Month: September 2009

Pakistan army claims killing 63 militants

by

Islamabad, September 06: The Pakistani military says its forces have killed more than 60 pro-Taliban militants in an ongoing military operation in the northwestern tribal region of Khyber.

According to the Dawn, unnamed Pakistani military officials said the militants were killed Saturday after Pakistani fighter jets pounded positions belonging to Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) in Gogrina and Sandapal areas.

Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps reported that a militant training center and 15 houses believed to have been used by militants were also destroyed in the airstrikes.

Proposed national education body gets PM”s support

by

New Delhi, September 06: The HRD Ministry”s plan for setting up a commission that will replace existing regulatory bodies like UGC and AICTE is understood to have got support from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Ministry made a presentation before the Prime Minister on August 28 with regard to the proposal for starting National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER).

EU to strengthen political role in Afghanistan

by

Stockholm, September 06: The European Union (EU) will strengthen its presence in Afghanistan, especially its political role there, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said on Saturday.

“We will be in Afghanistan for a long time to come. Our presence is politically oriented,” Bildt said at a news conference when the EU Foreign Ministers concluded their two-day informal meeting in Stockholm.

USB sticks with eSATA port work quicker

by

Hanover, September 06: USB sticks outfitted for eSATA ports can save time.

Data stored on those sticks can be read much faster than on traditional USB sticks, reports German computer magazine c’t.

Users will need a computer with a combo USB/eSATA port. That lets the tiny storage devices draw power from the USB portion while transferring the files via eSATA. The sticks are roughly half as expensive as standard sticks with comparable capacity. Several producers offer units with capacities of up to 64 gigabytes.

—–Agencies

Oil India seeks extension of expired PELs for 15 blocks

by

Mumbai, September 06: Ahead of its public issue that opens tomorrow, Oil India Ltd has pressed for extension of its expired Petroleum Exploration Licences (PEL) for 15 blocks, without which it cannot hunt for hydrocarbons. The country”s second-largest PSU explorer is engaged in exploration and development activities in 16 independently held blocks, covering an area of 5,367 sq km.

Afghan civilians wounded at bomb site: US general

by

Kunduz, September 06: The top NATO commander confirmed on Saturday that civilians were wounded by a devastating airstrike targeting insurgents in northern Afghanistan, a major test of his policy to curb airpower to reduce civilian casualties and win over Afghans to the war against the Taliban.

Top seed Safina falls in U.S. Open third round

by

Moscow, September 06: World number one Dinara Safina was beaten 6-4 2-6 7-6 in the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday by little-known Czech Petra Kvitova.

Safina’s defeat marked the first time this year she failed to reach at least the semi-finals of a grand slam tournament

—Agencies

Hurdles abound on the path to wireless internet access

by

Hanover, September 06: Wireless internet access is rapidly becoming the standard for online access. In Germany alone, 40 per cent of all households accessed the internet wirelessly in 2008, reports BITKOM, a German industry association.

These wireless local area networks (WLAN) can let people access the internet from computers anywhere in their home – the living room, the garden or on a balcony – without going to the trouble of plugging their computer into a phone or cable outlet. But that doesn’t mean these connections are always without problems.

Afghan presidential challenger wants results held

by

Kabul, September 06: The leading challenger in Afghanistan’s Presidential Election urged electoral officials on Saturday to stop announcing preliminary results because of “highly suspicious numbers” in tallies released so far.

Results from the August 20 election have been dribbling out alongside a torrent of complaints of ballot box stuffing and voter intimidation. International and Afghan observers have been critical of the vote but have held back judgment until counting and fraud investigations have finished.

Indian ADRs gain $165 mn in a week

by

New York, September 06: With IT firm Mahindra Satyam, seeing a jump of about USD 554 million, the over all market capitalisation of 16 Indian firms trading on American bourses increased by USD 165 million for the week ended September 4.

For the week ended September 4, three IT stocks- Mahindra Satyam (earlier known as Satyam Computer Services), Infosys Technologies and Patni Computer Systems together added USD 1.02 billion to their market capitalisation.

AIG sells asset management unit for $500 million

by

Washington, September 06: US insurance giant AIG announced the sale of part of its investment advisory and asset management business to a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Pacific Century Group for USD 500 million.

AIG said it would receive a cash payment of USD 300 million under the agreement with Bridge Partners LP.

The insurance company said in a statement that it will continue to operate its in-house investment group, which currently oversees around 480 billion in assets.

Spurt in infiltration from across LoC in J&K

by

New Delhi, September 06: With winter not far away, Pakistan has increased attempts to push maximum number of militants across the Line of Control (LoC) into Jammu and Kashmir with 12 incidents recorded in July and August this year.

“There has been a spurt in the number of infiltration incidents in the last two months, with a dozen incidents recorded in July and August alone along the LoC,” Army officers said.

Vietnam frees blogger ahead of Australia visit

by

Canberra, September 06: Vietnam has freed a blogger who was recently detained over a plan to distribute anti-China T-shirts, he said on Sunday, as Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh prepared to leave on a visit to Australia and New Zealand.

The reason Hanoi police gave Bui Thanh Hieu when they let him go on Saturday evening was “the cancellation of preventative measures”, said Hieu, who spent nine nights in detention.

India’s budget airlines to gain strength

by

Mumbai, September 06: India’s low-cost airlines are set to go from strength to strength as they grab market share from ailing premier carriers such as Air India, whose debts and losses continue to pile up, experts say.

