New Delhi, July 03: A practising doctor took her twin daughters to a three star hotel in Pitampura on Thursday, saying they were going to swim in the hotel pool. The bodies of the 4-year-olds are now awaiting postmortem.
She had administered lethal injections to them in the hotel room, before injecting herself with a double dose. Dr Rupa Ranjan (35), working with the Ambedkar Hospital, is recuperating in a critical state in Max hospital.
Libya, July 03: African leaders have agreed to empower the African Union and give it a role in coordinating defense policy and trade negotiations, paving the way for the creation of “United States of Africa.”
The majority of African leaders present at an AU summit in Sirte, Libya sponsored Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi’s initiative for a restructured African Union in which 53 nations across the continent would opt for a centralized command in order to address member states’ defense, political and transnational trade affairs, Reuters reported.
Mumbai, July 03: Saif Ali Khan has a confession to make. Finally, he admits he has two left feet and is going to seriously do something about it. So far any criticism about his dancing abilities drove Saif into a dizzy state of indignation.
“I guess I was in denial,” Saif admits sheepishly. “But after seeing how well Kareena dances and how clumsily I managed some steps for Love Aaj Kal, I made up my mind that I needed to learn the Bollywood dancing.”
Agartala, July 03 : Tripura government has sought aid and support from Centre for development of handloom sector of the state, which received overwhelming response in Europe and Central Asian nations.
New Delhi, July 03: Last year he was in the news for making filmmaker Rakesh Roshan pay Rs.20 million in a copyright infringement case. But right now composer Ram Sampath is upbeat about more creative things – he is composing “insane” music for two Aamir Khan Productions’ –
“Dhobi Ghaat” and “Delhi Belly”.
While “Delhi Belly” is being directed by ad filmmaker-turned-director Abhinay Deo, “Dhobi Ghaat” is the directorial debut of Aamir’s wife Kiran Rao.
Dhaka, July 03 : Abdur Rahim alias Shahadat who played a key role in strengthening the banned Islamist militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in bordering districts of India’s West Bengal state has been arrested, the police said.
He operated for two-and-a-half-years in Murshidabad, Nadia and Malda districts of West Bengal on the instructions of JMB chief Shaikh Abdur Rahman and his deputy, Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai.
Rahman and Bangla Bhai, who operated in Bangladesh’s Rajshahi district, were executed in 2007 following their conviction for killing two judges.
Islamabad, July 03 : A suspected US drone aircraft fired three missiles at a militant hideout in Pakistan’s restive tribal district of South Waziristan on the Afghan border Friday, killing at least 15 people, an intelligence official said.
The missiles reportedly hit the house of a Taliban sympathiser in Kokat Khel village of the district’s Ladha area at around 10.45 a.m. (0445 GMT), demolishing the structure.
“According to our information, 15 people have been killed and 33 others are injured,” said a local intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
New Delhi, July 03: The joint venture between Tata Teleservices and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group – Virgin Mobile India on Thursday declared its ingress into the data devices segment with launching of its USB modem ‘vLink’ in India.
Virgin Mobile India claimed that the svelte white colored device – ‘vLink’ – is the data segment’s first device, designed to function as a CDMA USB Modem and 1 GB data storage drive.
Uttarakhand, July 03: Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati has expelled a party leader in Uttarakhand within three months of his joining the outfit, for challenging her move to erect a series of statues in Uttar Pradesh, party sources said on Friday.
According to party sources, BSP leader and party candidate from the Tehri Lok Sabha seat in 2009 Lok Sabha polls Munna Singh Chauhan was expelled from the party within three months of joining the party.
New Delhi, July 03: A cycle-rickshaw puller from a remote part of Maharashtra was in tears when a special court conducting the 26/11 terror attack trial asked the prosecution to ensure that he was adequately compensated for taking three days break from work to depose as an eye witness in the case.
How much do you earn? asked judge M L Tahaliyani and Niranjan Sardar, who hails from Akola, replied “Sir, I manage to earn Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 a month.”
Mumbai, July 03: Her Bollywood career may be at its peak but Katrina Kaif doesn’t feel secured in life.
It has nothing got to do with her on and off beau Salman Khan either. Katrina who stays at Waterfield Road in Bandra is desperately looking for a new house. The reason, well her house isn’t safe anymore and off late there has been an increase in the number of intruders barging in.
Nawa,Afghanistan, July 03: U.S. Marines suffered their first casualties of a massive new military campaign Thursday as they engaged in sporadic gunbattles along 55 miles of Taliban-controlled heartland in southern Afghanistan. One Marine was killed and several others were injured or wounded on the first full day of the assault, the largest military operation in Afghanistan since the fall of Taliban government in 2001.
Melbourne, July 03: Australia captain Ricky Ponting heads into the upcoming Ashes series against England looking to erase the one blot on a CV filled with outstanding achievements.
