Tehran, August 02: Iran’s former reformist President Mohammad Khatami has criticized the country’s first trial of activists and protesters following the disputed presidential election as a sham.
The trial of more than 100 people that started Saturday includes some of the most prominent politicians in the pro-reform movement, including Khatami’s former vice president.
New Delhi, August 02: Apprehending misuse of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against homosexuals in the future, Law Minister Veerappa Moily has said the law should not become an instrument of exploitation by authorities. Moily while admitting that the anti-gay law had been misused in the past, complimented the Delhi High Court for a “well-research, well-documented, well-argued” judgement decriminalising homosexuality.
London, August 02: Prime minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari want to make possible “a lessening of tensions” after the Mumbai attacks, British premier Gordon Brown has said, expressing willingness to do everything he can to help the two countries build better ties.
“I have a very strong affinity with the region. I’m particularly friendly for many years with prime minister Singh in India,” Brown told Garavi Gujarat, a Gujarati-English bilingual weekly and its sister publication Eastern Eye.
New Delhi, August 02: The Supreme Court has held that if a man and a woman are residing together for a long time and have been accepted by the society as husband and wife, a presumption could be drawn that their marriage is valid.
“A long cohabitation and acceptance of society of a man and woman as husband and wife goes a long way in establishing a valid marriage,” a Bench of Justices S B Sinha and Cyriac Joseph observed.
Jeddah, August 02:A Saudi man could face a death sentence in the Muslim kingdom for speaking about his sexual adventures on a talk show aired by a Lebanon-based television network, lawyers said.
The case could further fortify the role of clerics who have been policing an already conservative society to safeguard moral values set according to the Wahhabi school of Islam which bars interaction between unrelated men and women.
It would also serve as a blow to liberals pushing for reform in the face of stern resistance from clerics, analysts say.
Jerusalem, August 02: Israeli police say a gunman entered a youth club for gay teens in central Tel Aviv on Saturday night and sprayed the interior with automatic rifle fire, killing three people and injuring 11.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said it was “most likely a criminal attack and not a terror attack.” Tel Aviv has been a target for Palestinian militants in the past.
He said the gunman burst into the basement of the Tel Aviv Gay and Lesbian Association and opened fire on a support group for gay teenagers.
Sulaimaniyah, August 02: Iran state TV confirmed Saturday that it has detained three Americans who crossed the border from northern Iraq, saying they failed to heed warnings from Iranian guards. Kurdish officials from the self-ruled region in northern Iraq said the three — two men and a woman — were tourists who had mistakenly crossed into Iranian territory Friday while hiking in a mountainous area near the resort town of Ahmed Awaa.
Riyadh, August 02: As Pervez Musharraf appeared headed for trouble in the wake of the Supreme Court declaring his imposition of emergency in 2007 as unconstitutional, Saudi Arabia has said it would consider offering political asylum to Pakistan’s former military ruler if he made a request.
65-year-old Musharraf, who is abroad on a lecture tour, refused to comment on the the apex court’s landmark verdict on Saturday when a TV news channel contacted him.
The former Pakistan President said he would give his reaction only after reading the verdict.
Mumbai, August 02: Harried passengers arriving at Santacruz airport and then haggling over prices with rickshawallahs, will have to wait till next week for pre-paid rickshaws. While the Regional Transport Office (RTO) has submitted the rate card to Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), the latter needs a week more to decide.
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised film star Emraan Hashmi, who has been denied a residence in a Mumbai colony, and said he was wrong in projecting his personal grievance as that of all Muslims.
“One actor is trying to associate his personal issue with a community. This will aggravate the distrust within society towards the minority community instead of creating sympathy for them,” BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
Srinagar, August 02: Violence revisited Srinagar after a long time when militants struck in the heart of the city and shot at two CRPF men and a J&K policeman in two different places leaving one dead and two others injured one of them critically.
The two incidents occurred in the span of 30 minutes in the two kilometer area from Regal Chowk to Batamaloo. The first incident occurred at 11.30 am at Regal Chowk when two suspected militants armed with small weapons fired at two CRPF men, of 132-battalion who were on duty, from point blank range leaving them in a pool of blood.
Havana, August 02: Cuban President Raul Castro warned the United States and the European Union that the country’s socialist political system was non-negotiable, adding he would not “restore capitalism” in Cuba.
In a speech Saturday marking the end of the annual Parliamentary session, which has been dominated by Cuba’s grave economic crisis, Castro said he would be willing to “discuss everything” except the island’s political and social system.
