Month: August 2009

BJP is imploding: Jaswant Singh

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New Delhi, August 30: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is “imploding”, says Jaswant Singh who says that the party he was associated for 30 years is demonstrating “lack of confidence” with each passing day and has suddenly been “robbed of reasoning”. He also said he was “trapped” into going to Shimla for the leadership meeting that sacked him without explanation.

Maintaining he had no plans to join another political party for the moment, Jaswant Singh said the BJP was collapsing internally following the rapid sequence of events following his exit.

Shariah stocks underperform conventional shares

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London, August 30: Global Shariah-compliant stocks underperformed the shares of conventional companies this month until the close of trading on Tuesday, index provider Dow Jones Indexes said on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index, which measures the performance of 100 of the leading Shariah-compliant stocks globally, gained 2.22 per cent month-to-date, closing at 1939.19 points.

In comparison, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures the 50 biggest companies worldwide, posted a gain of 3.88 per cent, closing at 160.55.

Opposition Democrats tipped to win Japan election

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Tokyo, August 30: Japan voted Sunday in parliamentary elections expected to end the ruling conservative party’s nearly 54 years of power and give a largely untested opposition group a chance to make good on their promises to revive the ailing economy and turn around record-high unemployment.

The vote was seen as a barometer of voter frustrations over the economy, which is in one of its worst slumps since World War II, and a loss of confidence in the ruling Liberal Democrats’ ability to tackle tough problems such as the rising national debt and rapidly aging population.

Iran parliament debates Ahmadinejad’s cabinet

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Tehran, August 30: Iran’s parliament began a session on Sunday to debate and vote on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s proposed new cabinet following his disputed re-election in June.

The outcome is seen as a test of the hardline president’s hold on power after the election, which plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Some members of parliament have said they are likely to reject several nominees because of their lack of experience.

Chances of restoring contact with Chandrayaan slim: ISRO

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Bangalore, August 30: Indian scientists are still trying to restore radio contact with the lunarcraft Chandrayaan-1, but the chances of re-establishing contact are slim, a senior space official said Sunday.

“Efforts are still on to restore the signal with the mooncraft though chances are slim. If we fail to establish the link again, we may call off the mission much earlier than the two-year schedule,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S. Satish told IANS.

Inhalable measles vaccine soon in India

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New Delhi, August 30: single deep breath will soon be enough to vaccinate children against measles as human trials of an inhalable vaccine for the deadly disease are expected to begin early next year in India.

Serum Institute of India will be conducting the trials of the new vaccine in the country.

“The phase-I trials are expected to begin by the first quarter of next year once the animal testing, currently under process, is completed,” Prasad Kulkarni, Additional Medical Director, Serum Institute of India said.

New drug reduces risks for heart patients

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Barcelona, August 30: A new drug to prevent blood clots in heart patients reduced their chances of dying by more than 20 percent compared to the standard treatment, new research says.

Researchers followed 18,624 patients worldwide from 2006 to 2008. About half the patients were taking clopidogrel, also known as Plavix, while the other half were taking an experimental drug called ticagrelor, or Brilinta, made by AstraZeneca PLC.

Blood racket: Contaminated blood could have caused Hepatitis

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Lucknow, August 30: More than a week after police busted a massive racket in adulterated blood in Uttar Pradesh, another report on the quality of blood seized reveals that it was infected with the highly contagious Hepatitis B and C virus – painting an alarming picture of the possibility of patients having contracted it.

Now, a spacecraft to save Earth!

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London, August 30: British scientists have designed a spacecraft which they claim is capable of saving Earth from a catastrophic asteroid collision.

A team at British space company EADS Astrium has made the spacecraft, “gravity tractor”, which will be deployed when an orbiting rock is detected on a collision course with Earth — in fact, it will intercept the asteroid and position itself to fly alongside it, just 160 feet from its surface.

‘Efforts on to restore link with Chandrayaan’

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Bangalore, August 30: Indian scientists are still trying to restore radio contact with Chandrayaan-1, but the chances of re-establishing contact are slim, a senior space official said on Sunday.

“Efforts are still on to restore the signal with the mooncraft though chances are slim. If we fail to establish the link again, we may call off the mission much earlier than the two-year schedule,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S Satish said.

Flintoff targets World Cup victory

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London, August 30: Andrew Flintoff has targeted a win at the ICC Cricket World Cup before he retires from all forms of the game.

Flintoff who is currently recovering after undergoing an operation on his knee hopes to play in 2011 and 2015.

“Obviously there are no guarantees but, having spoken to the surgeon, I`m confident I`ll be able to get back on the field,” said Flintoff.

“There`s no bigger incentive than playing for England. I`m still going to play cricket and still try to bowl at 90mph. Give me a few months and you`ll be watching me.”

Major fraud allegations in Afghan election top 550

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Kabul, August 30: Major allegations of fraud in Afghanistan’s presidential election have topped 550, more than doubling the last figure reported by the commission investigating accusations.

The spike in allegations is a strong indicator of how pervasive ballot box stuffing and voter intimidation may have been during the country’s Aug. 20 vote, and could threaten the legitimacy of the election.

Partial, preliminary results have been released in small batches over the last few days, but results will not be made official until major fraud allegations are investigated.

England prospect Denly renews rivalry with Lee

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Manchester, August 30: England`s latest batting prospect Joe Denly is set to renew an old rivalry on Sunday against Australia fast bowler Brett Lee who gave him an early insight into batting in international cricket.