Big airlines such as Jet Airways, Kingfisher and Air India are being hit by falling revenues due to tough economic conditions and high air fuel taxes.

The smaller, “no-frills” carriers such as Spicejet or Indigo, set up to open up the skies to the country’s burgeoning middle classes, have dealt better with the turbulent business conditions of the last year, analysts say.

Auckland ponders signing Symonds

by

Auckland, September 06: New Zealand domestic cricket team Auckland is interested in signing controversial Australian Andrew Symonds to play in this year’s Twenty20 competition.

Symonds, a two-time World Cup winner who lost his Australian contract after a series of off-field indiscretions, would not be available for the entire month-long New Zealand competition which kicks off in January because he is due to turn out for Queensland in its Twenty20 Big Bash.

But because the Australian competition is only over five rounds he could feature for Auckland towards the end of January.

Posh poses in lingerie again for Elle magazine

by

London, September 06: Victoria Beckham gives fans a glimpse of her naughty side in a photo shoot for Elle magazine cover – she dons stockings and suspenders while perched on a diving board.

The photos will go along with her interview to the magazine where she talks about her 10-year marriage to David Beckham and why it’s still going strong.

MPs demand tighter controls on security companies in Iraq

by

London, September 0A Foreign Office inquiry exonerated a British security company’s vetting and weapons-safety procedures just before one of its private soldiers with a criminal record and history of mental illness shot dead two colleagues during a drunken row in Baghdad last month.

MPs yesterday criticised the way the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) handled the inquiry into ArmorGroup and called for proper regulation of the private security industry. Armor has earned £68m since 2007 from government contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan – more than any other British security company.

Tipaimukh dam, trade to top Delhi-Dhaka talks

by

Dhaka, September 06: A ‘congenial ambience’ between Bangladesh and India would be of help when issues like Tipaimukh dam, trade and transit are taken up during the visit of Foreign Minister Dipu Moni to New Delhi in the coming week.

Political and diplomatic observers see a congenial ambience in place with an Awami League government in Dhaka and a Congress-led government in Delhi. Their historical ties could help smoothen the edges on contentious issues, The Daily Star said Sunday.

Obama ‘green jobs’ adviser quits amid controversy

by

Washington, September 06: President Barack Obama’s adviser Van Jones has resigned amid controversy over past inflammatory statements, the White House said early Sunday.

Jones, an administration official specializing in environmentally friendly “green jobs” with the White House Council on Environmental Quality was linked to efforts suggesting a government role in the 2001 terror attacks and to derogatory comments about Republicans.

The resignation comes as Obama is working to regain his footing in the contentious health care debate.

Man jailed for keeping an owl captive

by

Bhopal, September 06: A Madhya Pradesh court has sentenced a man to three years’ imprisonment for clipping the wings of an owl and keeping it captive in his house in Chhindwara district for three years.

Chief Judicial Magistrate of Chhindwara Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi sentenced Gendalal last week.

“Gendalal who kept the owl in a cage at his home has been sentenced for confining the bird which is illegal as per the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. A fine of Rs.10,000 has also been slapped on the accused who had clipped the bird’s wings,” a forest official said.

Volkswagen plans over two-fold increase in India headcount

by

New Delhi, September 06: Europe’s largest car maker Volkswagen is planning to more than double its India headcount with addition of 1,500 employees at its Chakan plant alone in Maharashtra.

The group, which started production at Chakan near Pune in March 2008, is looking at full-capacity production at this plant by 2012 and would need to strengthen its staff strength for the same, its India head said.

Volkswagen has two facilities in India at Aurangabad and Chakan, which assembles cars of its three brands — Skoda, Audi and Volkswagen.

Playing myself in ‘Chintuji’ an enjoyble experience: Rishi Kapoor

by

New Delhi, September 06: He is one of the few actors in the Hindi film industry who seems to be getting better with age!

“Evergreen” actor Rishi Kapoor, whose appearances on celluloid over the last few years have marked a “renaissance phase” of sorts for the actor, has been evoking a lot of praise for his latest film ‘Chintuji’, which features him in a role bearing a striking resemblance to his real life.

Directed by ‘Chintuji’, which released in cinema halls on Friday, has Rishi Kapoor in the role of a filmstar ‘Chintu Ji’ who wants to contest elections from his hometown.

Villagers take government official hostage for job scheme bungling

by

Lucknow, September 06: Irked over the non-implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in their village, residents of Phaguniya village in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh took hostage a government official who went there to review the programmes.

The incident was reported Saturday when the villagers forced the block development officer (BDO) to get off his jeep and tied him to an electric pole.

For a woman, being mentally alert is greatest weapon

by

What should a woman do if a knife wielding man demands her mobile phone when she is alone? Surprise him by offering it to him. Or fling it as far as away. As he runs for the phone, you run in the opposite direction.

Remember you can buy another phone. But you have only one life to live.

Common sense is a powerful weapon that can fell any opponent. It helps you to come out of potentially dangerous arenas without a fight.

Unfortunately, this lesson is not imparted to most women in India. Naturally few use it when they are faced with piquant situations.

SBI cuts 1,000-days deposit rate by 0.25 pc

by

The country’s largest PSU lende, State Bank of India, on Saturday reduced interest rate for deposits having 1,000-day tenure by 0.25 percent to 7 percent.

The new rate will be effective from 8th September, the bank said in a release issued in Mumbai on Saturday.

Interest rates for deposits for all other tenures remain the same.

–Agencies