Month: September 2009

‘3 Houthi leaders killed’ in northern Yemen

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Sanaa, September 04: The Yemeni Army says it has killed three local Zaidi leaders in an attack on their hideouts in Saada province in northern Yemen.

“Leaders of the rebellion, among the most dangerous terrorist elements, were killed” in the attack at Malahidh, Yemen’s official Saba news agency cited a military statement as saying on Friday.

According to the report, the three leaders were identified as Jarallah Mohammed Ismail, Ali Abd Rabbo Jabal and Abdel Aziz al-Uraimi.

The Yemeni army launched an offensive against the Shia Zaidis in Saada and Amran provinces three weeks ago.

Erakat: Israeli settlement plan unacceptable

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Gaza, September 04: The Palestinian chief peace negotiator says Israel’s plan to build hundreds of new settlement homes in the West Bank before weighing a freeze is “absolutely unacceptable”.

“The only thing suspended by this announcement will be the peace process,” Saeb Erakat said in a telephone interview with AFP on Friday.

“This is absolutely unacceptable,” the top Palestinian peace negotiator went on to say.

Erakat is currently accompanying the Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmud Abbas in Paris.

EU FMs to discuss Iran’s nuclear issue

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Stockholm, September 04: Foreign ministers from the 27-strong European Union will convene in Sweden on Friday to discuss Iran’s nuclear activities, diplomats say.

The ministers will attend a two-day meeting starting on Friday in the Swedish capital Stockholm to discuss diplomatic ways to persuade Tehran to respond to the offer of talks.

According to diplomats, new sanctions against Iran would not be on the table during the talks.

France echoes Israeli claims against IAEA

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Paris, September 04: The French foreign minister has demanded that the UN Nuclear Watchdog release annexes of a recent report on Iran’s nuclear program, which Israel claims exist.

“Why doesn’t he provide us with the annexes of his report?” Bernard Kouchner said, referring to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei.

“In the annexes there are specifically elements which enable us to ask about the reality of an atomic bomb… There are issues of warheads, of transport,” he told reporters.

Somali fighting kills 6, injures 11 civilians

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Mogadishu, September 04: At least 6 civilians have lost their lives and eleven others injured during fierce fighting between African Union soldiers and Somali rebels.

Violence broke out after the local fighters launched an attack on the international forces under the AU mandate for the establishment of peace in the lawless Horn of Africa state, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Heavily-armed Al Shabaab militia on Thursday attacked the Burundian peacekeeper’s base in northern Mogadishu with portable rocket launchers.

473 kg heroin confiscated in Turkey

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Ankara, September 04: Turkish security forces have confiscated nearly half a ton of heroin which was hidden in a truck in the northwestern province of Edirne.

According to the semi-official Anatolia news agency on Thursday, the 473 kg of the illicit drugs was hidden in 8 photocopy machines inside a truck which belongs to an international transportation company at the Kapikule customs point in Edirne, Xinhua reported on Thursday.

Officials told the agency that the heroin was worth more than 14 million Turkish liras (nearly 9.3 million US dollars).

Gates tries to allay public concerns over Afghan war

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Washington, September 04: Amid skepticism among the US population about the mission in Afghanistan the US Defense Secretary says he does not think it is time to get out of the war-torn country.

“We are mindful of that, we understand the concerns of many Americans in that area, but we think that we now have the resources and the right approach to start making some headway,” Robert Gates told a news conference at Pentagon on Thursday.

Bomb attacks claim 13, injure 150 in Iraq

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Baghdad, September 04: At least thirteen people have been killed and more than one hundred fifty others injured following a series of bomb attacks across war-torn Iraq on Thursday.

A bomb explosion at a shrine in the town of Mussayab, 55 kilometers (34 miles) south of Baghdad in Babil province, claimed the lives of three worshippers and injured 51 others, police said.

Two other people were also killed in a booby trap bomb blast south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The incident which took place near another Shia tomb wounded ten other people.

A Monolith Falls

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A great tragedy, an irreparable loss, a deep felt vacuum has struck the state of Andhra Pradesh and its near 100 million people in a still incredible and totally unexpected fatal blow of fate which has snatched away the much loved and esteemed and popular Chief Minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh. He seemed to have everything going smoothly for him for the next five years. It is still hard to come to terms with the sudden cruel joke of destiny in snatching away such a dynamic and charismatic and visionary of a leader. Dr. YS RajaShekhara Reddy is no more.

Israeli fighter jets bomb Gaza Strip

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Gaza, September 04: Israeli warplanes have launched an attack on the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian and Israeli officials say.

An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed the early Friday airstrike, saying that the Israeli fighter jets targeted a tunnel used by the Palestinians to import food and supply, AFP reported.

Palestinian security officials said that no one was injured in the overnight attack.

Israel charges that Palestinians use the Gaza Strip tunnels to ‘smuggle’ weapons for cross border attacks.

Israel a ‘genocidal’ ‘killer’ state, says Chavez

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Venenzuela, September 04: On a visit to Damascus, the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has labeled Israel as a “genocidal” and “killer” state, while calling for the return of the Golan Heights to Syria.

“The state of Israel has become a genocidal state, a killer state, enemy of peace,” he said at a press conference with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.

Venezuela and Syria are facing the same “struggles” and have the same “enemies,” Chavez said, adding that “Israel has become the enforcer of the policies of the American empire.”

Amrita Rao has a fan in Govinda

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Mumbai, September 04: With the success of Life Partner, the new pairing of Govinda and Amrita Rao seems to have clicked with the audiences. In fact, audiences have called the pair a highlight of the film, and are looking forward to seeing the two together in more films.