London, August 02: Britain plans to tighten the criteria for granting citizenship and any immigrant judged unpatriotic will be denied the right under a new system.
Foreigners will have to earn points to become British citizens, according to the new plan to be introduced by the Home Office.
Applicants with “unBritish” behaviour or accused of unpatriotic acts like protesting against British troops, will be denied citizenship. Immigrants will be denied passports if they have a history of anti-social behaviour, even if they have never been convicted.
Chennai, August 02: The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) candidate for the Bargur Assembly constituency has been allowed to contest as an independent following a re-scrutiny exercise.
The DMDK had appealed to the Chief Electoral Officer to reconsider the rejection of V. Chandran’s nomination. Besides that of Mr. Chandran, the candidatures of S. Elango (Bargur) and S. Raja (Srivaikuntam) were re-scrutinised as per the Election Commission’s instructions.
Kolkata, August 02: Angry transport operators attacked government-run buses and held protest rallies in the city on Saturday as the West Bengal government commenced its drive to phase out transport vehicles older than 15 years, in accordance with a Calcutta High Court order.
Most autorickshaws, some private buses, and taxis went off the roads, causing hardship to commuters. Six buses were damaged by protestors at three locations in the city.
Manila, August 02: Thousands of mourners paid their final respects to former Philippine president Corazon Aquino on Sunday, lining up to file past her coffin in silent tribute to the “People Power” democracy leader.
Aquino, who died at the age of 76 on Saturday after a long battle with colon cancer, led millions of Filipinos in protests against dictator Ferdinand Marcos in a popular revolt in 1986, before taking over as president.
New Delhi, August 02: Describing her new assignment as “complex and yet fascinating,” Nirupama Rao on Saturday took over as Foreign Secretary with the focus on augmenting India’s diplomatic capabilities.
The appointment of the seasoned diplomat comes at a time when India’s relations with Pakistan are going through testing times in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks in November last.
Today is friendship day! GOD is so wise that he never created FRIENDS with price tags!
Wondering who is Asin’s best friend these days? Well, it is Arpita, Salman Khan’s sister. When we spoke to her, she was all excited about attending Arpita’s 21st birthday party.
Kabul, August 02: Gunmen on Saturday opened fire on a campaign manager for Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s re-election bid, killing a guard, while one French and three US soldiers died in other insurgent attacks, officials said.
The killings fuelled concern about the security of the August 20 elections with the extremist Taliban militia demanding a boycott and insurgency-linked violence at a nearly eight-year high in the war-scarred country.
London, August 02: The international military mission in Afghanistan has delivered “much less than it promised” due to the lack of a realistic strategy, an influential committee of British lawmakers said Sunday.
In a report, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said without a clear strategy stabilising Afghanistan had become “considerably more difficult than might otherwise have been the case.”
New Delhi, August 02: The Central Bureau of Investigation is reported to have recovered three revolvers and 38 cartridges from the house of Sarobjit Singh, son of Buta Singh, Chairman of the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes, at Jangpura in South Delhi on Thursday.
Asked whether the agency would question Mr. Buta Singh, CBI Director Ashwani Kumar told reporters here on Saturday: “If necessary, we will. No decision has been taken yet. We will go by the law.”
Case filed
You’ve probably heard of Madrassas. The word, which means “schools” in Arabic, took on ominous overtones after 9/11, when Western pundits and politicians warned that extremist Saudi-financed religious schools were filling the education gap throughout the Muslim world but sending youngsters straight into the arms of Al Qaeda.
Karachi, August 02: At least 21 people, mostly women and children, were killed when a five-storey building collapsed here, authorities said.
Karachi: At least 21 people, mostly women and children, were killed when a five-storey building collapsed here, authorities said.
The building located at Lea Market area, which was weakened by heavy monsoon rains, caved in Friday night, a local official said, adding that the rescue operation was still on.
New Delhi, August 02: A day after private airlines threatened to go on a day’s strike on August 18, the Centre has decided to act tough.
The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the regulatory body of airlines in the country, on Saturday asked private airlines to formally inform it of the reasons behind their decision.
Hyderabad, August 02: Terming granting of four per cent reservation to Muslim minorities in Andhra Pradesh as a landmark decision, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today expressed his resolve to fight “vested interests” which opposed it.
With a view to uplifting Muslim minorities, the Congress government extended four per cent reservation in education and employment besides fee reimbursement, Reddy said.