Tokyo, September 02: A purported secret pact between Washington and Tokyo that allowed US military vessels carrying nuclear weapons to enter Japanese territory is still valid as long as the Asian country is protected under the US nuclear umbrella, a former high-ranking Japanese government official said.
New Delhi, September 02: Indian call charges touched a new low on Tuesday with telecom operator Tata Teleservices’ new tariff plan that allows CDMA subscribers unlimited hours on local calls for just Re 1.
In the new ‘Pay-Per-Call’ plan, the company has moved away from the usual practice of charging on a one minute-pulse basis. Instead Tata Teleservices pre-paid CDMA subscribers will be charged Re 1 for all local calls and Rs 3 for long distance calls, regardless of the duration.
Jakarta, September 02: Indonesia’s seismology agency said on Wednesday it had recorded a powerful 7.3 earthquake near the main island of Java.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the quake with a magnitude of 7.4 at a depth of 37 km (23 miles). Its epicentre was 142 km (88 miles) southwest of Tasikamalaya in West Java, the Indonesian agency said.
Residents in the capital Indonesia reported buildings shaking and some offices were evacuated.
—Agencies
Sonepat, September 02: In a suspected case of honour killing, a 17-year-old girl, who had eloped with four youths, has been allegedly shot dead by her uncle at Pinana village, about 25 kms from here, police said today. The girl, a student of Class XI, had on August 30 eloped with a youth identified as Naveen and his three friends and returned back the next day, they said adding her father has lodged a kidnap case against the youths.
Abuja, September 02: Seeking to strengthen bilateral trade relations, Nigeria is keen to welcome foreign investments from India, enhance cooperation in field of information technology and export of non-oil and gas products, a senior Nigerian official has said. “As part of new reforms in our country, foreign investors willing to invest in the country are at liberty to repatriate their dividend and capital whenever they wish and the minister would have to get this message across to the Indian business community,” Emeka Omeihe Special Assistant on Media to Nigerian Commerce Minister has said.
Taipei, September 02: Authorities in Taiwan attempted Wednesday to play down the visit of the Dalai Lama, cancelling a public prayer meeting and hoping to avoid the Chinese government’s wrath.
“From Wednesday afternoon until his departure on Friday morning, there are no open activities,” a staff member from the Dalai Lama’s representative office in Taipei said.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader held a dialogue Wednesday morning with Catholic Cardinal Shan Kuo-hsi on religion in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan and was scheduled to return to Taipei Wednesday afternoon.
Srinagar, September 02: Five guerrillas attempting to cross over from Pakistan were killed early Wednesday when Indian Army soldiers foiled their infiltration bid in Jammu and Kashmir’s Gurez sector, officials said.
A group of infiltrators were spotted by the alert soldiers guarding the Line of Control (LoC), which divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, in Gurez sector of north Kashmir’s Bandipore district.
Srinagar, September 02: Two people were killed and 13 others wounded in overnight road accidents in the Kashmir Valley, official sources said here today.
They said a tractor laden with stones, turned turtle at Sangrama chowk in Baramulla district of north Kashmir, resulting in serious injuries to driver Ghulam Nabi Changa.
The injured was admitted to District hospital at Baramulla where he died.
Hyderabad, September 02: Two suspected swine flu deaths, one at the Government Chest Hospital and the other in a Corporate hospital, were reported here today, making them possibly the earliest H1N1 fatal victims in Andhra Pradesh.
Hospital sources said, a 25-year-old State Government employee, Prasad, died in the wee hours. A resident of Champapeta, he was working as attender at CRO here. Two other persons, being treated at Chest Hospital, are under the support of ventilator to recoup from H1N1 flu.
Seoul, September 02: South Korea’s Unification Minister Hyun In Taek has downplayed North Korea’s latest conciliatory gestures as “tactical,” a news report said Wednesday.
“There have been some changes in North Korea’s hard-line policy towards South Korea since July,” the minister, who is responsible for his country’s policy towards North Korea, said at a seminar in Seoul on Wednesday.
New Delhi, September 02: Shilpa Shetty is observing a ‘mauna vrat’ (vow of silence) as part of a wellness course that she is pursuing in Oneness University on the outskirts of Chennai and says it helped her to connect with herself.
Hyderabad, September 02: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy still untraced. He was gone missing while on his way from Karnool to Chittoor.
The Chief Minister was supposed to land at 1045 hrs IST in Chitoor. But due to bad weather Reddy’s helicopter made an emergency landing at Pamulapadu in Kurnool district.
Officials said that Reddy’s helicopter could have landed in Pamulapadu at about 1230 hrs IST.
Washington, September 02: Exercise helps prevent weight regain after dieting by cutting down appetite and burning fat, says a new study.
