Month: August 2009

Kolkata: vehicle ban from today

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Kolkata, August 01: The Kolkata police is gearing up to implement a ban imposed by the Calcutta High Court on over 15-year-old commercial and transport vehicles from Saturday in the metropolis.

Bengal Bus Syndicate president Swarnakamal Saha said his association, which controls over 60 percent of private buses in the city, would not run 15-year-old buses as per the court order.

“Only those buses which are less than this age would be plying from Saturday,” he said.

Denied entry to Qutub, 200 offer prayer on road

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New Delhi, August 01: Tension prevailed around the Qutub Minar complex on Friday after 200 Muslim devotees were denied permission to offer namaaz in the mosque
located inside the premises.

After clashing with the police deployed at the site and neighbouring monuments following complaint by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the protesters offered prayers on the busy MG Road, obstructing traffic for 45 minutes. Soon a group of Hindu activists also arrived on the scene to complicate matters.

Advani’s nephew buys Gandhi’s S Africa home

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Mumbai, August 01: It was here that Mahatma Gandhi conducted his early experiments with truth.

Now, over 100 years after he first moved there, the legendary freedom fighter’s one-time home in South Africa has been bought by a Bandra businessman, who plans to turn it into a museum and then hand it over to the government of India.

Pradeep Bhavnani, a philanthropist and senior BJP leader L.K. Advani’s nephew — he doesn’t like to be known as that — bought the thatched-roof bungalow for $450,000 (about Rs 2.25 crore) on Thursday.

Pak moves troops away from India to take on Taliban

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New Delhi, August 01: Pakistan has moved a large number of troops from the border with India to its troubled north-west for an offensive against the Taliban.

US Special Ambassador on Af-Pak Richard Holbrooke has termed the troops redeployment as a significant move.

The troop redeployment looks like the first significant thinning out of the Pakistan Army from its front with India.

Pakistan is reported to have pulled out at least 70,000 army troopers deployed against India for an offensive against the Taliban on its western side.

Mohammed Yusuf shot dead by Nigerian security forces

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Khartoum, August 01: Nigerian security forces claimed victory yesterday over a sect blamed for some of the worst violence to rock the West African country for years after police shot dead its leader.

While police said that he died in a shootout human rights campaigners have alleged that he had been executed without due process and warned of revenge attacks to come.

“It’s Time to Go Home”: US Iraq Commander

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In a blunt memo to top military officials, a senior US official has called for withdrawing American troops from Iraq, detailing a growing tension between US and Iraqis forces, reported The New York Times on Friday, July 31.
“(It is time) for the US to declare victory and go home,” Colonel Timothy R. Reese, an adviser to the Iraqi military’s Baghdad command, wrote in a detailed memo submitted recently to senior US commander in Iraq General Ray Odierno.

Colonel Reese said the US troops have became a persona non grata in Iraq.

US Envoy Wants Sudan Sanctions Lifted

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Cairo, August 01: The Obama administration’s envoy to Sudan has called for removing Khartoum from the US terrorism blacklist and ending sanctions on the Arab country, reported the Washington Post on Friday, July 31.
“There’s no evidence in our intelligence community that supports (Sudan) being on the state sponsors of terrorism,” retired general Scott Gration told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“It’s a political decision.”

The US designates Sudan, along with Cuba, Iran and Syria, as a “state sponsor of terrorism”, and imposes sanctions, including restrictions on aid.

SC says no shrines in public places

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New Delhi, August 01: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the government to ensure that no temple, mosque or any other place of worship would henceforth be constructed on public space, street or property.

A bench comprising Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Mukundakam Sharma asked solicitor general Gopal Subramanium to file an affidavit before the court – within four weeks – giving an assurance in this regard.

People of India own private airlines: Vijay Mallya

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Mumbai, August 01: Kingfisher Airlines owner Vijay Mallya, whose company will join the private airlines strike on August 18, claims the Government is taxing the business to “death”.

Mallya said the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which comprises five of the country’s biggest private airlines, found running operations unsustainable because of losses and taxes.

Indian rights activists blast baby-dropping ritual

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Mumbai, August 01 : Rights activists lashed out at local officials who allowed hundreds of infants to be dropped from the roof of a mosque in western India in the belief that the fall which ends when the babies are caught in a bedsheet would ensure good health and prosperity for their families.

The ritual at the Baba Umer Durga, a Muslim shrine, is believed to have been followed for nearly 700 years, and each year hundreds of people, both Hindus and Muslims, take part in the ritual.

Local officials told that there had been no reports of injuries.

Army says yes to ‘world-class’ missile

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New Delhi, August 01: The Army has finally said yes to the Akash area air defence missile system. It recently expressed interest in acquiring the 30-km range missile to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The Army’s wishlist also includes a surface-to-air 50-km range missile and a low-level quick reaction missile for ranges less than 15 km.

But the requests for these two have not been finalised yet.

Krishna to visit Australia, discuss attacks on Indians

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New Delhi, August 01: The attacks on Indians in Australia and their security will figure in the discussions between External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and the Australian government during his visit Down Under next week.

“The minister would be visiting Australia from August 6-10, 2009. He will visit Sydney and Melbourne, to hear first-hand, about the problems being faced by Indian students and will discuss the matter of their safety and security with the State leadership,” an official statement said on Friday.

