The worlds of economics and religion may seem far apart but a meeting in South Korea has been attempting to narrow the gap between the two.
Religious and political leaders gathered in Seoul for a conference on interfaith co-operation.
They concluded their three-day meeting with a call for religious perspectives to be taken into account by governments tackling issues like the financial crisis.
Tehran, September 26: The crisis in relations with Iran escalated ominously yesterday after the leaders of the US, Britain and France accused the regime in Tehran of operating a secret uranium enrichment facility buried deep in a mountain bunker near the ancient religious city of Qom.
Barack Obama called Iran’s activity “a direct challenge” to the international community.
The accusations were made public in an extraordinary joint statement by the US President, flanked by Gordon Brown and the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy before the start of the G20 economic summit in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh, September 26: Ahead of Indo-Pak Foreign Ministers meeting in New York, India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said India seeks to normalise relationship with Pakistan but it should shed its mindset of using terror as an instrument of state policy against New Delhi and take action against those involved in the Mumbai terror attacks
He made it clear that there was no change in India’s stand on Pakistan since the Sharm-el-Sheikh talks with his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, a position he has made clear in Parliament
Washington, September 26: More than a thousand Muslim men and women gathered outside the US Capitol to hold a prayer meeting and demonstrate against prejudice against Islam.
With men on one side, and women on the other, the crowd prayed on lawns outside the building in an event organized by the Dar-ul-Islam Elisabeth mosque, in northeastern New Jersey yesterday.
“In addition to being an historic event I think it’s just a matter of all the Muslims coming together in one location to perform what is our obligation for the Friday prayer,” said one of the participants Lonnie Shabazz.
Johannesburg, September 26: Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara deprecated the wicket of the New Wanderer Stadium where his side lost by six wickets to England in a Champions Trophy match here yesterday.
Sri Lanka struggled to 212 all out as England pacers exploited the seamer friendly pitch to steer their side to an advantageous position.
“The wicket was not best for one-day cricket specially when you want to attract fans. It was not a typical one-day track. It looked like first day of a Test match,” Sangakkara said after the match.
Pittsburgh, September 26: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said that there is no economic crisis in the country.
“There is no economic crisis in India. It is certainly true that as a sequel to the global economic crisis our exports have suffered that has affected the rate of growth, but even then our economy is growing at a rate of six and half per cent. Therefore there is no crisis, as such in India,” Singh said.
However, the Prime Minister acknowledged that in a highly interdependent world, India has a stake in the stability and growth of the world economy.
Agra, September 26: He is Shahi Imam of the 17th century Shahjahani Masjid (also known as Taj masjid) near Taj Mahal in Agra. The government earns several crores of rupees yearly from fees for entry to the Taj complex comprising Taj Mahal, Shahjahani Masjid and Mehman Khana.
It pays about Rs 15000 monthly each to dozens of cleaners and other menial workers hired for the complex, but how much to the Shahi Imam? Just Rs 15 a month. Isn’t it sheer shameful on the part of the government?
Dushanbe, September 26: It was a short SMS that tore down Nodira’s years-long marital life. “I was shocked after reading that SMS,” the 29-year-old told.
The Muslim woman got the shock of her life after receiving a divorce SMS from her husband, who left for Russia years ago for a better job.
“I instantly thought it was a mistake or someone’s evil joke,” said the grieving mother.
Bhopal, September 26: The literacy percentage among Muslim women in Madhya Pradesh is much higher than their counterparts in other North Indian states, according to the Madhya Pradesh Muslim Education Society (MPMES).
Madhya Pradesh has topped the figure with 60.1 per cent literacy among the Muslim women which was much better than other states including Assam, West Bengal, U P, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Rajasthan as per the census of population 2001.
Hyderabad, September 26: The succession war following the untimely death of late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has got murkier with a section of party workers, pitching for his son Jaganmohan’s elevation, openly protesting the Congress high command’s delay in announcing a successor.
Supporters of Y S Jaganmohan Reddy have been disrupting the party’s membership drive in the state for the past three days, some of the local Congress leaders said.
Mumbai: Actor Shiney Ahuja, accused of raping his 20-year-old domestic help, was seen crying and complaining of a severe backache at a fast-track Sewri court on Friday.
Additional sessions judge SR Trivedi directed the Arthur Road jail authorities to provide Ahuja with immediate medical assistance and take him to JJ Hospital if necessary after an application seeking treatment was moved by his lawyer.
Islamabad, September 26: Pakistan is set to replace India in the Interpol’s executive committee, elections for which will be held next month.
The director-general of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Tariq Khosa, would be the country’s candidate for one of the two seats allotted to Asia in the committee. Khosa confirmed that he was Pakistan’s nominee for the seat.