Burning fat first and storing carbohydrates for use later in the day slows weight regain and may minimise overeating by signalling a sense of fullness to the brain.
The University of Colorado-Denver (UC-D) study also found that exercise prevents the increase in fat cells that occurs during weight regain, challenging the conventional wisdom that the number of fat cells is set and cannot be altered by dietary or lifestyle changes.
Washington, September 02: A new iPhone application enables users to track and report outbreaks of infectious diseases like H1N1 or swine flu in real time.
The application, “Outbreaks Near Me”, builds upon the mission and proven capability of HealthMap, an online resource that collects, filters, maps and disseminates information about emerging infectious diseases.
New York, September 2 (DPA) Andy Murray led fellow former finalist Novak Djokovic into the second round of the US Open as both seeds scored emphatic wins to stake a claim to the title held for five years by Roger Federer.
Murray, newly crowned number two behind the 15-time Grand Slam champion Swiss, hammered out his fourth win over Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 here Tuesday.
Both Murray and his opponent struck 11 aces, but the Gulbis unforced error count approached 50 in the one-way contest.
Dhaka, September 02: Islamist militants fighting in Jammu and Kashmir have regularly used Bangladesh as a transit point to travel to Pakistan, an Indian militant nabbed by the police has said.
Safe havens have been built in Bangladesh to shelter and train militants for terrorist operations in the South Asian region, detained Indian terrorist Mufti Obaidullah, a top leader of the India-based Asif Reza Commando Force (ARCF) has revealed. His interrogation statement has been obtained by media that published details today.
Islamabad, September 02: Pakistani security forces believe that new Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud is dead, a media report said Wednesday.
A Pakistani TV news channel quoted intelligence sources as saying that the man died some time back and it was Hakimullah’s look-alike brother who spoke to news channels recently.
The brother was summoned from Afghanistan to temporarily head the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Online news agency reported.
New Delhi, September 02: A senior health ministry official was found Wednesday hanging from the fan in his home here, police said.
M.P. Singh, 49, who was posted as deputy director at Indian Council Of Medical Research (ICMR), was found in his Pragati Vihar hostel room in south Delhi’s Lodhi Colony around 9.30 a.m.
‘Prima facie it seems that Singh has committed suicide. We have been told that he was under depression for the last few days,’ a police official said.
–IANS
Kabul, September 02: Opium production is down by 10 percent while the area under poppy cultivation in Afghanistan fell 22 percent in 2009, a new UN report said Wednesday.
However, the war-shattered Afghanistan still remains the world’s largest supplier of the drug, producing 6,900 tonnes of opium, from which heroin is derived.
“World demand for opium remains stable (at around 5,000 tonnes per year), which is several thousand tonnes lower than what Afghanistan produces every year,” a report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), released in Kabul Wednesday said.
New Delhi, September 02: A 33-year-old domestic help was found hanging in a house here Wednesday, police said.
Jamun, a resident of Bihar, was found hanging in the first floor room of his employer Vijay Singh Bishnoi’s house in Greater Kailash part II in south Delhi Wednesday morning, a police officer said.
“Jamun was employed by the Bishnoi family last month and was staying in the servant room in the house. They came to know about the incident when Jamun did not turn up despite several calls in the morning,” the officer said.
Lucknow, September 02: Morning assemblies, sport activities and other group gatherings will be suspended in all schools in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow district to prevent the spread of swine flu, officials here said Wednesday.
“All formalities for issuing the prohibitory order have been completed. It will be issued today in order to check the spread of the swine flu virus,” additional district magistrate (ADM) J.P. Singh told IANS.
Panaji, September 02: Goa’s environmental watchdog is concerned over the pollution caused by over a dozen mines to the Selaulim reservoir that is the only source of potable water for the southern parts of the state.
Chairman of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) Simon de Souza said the board has increased the frequency of water testing to check for traces of heavy minerals found in mining silt in the reservoir. The pollution is being caused by 14 mines.
London, September 02: Singer Chris Brown has hit out at a report that he can’t remember what happened the night he brutally attacked ex-girlfriend Rihanna, saying he can never forget the incident and that he still loves her.
Islamabad, September 02: A contempt of court petition was filed Wednesday in the Supreme Court of Pakistan against former president Pervez Musharraf for imposing emergency in 2007.
Anwar-ul-Haq, a medical practitioner in Islamabad, filed the petition in the court Wednesday saying Musharraf breached the Constitution and violated the Supreme Court’s order by imposing emergency rule Nov 3, 2007, Geo TV reported.
He suggested that Musharraf be brought to the country by Interpol.
Bhopal, September 02: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged the central government to grant early recognition to the Sagar-based Government Medical College.
In a letter to Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Chouhan said the state government has taken all necessary steps in accordance with the norms prescribed by the Medical Council of India (MCI).