Month: July 2009

West Bengal Left Front to review poll debacle

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Kolkata, July 01: West Bengal’s ruling Left Front, which suffered a debacle in 13 out of 16 municipalities in the state Wednesday, promised to initiate pro-people development activities to regain public confidence.

In a statement, it said that the Left combine had failed to fulfil the aspirations of the common people in many areas. Thus, the people’s verdict went against them in the civic body elections.

“We’ll soon start working towards fulfilling the demands and aspirations of the common people and will also undertake developmental activities keeping in mind their interests.

Pol parties will not be allowed to vitiate atmosphere: Maya

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Lucknow, July 01: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today said that she has directed authorities to thwart any attempt by some political parties to vitiate communal atmosphere of the state in the wake of submission of the Liberhan Commission report.

Without naming any party, she said, “Some political parties are trying to vitiate communal atmosphere of the state for political gains after the Liberhan report was submitted. I have directed officers to ensure law and order in the state.”

She said that no person would be allowed to create communal divide in the state.

–Agencies

Sukhbir resigns as Punjab Deputy CM

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Chandigarh, July 01: Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal today resigned as Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab after he failed to get elected to the Assembly within the stipulated time of six months from the day of appointment.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has received the resignation letter from Sukhbir, top official sources told news agency here.

47-year-old Sukhbir, son of Chief Minister Badal, took oath as deputy chief minister of Punjab on January 21 this year, the first case of a father and son sharing the top two posts in a government.

Congress summons slapgate MP

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New Delhi, July 01: Congress leadership has summoned Mehboobnagar MP M Jagannath for slapping Ravinder Reddy, manager of AP Grameen Vikas Bank.

Addressing a press conference here Veerappa Moily slammed the MP for his misbehaviour with the government employee.

He said that future course of action will be taken after detailed inquiry.

Meanwhile, party high command has asked MP Jagannath to present his side.

It is worth mentioning here that MP was caught on camera while slapping the bank manager. However, Jagannath has denied the allegations.

Paternal of Jackson’s son in spotlight amid memorial plan

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Los Angeles, July 01: The paternity of Jackson’s three children is in the spotlight with reports claiming that the pop star was not their biological father, even as millions of fans hope to pay their final tribute to their idol in a public viewing scheduled for Friday.

US celebrity website TMZ, which first broke the news of Jackson’s death last week, has claimed that Jackson was not the sperm donor for either of his three children and his ex-wife Debbie Rowe was merely a surrogate.

“Michael was not the sperm donor for any of his kids.

Federer storms past Karlovic, faces Haas

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London, July 01: Five-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer reached his 21st consecutive Grand Slam semi-final today with a majestic 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) dismantling of giant Croatian Ivo Karlovic.

Federer, bidding for a sixth All England Club title and a record 15th major, will now tackle German veteran Tommy Haas, who stunned Serbian fourth seed Novak Djokovic 7-5, 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 6-3, for a place in Sunday’s final.

Haas, the oldest man left in the draw at 31, pushed Federer to the brink of defeat at the French Open when he took a two-sets lead.

India lashes out on China for blocking ADB loan

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New Delhi, July 01: Lashing out on China for blocking ADB loan worth USD 2.9 bn to India, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor termed the China’s move as outrageous.

India reacted sharply on China’s move to block a loan worth USD 2.9 bn to India as a part of it was for an Arunachal Pradesh project.

In an interview to private news channel, Tharoor said, “We value our ties with China but blocking the loan at Asian Development Bank (ADB) was outrageous.”

Parliament Budget session to begin tomorrow

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New Delhi, July 01: Parliament begins on Thursday its first budget session after the elections in what is expected to be a smooth affair with opposition parties subdued after the poll defeat but the Liberhan Commission report may provide some trigger for political crossfire.

Essentially the month-long session has been called to transact the railway and general budgets, the process of which should be completed before July 31 when the votes on account taken before elections expire.

