogue in Washington, DC, the official media gave it only passing mention.

The official news agency Xinhua put out a factual report on the launch, without any commentary. Even the rather more stridently nationalist Global Times, which has in recent times kept up a barrage of articles criticising India’s “unwise military moves”, offered no immediate comment.

Microsoft, Yahoo agree on ad partnership

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Washington, July 29: Yahoo! and Microsoft are close to forging a partnership on Internet search, and an agreement could be reached as early as Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The deal, which would unite the companies against Web search market leader Google, involves Yahoo! agreeing to use Microsoft’s new Bing search engine on its own sites, the newspaper said.

Delhi Rains: Government, MCD in blame game

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New Delhi, July 29: As Delhi came to a standstill due to heavy overnight rains triggering widespread waterlogging and traffic jam, a blame game began on Tuesday between the city’s Congress government and BJP-controlled MCD over who is responsible for the situation.

Heavy rains lash Delhi, Noida; 12 killedChief Minister Sheila Dikshit accused MCD of failing to carry out de-silting of the city’s drains properly which resulted in widespread water-logging leading to heavy traffic jams, a charge denied by the civic body.

Long voyage ahead for India’s new nuclear sub

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New Delhi, July 29: India joined an elite club of six nations last week with the launch of its own nuclear-powered submarine, but experts say it could be years before the prototype is transformed into a strategic asset.

INS Arihant (Destroyer of Enemies) begins trials this week with its builders slating 2015 as the date for the commissioning of the 6,000-tonne vessel with a 85-megawatt nuclear reactor.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Sunday’s launch as a “historic milestone,” and experts here agreed that the Arihant lays down an important military and strategic marker.

Afghan poll official ambushed, U.N. sees challenges

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Kabul, July 29: The United Nations’ Afghan envoy described next month’s election as the most complicated ever, as another attack on an election official on Tuesday underscored the challenges as the war-torn country prepares to vote.

“I emphasize that these are the most complicated elections I have seen,” U.N. Special Representative Kai Eide told reporters as he visited a Kabul warehouse where the Afghan election commission is finalizing preparations for the poll.

Dozens missing after Haitian boat sinks; 15 dead

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Miami, July 29: Fifteen people were killed after a boat carrying some 200 Haitian migrants capsized near the Turks and Caicos Islands, the US Coast Guard said.

About 70 people were missing in the incident and 118 passengers were rescued by the coast guard.

“The rescued people are in stable condition and, according to information we have up to now, nobody suffered serious injuries,” a Coast Guard spokesman in Miami, Barry Bena, said.

Four held for murdering two sisters in Mumbai

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Mumbai, July 29: Four persons were detained on Tuesday for allegedly murdering two sisters in the Parel area of the city, shortly after committing the crime.

Pramila and Krishna Gawde, both in there 50s, were found murdered at their residence, police said.

The duo was murdered using sharp instruments. Jewellery and cash were found missing from the residence.

A short while later, four persons travelling in a taxi were stopped by police during regular checking. On searching the vehicle, the jewellery and cash robbed from the residence were found in their possession.

PM to clarify on Indo-Pak jt statement today

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New Delhi, July 29: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will Wednesday defend the joint statement with his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani agreeing to de-link the issue of terrorism from future composite dialouge.

The joint statement issued after the two leader met in Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt on July 16 also had a reference to Balochistan, where Pakistan accuses India of fomenting an insurgency. New Delhi denies the charge.

Congress walkout over Chhattisgarh girls’ trafficking

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Raipur, July 29: The opposition Congress staged a walkout Tuesday in the Chhattisgarh assembly, accusing the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of doing little to prevent trafficking of thousands of youth, mainly girls, from poor families to metros.

The house witnessed a heated debate when the government replied in the assembly it was doing its best to trace out an estimated 7,000 people missing in the state for many years.

Tribal women protestors in Lalgarh teargassed

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Lalgarh (West Bengal), July 29: A Trinamool Congress team, including two junior central ministers, visited this trouble-torn belt Tuesday and demanded the withdrawal of the ongoing security operations before police staged a baton charge and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse a group of agitating tribal women.

Most Taliban funds come from Gulf countries: Holbrooke

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Brussels, july 29: The US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan says Taliban militants are receiving more funding from sympathizers abroad than from Afghanistan’s illegal drug trade.

Richard Holbrooke says the United States is setting up an interdepartmental task force to deal with the problem.

He says most of the money is coming from countries in the oil-rich Persian Gulf. But money for Taliban operations is pouring in from other parts of the world including Western Europe.

Top court refuses to entertain plea against electronic voting machine

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New Delhi, July 29: The Supreme Court refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) questioning continued use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) for holding elections in the country.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishanan and Justice P Sadasivam told the petitioner to approach the Election Commission of India.

Free Haj travel for new Muslims

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Abu Dhabi, July 29: The Abu Dhabi Judiciary Department is considering sending new Muslims to the holy lands to perform Haj and Umrah for free in order to educate them about the teachings of the true Islam and enhance their Islamic identity.

The initiative comes within the framework of the department’s approach to enhance the continuous communication with new Muslims and build their Islamic identity so as to ease their integration into society.

US: Give Israel a chance

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Washington, July 29: Despite its failure to get the Israeli government, led by rightwing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to halt colony expansion in the Palestinian territories, the Obama administration has sent letters to several Arab leaders asking them to make concessions to Israel, reports confirmed.

“President Barack Obama has sent letters to at least seven Arab and Gulf states seeking confidence-building measures toward Israel, which Washington has been pushing to agree to a freeze of Jewish colonies in the West Bank,” American global politics magazine Foreign Policy reported.

Omar quits as J&K CM after sex slur; Governor asks him to stay

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Srinagar, July 29: In a high-voltage political drama, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today resigned following a sensational allegation by a senior PDP leader of his involvement in the 2006 sex scandal and pressed for its acceptance if there is any basis in it.

Omar`s name did not figure in 2006 sex scandal case: CBI

I am guilty till proven innocent

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Srinagar, July 29: J&K CM Omar Abdullah didn’t go to meet governor N N Vohra first after he left the assembly.

He drove back home, drafted his resignation which is apparently so worded that it can be said to be ambigious about his insistence on immediate resignation and reached Raj Bhavan with state finance minister Abdul Rahim Rather and political advisor Devendra Rana to hand it in.