Buzz up!But if there is one new fan Amrita Rao can definitely lay claim to, is her co-star Govinda. Ever since the movie has released, Govinda can’t stop raving about the lass.

Three: Love, Lies and Bakwas

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Mumbai, September 04: It’s like watching someone bake a classic chocolate cake. You know the ingredients. You know the recipe. You know the technique. Heck, you even know the taste. Only there’s nothing classic or sweet about Vikram Bhatt’s Three-Love, Lies and Betrayal, directed by his assistant, Vishal Pandya.

Even though you know exactly where the plot is headed, the predictability hits a sour note every few minutes with its implausible backdrop and inconsistent screenplay.

Nifty ends above 4670; auto, metals lead

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Mumbai, September 04: Indices closed sharply higher on Friday taking cues from the positive opening of European markets. The rally was led by gains in auto,
Markets.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 4677.95, up 84.4 points or 1.84 per cent. The 50-share index touched a high of 4697.20 and low of 4580.35.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 15682.32, up 283.99 points or 1.84 per cent. The index touched an intra-day high of 15740.83 and low of 15358.94.

BSE Midcap Index was up 1.05 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 1.04 per cent up.

IGNOU agrees to recognise DU’s correspondence course

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New Delhi, September 04: The legal tussle between IGNOU and University of Delhi over recognition of correspondence courses has been resolved with the former on Friday agreeing to recognise the distant education course provided by DU.

Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) informed the Delhi High Court that it has agreed to give post facto recognition of the programmes offered through distance mode by the University of Delhi (DU).

World Rally Championship disrupted in Australia

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Sydney, September 04: Protesters on Friday disrupted the Australian leg of the World Rally Championship by placing boulders in the path of the racing cars and pelting them with stones.

Drivers were held up at the end of stage five at Kyogle in northern New South Wales while officials cleared the roadway. A second afternoon stage had to be cancelled.

Leading drivers Sebastien Loeb, Mikko Hirvonen and Dani Sordo all reported having stones thrown at their vehicles as they drove out of the sector.

Obama to address Congress in bid to revive healthcare plan

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Washington, September 04: Senior policy aides in the White House are scrambling to craft what they hope will be a game-changing speech on healthcare by President Barack Obama. He will present the proposals to an exceptional joint session of Congress next Wednesday in a speech to be broadcast on prime-time television.

Gujarat HC sets aside ban on Jaswant Singh’s book

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Ahmedabad, September 04: The Gujarat High Court on Friday set aside the ban on Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh’s book Jinnah: India-Partition, Independence imposed by the Gujarat government.

Gujarat government had sought time to file a fresh notification but the court did not grant it.The original notification by the state government had said that Jaswant’s book was objectionable, misleading and against public tranquility. The court observed that the state government gave no grounds for the notification.

Branding Azamgarh as terror hub is unfair: Shabana

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Azamgarh (UP), September 04: Noted film and theatre personality Shabana Azmi is distressed that her native place is in news for all the wrong reasons.

Presently on a visit to her native house ‘fateh-e-manzil’ in Mizwa village here, the birth place of her late father and acclaimed ‘shayar’ Kaifi Azmi, Shabana said branding Azamgarh as a terror hub was unfair .

‘Rajapaksa’s leadership enabled defeating LTTE’

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Colombo, September 04: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has praised his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa’s leadership that enabled his country defeat the “ruthless” LTTE, a task that was deemed impossible by the world.

“By vanquishing a most ruthless terrorist organisation such as the LTTE, President Rajapaksa has succeeded in drawing the attention of the entire international community towards Sri Lanka,” the state owned ‘Daily News’ quoted him as saying.

Modi to address school students on Teachers’ Day

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Ahmedabad, September 04: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will felicitate 35 teachers from across the state and address over one crore students of various schools through video conferencing on Teachers’ Day tomorrow.

Teachers will be honoured for their outstanding contribution to the field of education. Each of them will be given a cash reward of Rs 21,000 and a certificate by the Chief Minister in a felicitation function to be held here.

Indians falling prey to fake Aus varsities: SC

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New Delhi, September 04: The Supreme Court today asked the Indian High Commissioner and Consulate General in Australia to help prevent Indian students from falling prey to fake educational institutions there.

This order was passed by a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan after it was informed by Attorney General G E Vahanvati that all the guidelines have been laid down for the students going to Australia for education purposes.

RSS chief meets Vajpayee to discuss political situation

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New Delhi, September 04: RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat Friday held a meeting with NDA Chairperson and senior BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee and is understood to have discussed the current political situation with the ailing leader.

“RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat met Vajpayee today afternoon. He enquired about his health and discussed the current political situation in the country,” Vajpayee’s secretary N C Jhingta said.

Search for missing resumes as Java quake toll hits 59

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Pangalengan, September 04: Rescuers on Friday searched for 34 people missing after a powerful earthquake devastated Indonesia’s Java island and the toll from the disaster reached 59, officials said.

The missing people were among dozens of residents who were buried after a torrent of rocks engulfed their houses in the West Java district of Cianjur after Wednesday’s quake.

Twenty-one bodies were unearthed on Thursday.

About 31,000 homes were damaged and more than 25,000 people were displaced after the magnitude 7.3 earthquake, the National Agency for Disaster Management said.

Taiwan drops annual UN bid as China relations warm

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Taipei, September 04: Taiwan will drop for the first time in 17 years its annual bid to join the United Nations as island President Ma Ying-jeou seeks peace with long-time rival and UN heavyweight China, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Taiwan, recognised by only 23 countries, failed in its previous 16 consecutive UN membership bids due to objections from China, which has claimed the self-ruled island as its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.