Ponting, one of the most talented batsmen of his and many another generation, has yet to captain his country to Ashes glory in England.
He was in charge when Australia lost their first Ashes series in nearly 20 years when England won 2-1 on home soil four years ago.
New York, July 03: General Motors Corp. may have to wait out the long holiday weekend to learn if its bankruptcy plan is moving forward, after U.S. Judge Robert Gerber adjourned a three-day hearing without indicating when he will rule on GM’s plan to sell its good assets to a new company.
Gerber asked GM’s attorneys to submit a proposed order that would be entered if the sale were to be approved. They said they would do so by Friday night or Saturday, July 4th. Gerber is expected to rule some time after that.
Colombo, July 03: Muttiah Muralitharan has been ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan in Galle starting on Saturday due to a minor knee injury.
The offspinner hurt his patella tendon while training on the eve of the game and has been advised rest. The selectors have called up left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and offspinner Suraj Mohamed as replacements.
Melbourne, July 03: The fossils found in rocks known as the Winton Formation date back to 95 to 98 million years to the middle of the Cretaceous period.
Australian paleontologists have unveiled three newly discovered dinosaur skeletons after examining fossils dug up in Queensland.
In an article published in the journal PLOS One, the scientists described one of the dinosaurs as a terrifying meat-eating predator with three large slashing claws on each hand, similar to the Velociraptor seen in dinosaur blockbuster Jurassic Park.
Washington, July 03: Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud is buying children as young as seven years old to carry out suicide bombing, the Online news agency said citing reports on Thursday.
The price for a child bomber is between $7,000 and $14,000, a Pakistani official requesting anonymity said.
Mehsud has turned suicide bombing into a production company, not like the way Toyota produces cars, a US Defense Department official said recently to reporters.
He said the price depends on how quickly the bomber is needed and how close the child is expected to get to the target.
Mumbai, July 03: The last thing one would expect out of nubile and sexy Kangana Ranaut would be to desire for grandchildren, but it is true that the gorgeous gal does not have romantic desires while shooting at the exotic and picturesque locales of Switzerland. Instead, the atmosphere there makes her long for children and grandchildren.
Commenting on the shooting location, Kangana said, “All I can see here are old couples spending time with their children and grandchildren. It makes me long for grandchildren.”
Washington, July 03: The United States has released the tapes recorded during interrogation sessions of the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein.
The documents, released under the freedom of information act, are from interviews and informal conversations he had with the FBI in early 2004.
In one of the tapes, Saddam scoffs at reports that he had been using body doubles to confuse assassins.
The former Iraqi dictator was interviewed by Arabic-speaking FBI agent George Piro after his capture — nine months after the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Seoul, July 03: South Korea is planning measures to limit money supply only for regions of the country with excessive liquidity, Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun said on Friday.
The country was preparing a strategy to exit its loose monetary policy, although it was still too early to implement such a strategy, said Yoon, reiterating the government’s stance toward the economy.
Mumbai, July 03: Our space had only recently informed you that Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra have been tweeting a lot these days on ‘Twitter’, but the truth that has been revealed is just too shocking. It has come out that it is someone impersonating Shahid on this social networking site.
New Delhi, July 03: The Centre has banned the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD)-Black Widow militant group in the wake of its involvement in several incidents of violence in Assam.
The decision was taken at a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday.
The move comes in the wake of DHD’s involvement in several violent incidents in North Cachar Hills district where the group targeted businessmen, railway properties besides government officials.
DHD’s chief Jewel Garlosa was arrested in Bangalore last month.
–Agencies
United Nations, July 03: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked Sri Lanka to initiate steps to rehabilitate child soldiers released by LTTE and ensure them access to care, protection and reintegration programmes.
Ban asked Colombo to ensure effective implementation of its zero tolerance position on child recruitment, including systematic and vigorous investigations for every reported case, followed by prosecutions and convictions of responsible perpetrators.
New Delhi, July 03: Though monsoon rain continued to elude the capital for two consecutive days, a met official said Delhi will enjoy pleasant weather Friday.
The maximum temperature will hover around 34 degrees Celsius and the minimum will be around 26 degrees Celsius.
“The sky will mainly remain clear today. Later in the day, there is possibility of rain and thundershowers,” a met department official said.
The humidity will be around 66 percent.
–Agencies
Islamabad, July 03: Pakistani intelligence officials say 11 people were killed in a suspected U.S. missile strike in northwest Pakistan.
The two officials say the attack struck a suspected training facility of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud early Friday in the villages of Montoi in South Waziristan. A suspected militant hide-out in Kokat Khel was also hit.
South Waziristan is part of the lawless tribal belt along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan where top Taliban and al-Qaida leaders are believed to be hiding.