The terms of India and Korea, the current members representing Asia in the committee, end in October.
Pittsburgh, September 26: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says people of Afghanistan as also European and American leaders are appreciative of India’s role in Afghanistan where it has invested $1.5 billion to help reconstruction.
“We have not supplied any arms, we are also helping them in construction and financing of projects in power, health and education sectors,” he told reporters Friday when asked about a top US general’s suggestion that India’s growing influence in Afghanistan could “exacerbate” regional tensions.
Mumbai, September 26: His “Love Aaj Kal” has completed 50 days at the box office and has earned more than Rs.65 crores (Rs.650 million) just within India. Now actor-producer Saif Ali Khan is looking forward to “Kurbaan” – a film he admits he is proud of having acted in being a Muslim.
“As a Muslim I feel proud of the fact that I have done this film. This is one of the most socially relevant films today. It is good that it is coming at just the time when our country needs cinema like this,” Saif told IANS in an interview.
Pittsburgh, September 26: US President Barack Obama warned Iran Friday it must soon “come clean” about its nuclear activities to avoid heading down a path of “confrontation” with global powers.
Obama said he expected answers from Iran when officials from six countries leading the international effort to curtail Iran’s nuclear programme meet with Iranian representatives next week in Geneva.
Gaza, September 26: Three militants were killed Friday in an Israeli airstrike in the eastern Gaza city, medics and witnesses said.
The incident took place in the al-Tufah neighbourhood of the city. A missile hit the car in which the militants were travelling.
The bodies of the militants and three injured civilians were taken to a hospital, Gaza emergency chief Mo’aweya Hassanein told reporters.
The militants were members of Saraya al-Quds, armed wing of Islamic Jihad group.
New York, September 26: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Friday denounced Western reaction to news that Tehran was building a second uranium enrichment plant and said Iran had complied with all international regulation.
Ahmadinejad told reporters in New York that he was surprised by the reaction because Iran had gone beyond its obligations by informing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the plant.
“We are completely within IAEA rules and its supervision,” he said.
New York, September 26: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blasted Argentina Friday for seeking the extradition of Iranian Defence Minister General Ahmad Vahidi.
“We want to advise the Argentine government, instead of meeting the interest of a minority of Zionists in Argentina, to seek the interest and benefit for everyone,” Ahmadinejad told a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Johannesburg, September 26: England kept alive their hopes of making the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy with a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a Group B match at the New Wanderers Stadium here Friday.
England chased the target of 213 by losing four wickets in 45 overs after Eoin Morgan scored a responsible unbeaten 62 besides crucial knocks from Man of the Match Paul Collingwood (46) and Owais Shah (44) on a lively track.
Washington, September 26: American women may serve aboard submarines of the US Navy, an official said here Friday.
“This is something the CNO (chief of naval operations) and I have been working on since I came into office,” US Navy secretary Ray Mabus said in a statement.
“We are moving out aggressively on this. I believe women should have every opportunity to serve at sea, and that includes aboard submarines,” he said.
Women making up about 15 percent of the US Navy’s officers and sailors, however, they are not assigned to serve in the Navy SEAL special forces units.
Mumbai, September 26: The team “Do Knot Disturb’ recently held a press conference organized by Big Pictures and Puja Entertainment under which the film has been made. Almost the entire team of “DKD’ was present at the occasion including producer Vashu Bhagnani, director David Dhawan and actors Govinda, Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta and Ritesh Deshmukh.
Geneva, September 26: A total of 3,917 people have died of swine flu worldwide since the outbreak of the viral disease in April, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a latest update Friday.
Of all the deaths, 2,948 occurred in the Americas, followed by the West Pacific region, with 362 deaths. The other four WHO regional offices, South-East Asia, Europe, East Mediterranean and Africa reported 340, 154, 72 and 41 deaths respectively.
Mumbai, September 26: Interview David Dhawan and if he does not mention Govinda, then it’s impossible. The chemistry is so in-sync that it comes across from the quality of work they churned out in past.
New York, September 26: Wall Street stocks lost ground for a third straight trading session Friday as contradictory economic news kept investors on edge.
A report Friday on durable-good orders disappointed economists, and new home sales fell short of expectations. Meanwhile, a private measure of consumer confidence showed unexpected strength.
Sao Paulo, September 26: Brazil’s Vice President Jose Alencar has said possession of nuclear weapons would enable his country to deter potential aggressors and give the South American nation greater “respectability” on the world stage, a media report said Friday.
“Nuclear weapons as an instrument of deterrence are of great importance for a country that has 15,000 km of border,” O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper quoted Alencar as saying Thursday while referring to the security of the country’s offshore oil deposits.