Toronto, September 27: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has canceled a stopover next week in Canada, where he was due to be rebuked for giving a hero’s welcome to the man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, the CBC said on Saturday.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had asked his foreign minister, Lawrence Cannon, to deliver an official protest to Gaddafi when he landed in St. John’s, Newfoundland, on his return to Libya.
Washington, September 27: Three more Guantanamo detainees have been transferred from the US prison camp in Cuba to Ireland and Yemen, the US Department of Justice said on Saturday, in the latest step toward closing the controversial camp.
Two of the detainees were sent to Ireland, though US officials did not release their names or say when they were flown out. Media reports in July suggested the two are Uzbek nationals, but both US and Irish authorities declined to comment.
Beijing, September 27: Medical tests have shown at least 121 children living near a battery plant in eastern China are suffering from lead poisoning, the latest in a recent string of such cases that have affected hundreds.
Two medical agencies tested 287 children younger than 14 years of age for lead poisoning and found 121 of them had excessive levels of lead in their blood, the government of Shanghang county in Fujian province said in a statement late Saturday. An investigation was ongoing, it said.
Seoul, September 27: A light plane crashed at the site of an international fair packed with thousands of visitors in South Korea on Sunday, killing one of its two pilots and injuring 11 people on the ground, an official said.
The plane hit a bus on display at the site in Incheon, just west of Seoul, said Kim Ju-hee, a spokesman for the Global Fair & Festival 2009 Incheon.
The two pilots were taken to a nearby hospital, but one died, Kim said. Eleven people, including some who were inside the bus, had minor injuries sustained when they were hit by pieces of the plane, he said.
Washington, September 27: President Barack Obama on Saturday resumed his push to overhaul the health care system, telling a Congressional Black Caucus conference that there comes a time when “the cup of endurance runs over.”
“We have been waiting for health reform since the days of Teddy Roosevelt. We’ve been waiting since the days of Harry Truman,” he said in remarks at the caucus foundation’s annual dinner. “We’ve been waiting since Johnson and Nixon and Clinton.”
“We cannot wait any longer,” Obama said.
New Delhi, September 27: In an effort to expand broadband penetration in the rural areas in Himachal Pradesh, India-based telecom service provider BSNL has revealed that it has decided to provide the cheapest Broadband connectivity to rural as well as remote areas of the hill state.
The sources informed that BSNL will supply Broadband internet service at just Rs 99 every month on subsidized wireline connection.
The sources further informed that Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) will support subsidized wireline connection in rural areas.
New Delhi, September 27: Shahid Kapoor is still basking in the attention coming his way after the box office success and critical acclaim for Vishal Bhardwajs Kaminey, which featured him in an intense action role, a far cry from his image of a ‘romantic hero’ in his earlier films like ‘Ishq Vishq’, ‘Vivaah’ and ‘Kismet Konnection’.
The accolades for his double role in ‘Kaminey’ notwithstanding, Shahid insists that as an actor he wants to try his hand at all kinds of roles.
London, September 27: Supermodel Sophie Anderton’s sensational disclosure has sent shock waves among her fans.
Sophie Anderton has said that she was a call girl and charged 15,000 pounds an hour from her customer. “I was in prostitute in early days of my life. I slept with many rich businessmen to pay huge debts of drugs,” the 32-yearr-old supermodel said.
However, Sophie Anderton said that she doesn’t want o remember her past. “I am not proud of my past at all.”
Aophie said, “All this is bitter truth of my life, I sold my body for a short span of time and earn lots of money.”
Kabul, September 27 : Afghan Energy Minister Mohammad Ismail Khan survived a car bomb attack in the west of the country Sunday that left at least four civilians dead and 17 wounded, police said.
The attack occurred in the town of Herat when the car bomb exploded in the path of the minister’s convoy, local police spokesman Abdul Raouf Ahmadi said.
“Four people were killed, including a woman and a child. And 17 other people were wounded,” he said. The local governor’s office confirmed the toll.
Islamabad, September 27: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court hearing the case against seven suspects, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, arrested for their involvement in the Mumbai attacks was on Saturday put off till October 3 as the judge conducting the trial was on leave.
Judge Baqir Ali Rana of the anti-terrorism court No 2 is conducting the trial of the seven suspects within the high-security Adiala Jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi due to security reasons.
Berlin, September 27: Germans were deciding on Sunday whether to return the nation’s first woman chancellor to a second term in office following a lackluster election campaign centered largely on economic issues and a rash of last-minute threats by Islamic extremists.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is hoping enough of the nation’s 62.2 million eligible voters will support her conservative Christian Democratic Party to give them a solid enough standing to form a center-right coalition with their top partners, the Free Democrats.
New Delhi, September 27: He may have foregone salary or commissions for 2008-09 as part of austerity measures, yet a pay package of over Rs 52 crore — as sitting fees and previous-year payments — has made industrialist Anil Ambani the country’s top-paid executive for the year.