Bhupathi- Knowles go down fighting in Wimbledon quarters

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London, July 01: Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles twice erased the deficit but were still sent packing from the Wimbledon championships following a defeat in a marathon men’s doubles quarterfinal against Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman here today.

The fourth seeded Indo-Bahamian pair put up a valiant fight before losing 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-7 (7), 5-7, 4-6 in a three hour and 37 minute match to ninth seed South African-Belgian pair at the All England club.

Two lynched in Buxar, Nawada districts

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Bihar, July 01: Two persons were lynched, while another was severely thrashed in twin incidents in Bihar’s Buxar and Nawada districts, police said.

Neur Musahar was killed while Bagedu Musahar seriously injured at Itadhi, in Buxar district today as villagers beat them up following alleged recovery of some stolen articles from the residence of one Shivmuni Mahto.

The mob got hold of Bagedu Musahar, Neur Musahar, Rajendra Musahar and Surendra Musahar, all hailing from Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh and presently residing at their in-laws house at Itadhi.

Killer Blueline mows down engineer

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New Delhi, July 01: A 23-year-old networking engineer was killed when a speeding blueline bus hit his motorcycle this evening, police said.

The incident took place in Govindpuria 5 PM.

The victim Satish was heading towards Nehru Place when the speeding bus, plying between central workshop and Jantar Mantar, hit the motorcycle from behind.

Satish fell off his motorcycle and sustained severe injuries. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead.

Surinder Koli complains of threat to life

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Noida, July 01: Nithari serial killings convict Surinder Koli has complained to the authorities that he faces a threat to his life in Dasna Jail.

Koli alleged that he was being beaten up in jail and expressed a fear that he may be killed. He also claimed that he was not allowed to leave his solitary cell.

Koli raised the fears after terror suspect Shakeel, a member of the Abdul Kareem Tunda outfit, allegedly committed suicide in Dasna Jail on June 19.

DOT gets 6 weeks to implement spectrum comm report

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New Delhi, July 01: Telecom tribunal TDSAT today granted six weeks more to the Department of Telecom to implement recommendations of the committee appointed by it on allocation and pricing of 2G spectrum.

Admitting a prayer of the DoT, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal bench headed by Justice Arun Kumar, granted six weeks more time to implement the report of the spectrum review committee.

In its application filed before the tribunal, the DoT submitted that although the report was submitted to it on May 13, some procedural works are yet to be done.

Three new cases of swine flu in India, tally 112

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New Delhi, July 01: Three new cases of swine flu were reported in India Wednesday taking the total number of cases reported to 112, a statement said.

One person each in Delhi, Bangalore and Gurgaon were found positive for H1N1 infection.

“The case in Delhi is of an 11-year-old male child who travelled from Munich via Dubai and reached Delhi June 26. On June 30, since he was having fever and cough, he reported at the identified health facility where he is admitted,” a statement issued by the health ministry said Wednesday.

Mayawati issues security alert on possible Liberhan effect

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Lucknow, July 01: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Wednesday issued an alert to her officials to take all possible security measures to prevent any kind of violence as a fallout of the publication of the Babri Masjid demolition probe report.

Though the Liberhan Commission report was yet to be made public, it is feared that its contents could spark off trouble in communally sensitive pockets across different parts of the country, including Uttar Pradesh.

Orientation programme for newly elected MPs

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New Delhi, July 01: The newly elected MPs will get tips on how to ask questions in the house and the other parliamentary proceedings at an orientation programme being organised by the Lok Sabha Secretariat next week.

“The orientation programme will cover issues such as parliamentary questions and other procedural devices available to members to raise issues on the floor of the house, parliamentary committees, parliamentary privileges, budgetary process, etc.,” said a release issued by the Lok Sabha Wednesday.

India to improve women scientists count

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New Delhi, July 01: India Wednesday set up a standing committee to improve women representations in scientific institutions and implement several recommendations given by a task force.

Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan said that the committee under his chairmanship with 18 members and a sub-committee will be constituted for development of women-friendly policies and practical support systems inclusive of campus housing, transport, facilities for the elderly among other things.

PCB refuses to sign FTP unless BCCI revises draft

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Karachi, July 01: Pakistan Cricket Board has refused to sign the new Future Tours Programme which spans from 2012 to 2020 unless the Indian board revises the draft.

Sources in the PCB confirmed that officials had voiced strong objections at the International Cricket Council meetings held last week in London when they learnt that the Indian board had not scheduled a single bilateral series with Pakistan in their proposed draft of the new FTP.

Angered Islamic cleric calls Carla Bruni-Sarkozy a prostitute

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London, July 01: In a bid to hit back at French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s attempts to ban the burka, a crazed Islamic cleric named Anjem Choudary has branded his wife Carla Bruni a prostitute.

In a bid to hit back at Nicolas Sarkozy’s attempts to ban the burqa, an Islamic cleric has branded his wife Carla Bruni a prostitute.

It may be recalled that while addressing Parliament recently, Sarkozy had said wearing the burka was not welcome in France, sparking strong reactions from Muslim communities around the world.

Gilani gifts 50,000-dollar watch to comedian

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Islamabad, July 01: Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani was so enamoured by the performance of famous comedian Sohail Ahmed that he gifted him his 50,000 dollar wristwatch.

According to the Daily Times, Gilani sent his costly wristwatch along with a letter of appreciation to the stage actor a few days back.

Ahmed, in one of his shows, said Gilani sent him a letter saying that he watched Ahmed’s programme with great interest and was sending him the watch.

An outspoken opponent of obscenity in stage dramas, Ahmed is famous for using improvised dialogue during his trademark comedy plays.

Muslim board to discuss Liberhan report July 12

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Lucknow, July 01: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) Wednesday said its members would discuss the Babri Masjid probe report in its executive body meet at Kozhikode July 12.

“Even though the (Liberhan) Commission has taken 17 years instead of three months to submit its report, we would still like to know what the report has to say about the martyrdom of the 16th century Babri Masjid,” senior board member Maulana Khalid Rasheed told IANS here.

Pakistanis turn against militants, but view US unfavourably: Poll

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Islamabad, July 01: Most Pakistanis consider the Taliban and Al Qaeda militants as threat to the country, but still do not regard the US and President Barack Obama as friends, a poll showed Wednesday.

The poll conducted by the Programme on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland last month found that those considering actions of militants as dangerous for Pakistan rose from 34 percent to 81 percent since late 2007.

What unearthed MCD’s fake employees scandal

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New Delhi, July 01: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Wednesday said the discovery of thousands of bogus employees in the civic body was made possible due to biometric attendance systems.

Nearly 45,000 of MCD employees are said to be existing only on the paper and are not traceable, according to reports.

MCD standing committee’s former chairperson Vijender Gupta Wednesday said the scandal was unearthed after the civic corporation undertook reforms and installed biometric attendance system.

Common people, opposition sore over fuel price hike

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New Delhi, July 01: Common people and opposition parties alike sharply criticised the government for the hike in the petrol and diesel prices announced Wednesday evening.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition party, said the hike during economic crisis would only increase the people’s problems and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) demanded the “unjustified” decision should be withdrawn.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora announced a hike of Rs.4 per litre on petrol and Rs.2 on diesel citing increasing international crude oil prices.

Cristiano Ronaldo apologises for losing temper at teenager

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London, July 01: Cristiano Ronaldo Wednesday admitted that he flew into a rage and kicked a car’s window when a teenage girl tried to film him in the street. The ace footballer says he regrets his behaviour, but can’t promise that he won’t “react in the same way again in the same circumstances”.

Thesun.co.uk reports that Ronaldo said he lashed out after the 17-year-old girl allegedly followed him and his mother in Lisbon, Portugal Sunday.