Recipe: Shakkarpara Updated on Friday, July 31, 2009, 09:35 IST Tags:

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The best thing about shakkarpara is that they can be stored for long periods and are handy whenever the palate craves for some sweet offering.
Ingredients:

• 11/2 cups Wheat Flour
• 1/4 cup Milk
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• A pinch Salt
• Ghee or Oil for deep frying

Procedure:
• Sieve flour and salt together in a bowl.
• Add sugar, milk and ghee in a pan; mix well.
• Bring it to a boil till the sugar is dissolved.
• Now let it cool completely.
• Make stiff dough by adding this sugar syrup to the flour mixture.

3 American hikers arrested in Iran

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Baghdad, August 01: The U.S. State Department said Friday it was investigating reports that three American tourists have been detained by Iranians while hiking near Iran’s border with the self-ruled Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

Two Kurdish officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information, said the Americans apparently were arrested after entering Iranian territory without permission.

China performs highest abortions in world

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Beijing, August 01: China performs more abortions than any other country in the world, about 13 million a year, mostly for young single women who aren’t using contraception. One expert says the figures show many Chinese now consider the cheap, widely available procedure an acceptable form of birth control.

Muslims oppose to recite ‘Bhojan Mantra’ before meal

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Bhopal, August 01: Religious heads of Muslim community have opposed the Madhya Pradesh Government’s directive to government teachers to compulsorily recite “Bhojan Mantra” before meals during a special training programme.

State School and Higher Education Minister Archana Chitnis, in a directive three days ago, made the recital of “Bhojan Mantra”, a prayer before meal, compulsory for the government teachers taking part in a special training programme beginning from September 1.

Madhya Pradesh Jamat-e-Islami Hind spokesman Anwar Shafi said it is against the belief of Muslims.

Americans spend USD 34bn for alternative medicine

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Atlanta, August 01: Americans spend more than a 10th of their out-of-pocket health care dollars on alternative medicine, according to the first national estimate of such spending in more than a decade.

Chiropractors, massage therapists, acupuncturists and herbal remedies are commanding significant consumer dollars as people seek high-touch care in a high-tech society, the report released Thursday by the government shows.

Altogether, consumers spent an estimated $34 billion on those and other alternative remedies in 2007, the report found.

No flat for Muslim & serial-kisser Emraan!

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Mumbai, August 01: Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi said that he id being denied accommodation in the Nibbana Cooperative Housing Society in Pali Hill because he is a Muslim.

Hashmi, who was looking forward to buying a new flat, told reporters that he has filed a complaint against the housing society with the Maharashtra Minority Commission.

29 killed in Iraq bombing in Mosque

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Baghdad, August 01: More than 130 people were injured when the six apparently co-ordinated bombs struck five Shia mosques as worshippers were leaving after Friday prayers.

It was one of the deadliest attacks in recent weeks.

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, condemned the attacks, saying targeting places of worship was unjustifiable.

The bombings come exactly one month after the US troops pulled out from cities across Iraq, handing over security to Iraqi forces.

Eating seafood while pregnant may boost mood

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New York, August 01: Eating omega-3-rich seafood may be a mood-lifter for women who are feeling depressed during pregnancy, suggests a study of British women.

In the study, Dr. Jean Golding, at the University of Bristol, and colleagues found an association between a low omega-3 fatty acid intake from seafood and an increased risk of high levels of depressive symptoms during pregnancy.

Obama enacts new US stem cell research rules

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Washington, August 01: US President Barack Obama directed federal agencies on Thursday to enact new rules governing federally funded research on human embryonic stem cells.

The rules, issued earlier this year by the National Institutes of Health, loosened some ethical requirements that scientists said could have cost them a decade of work.

“I hereby direct the heads of executive departments and agencies that support and conduct stem cell research to adopt these guidelines, to the fullest extent practicable in light of legal authorities and obligations,” Obama said in a statement.

Sharp rise in Afghan deaths

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The civilian death toll in Afghanistan has risen by 24 per cent this year, the United Nations has said.

In a new report released on Friday, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) blamed bombings by the Taliban and air raids by international forces for the majority of the killings.

The report said that 1,013 civilians were killed on the sidelines of their country’s armed conflict from January to the end of June, compared to 818 in the first half of 2008 and 684 in the same period in 2007.

RU486 abortion drug to be allowed in Italy

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Rome, August 01: Italy’s health and drugs authorities have approved the use of the abortion drug RU486, drawing immediate protests by the Vatican.

The Italian Drug Agency ruled after a meeting that ended late Thursday that the drug cannot be sold in drug stores but can only be administered by doctors in a hospital. The agency said the pill can only be taken up to the seventh week of pregnancy.

Call for probe into Nigeria killing

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Nigeria, August 01: A US-based human rights group has called for an investigation into the killing of the leader of the Nigerian Islamist group blamed for a series of deadly attacks in the country’s north.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Friday reports that Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of Boko Haram, was shot and killed while in police custody were “extremely worrying”.

“The extra-judicial killing of Mr Yusuf in police custody is a shocking example of the brazen contempt by the Nigerian police for the rule of law,” Eric Guttschuss, the organisation’s Nigeria researcher, said.

Marc makes Mona cry

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Mumbai, August 01: Elimination on Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao is not easy
When the camp had to make a decision of who should be kept back from the 3 lowest voted contestants- Aman, Palak and Chetan, true loyalties came to the forefront. While Aakashh and Marc voted for Chetan; Anaida voted for Palak.