Had he not declared to give up his remuneration for the year, his pay package could have crossed Rs 100 crore or about Rs 27 lakh a day.
Centurion, September 27: After beating India by 54 runs in their Champions Trophy Group A clash here, Pakistan skipper Younus Khan was happy with the manner of the victory and said they will now turn their attentions towards the match against Australia.
”We are looking forward to the Australia game. We are still hungry. If we can defeat Aussies in the next game, it would be nice,” Younus said. It was a good all-round display from Pakistan against their arch rivals last night and it left the skipper pleased.
Islamabad, September 27: The death toll in a pair of car bombings in northwestern Pakistan rose to 27 Sunday, police and hospital authorities said.
Rescuers found two more bodies of policemen as they clawed through the rubble of a police station in the volatile Bannu district, where a suicide bomber blew up an explosives-laden pickup truck Saturday morning.
‘The confirmed casualty count as of Sunday stands at 14 – nine policemen and five civilians,’ police officer Talha Khan said.
Colombo, September 27: New Zealand have two matches to make an impact in a tournament that has almost escaped them. With the semi-finals a beacon in the distant horizon, they need to find some touch immediately, and were given the chance to rediscover some batting form when Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and sent them in.
Porlamar, September 27: Venezuela’s science and technology minister said his country is working with Russia to detect deposits of uranium but withdrew an earlier denial that the country was also working with Iran.
Jesse Chacon originally denied the reports that Venezuela is receiving support from Iran to seek uranium, but clarified later Saturday that his comments were only in regard to Russia and that exploration efforts with Iran fall under the direction of Venezuela’s Mining Ministry.
London, September 27: David Miliband thrusts himself back into the debate over Labour’s future today as he puts forward “my pitch” and issues a coded message to the 58-year-old Prime Minister: ” ‘Future’ is the most important word in politics.”
The Foreign Secretary, who remains one of the most likely people to lead Labour after the election, challenged Gordon Brown to use his last conference before the vote to show the “vision” necessary to avert catastrophic defeat.
Tehran, September 27: Iran test-fired short-range missiles as its elite Revolutionary Guards began war games on Sunday aimed at boosting the Islamic Republic’s deterrent capabilities, official media reported.
The missile manoeuvres coincide with increased tension in Iran’s nuclear dispute with the West, after last week’s disclosure by Tehran that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant.
Jerusalem, September 27:Israeli police say Palestinian protesters have clashed with policemen at one of the most sensitive holy sites.
The incident took place early Sunday at the Jerusalem compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.
Police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby says some 150 Palestinians threw stones at a group of Jews visiting the site. Police dispersed the rioters using stun grenades, and two policemen were lightly injured.
Ben-Ruby says two protesters were also lightly injured before police restored order.
United Nations, September 27: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka said after having declared victory in its decades-long conflict with Tamil rebels, his island nation is committed to tackling issues of long-term peace and development, including resettlement of displaced civilians and reconciliation.
”We have entered a forward-looking, post-conflict phase, recognising at the same time the urgent need to deal with the scars and unresolved challenges of the past,” Mr Wickramanayaka told the annual high-level debate of the UN General Assembly yesterday.
Thiruvananthapuram, September 27: Two activists of a Dalit organisation in Kerala were arrested Sunday for the murder of an elderly man last week, police said.
The two Dalit Human Rights Movement (DHRM) members were identified as Ashokan, an advocate, and Das.
‘We will crack the case soon. The arrested men are activists of DHRM. More arrests will be made soon,’ Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose told IANS.
Sivaprasad was killed Sep 16 while on his morning walk in Varkala, 45 km from here. The arrests took place there.
New York, September 27: Pakistan does not want to take to court a “half-baked” case against JuD chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed, blamed by India for masterminding Mumbai attacks, and needs “legally tenable” evidence against him, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said today hours ahead of crucial talks with his Indian counterpart S M Krishna.
New York, September 27: With India insisting on concrete steps against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan has said New Delhi should not hold the relationship back on a single issue as it has done what was “required” in the case.
“The question is how do we move beyond this point. The relationship cannot be held or brought to a standstill because of a trial or one investigation,” Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir told PTI after meeting his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao here on Saturday.
Centurion, September 27: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has held the lackluster bowling display responsible for his side’s humiliating 54-run defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan in their Champions Trophy opener.
“I was feeling not one bowler short but three bowlers short. It was tough to set field for them,” stated Dhoni here after Indian bowling department conceded 302 runs to Pakistan.
New Delhi, September 27: Home Minister P. Chidambaram has really shaken up North Block that houses his ministry, not just with his biometric attendance system that has even peons and clerks clocking in to beat the deadline.
Chidambaram is undertaking such sweeping policy changes on combating terror and on policing that even his own party chief ministers are feeling the heat of his directives. And the home minister does not care if he has to become unpopular to force the pace of change.