England and Australia meet in the first of two Twenty20 Internationals at Old Trafford with the second on Tuesday, before a seven-match one-day series follows a dramatic summer in which England regained the Ashes.

Taiwan wants no politics during Dalai Lama’s visit

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Taipei, August 30: Taiwanese officials said Sunday they hope the Dalai Lama would stay clear of politics to avoid angering China during his visit to comfort victims of the island’s worst storm in 50 years.

Although the Tibetan spiritual leader has traveled to Taiwan before, many fear his arrival late Sunday could hurt the island’s improving relations with rival China — the signature issue in the 15-month-old administration of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou.

Macs now in the crosshairs of hackers

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London, August 30: It all used to be simpler for Mac users: viruses and other malicious software affected Windows computers, not them.

That is slowly changing. “The threats have intensified,” says Candid Wuest from anti-virus maker Symantec.

BCCI severs ties with IPL event Management Company

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New Delhi, August 30: The Indian Cricket Board has cancelled its contract with event management company IMG World, which played a significant role in the success of the first two editions of the cash-rich Indian Premier League.

The decision to snap ties was taken after the BCCI Working Committee refused to approve the terms and conditions of the contract.

BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, who negotiated the agreement with IMG senior vice-president Andrew Wildblood, conveyed the board`s decision to the company in a letter.

Federer feels no pressure as a successful season continues

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New York, August 30: Even with the birth of twins a month ago and pressure for a sixth straight title at the US Open, Roger Federer insisted that this is one of his calmest periods in the long tennis year.

“It’s always a bit of a more relaxed part of the season, because I’ve come off five weeks of being at home, whereas prior to Wimbledon, French Open, it’s a very busy time, I feel like, through Europe with the clay,” the 15-time Grand Slam champion said here Saturday.

Shah ready to be ‘main man’ against Australia

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Manchester, August 30: Owais Shah is looking forward to being one of England`s `go-to` batsmen in their upcoming Twenty20 clashes and one-day internationals (ODIs) against Australia.

The 30-year-old Middlesex batsman has appeared in 60 ODIs and 16 Twenty20s yet has played just six Tests despite making 88 on debut against India in Mumbai three years ago.

Kuwait delays reopening schools

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Kuwait, August 30: Kuwait has decided to delay the reopening of kindergartens for two months for fear of the spread of swine flu after the Gulf emirate reported over 1,000 cases, the education minister said on Sunday.

The cabinet decided at an emergency meeting on Saturday night that the measure will also affect schools for students with special needs and nurseries, while other schools will reopen on schedule in the last week of September, Mudhi al-Homud told the official KUNA news agency.

Gary Kirsten to remain Team India coach

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Mumbai, August 30: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to extend coach Gary Kirsten’s contract till the 2011 World Cup.

According to reports, the BCCI is satisfied with the way that Kirsten has performed his job and is keen on giving him more time to continue the good work.

Kirsten’s contract will be ratified on September 24th.

–Agencies

Farah wants to mediate between SRK and Salman

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Mumbai, August 30: Farah Khan, who is a common friend of Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, wants to play the peacemaker between the two actors.

The choreographer-turned-director, believes that the fight between the actors is getting longer.

“I wish I could bridge the gap. I love both of them. It’s (the fight) getting longer now,” Farah told PTI.

Farah, who has turned a chat-show host with ‘Tere Mere Beach Mein’ had Salman Khan and his mother as her first celebrity guests while she is planning to bring Shah Rukh in the final episode.

Vettori, Oram delay Sri Lanka’s victory bid

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Colombo, August 30: New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and Jacob Oram hit robust half-centuries to keep Sri Lanka`s seemingly inevitable victory on hold in the second and final Test here today.

The tourists, who began the last day gasping for survival at 182-6 in chase of an improbable target of 494, went to lunch on the fifth day at 302-7 at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

Vettori was unbeaten at the break on 68 and Oram made 56, the left handed pair adding 124 runs for the seventh wicket after they came together yesterday evening at 176-6.

Iran judiciary chief sacks hardline prosecutor

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Tehran, August 30: Iran’s new judiciary chief has sacked hardline Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, who hunted down scores of journalists and dissidents during his six years in office, local media reported today.

Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani has appointed Abbas Jafari Dolat-Abadi as Tehran prosecutor for public and revolutionary courts, the official IRNA news agency reported. It did not explain the reason for the Mortazavi’s removal.

Jafari Dolat-Abadi was the justice chief in the western province of Khuzestan.

Recent rains to boost India sugar cane crop, yield

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New Delhi, August 30: A recent revival of monsoon rains will help India’s cane crop but the world’s top sugar consumer will still need to import in the new season from October, the head of a trade body said.

“Recent rains will certainly have positive impact on the plantation for 2010/11 harvest and is likely to have positive impact on 2009/10 cane yield,” Samir Somaiya, president of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), said in an interview.

PM to take stock of economy, rising prices at Plan panel meet

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New Delhi, August 30: The full Planning Commission, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will discuss on September 1 the state of economy that is under pressure from drought and rising prices of food items.

Besides chalking out the strategy to combat the impact of drought, which has already hit 252 out of about 600 districts, which may pull down the economic growth to about 6 percent, the meeting will also review the implementation of the integrated energy policy.