Month: October 2009

Shivaji statue in sea is foolish, says Thackeray

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Mumbai, October 05: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Sunday described the Congress-NCP government’s proposal to erect a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the sea
off Marine Drive, Mumbai, as “foolish”.

In an interview to his party organ Saamna, he said there was already a statue of Shivaji near Gateway of India which was close to the sea. His remarks came as a surprise considering that the Sena derives its inspiration from the Maratha warrior king.

Steward key witness in AI airhostess assault

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Delhi, October 05: The day after four crew members of Air India—two pilots, an airhostess and a flight purser—came to blows in the cockpit and galley of a Sharjah-Delhi-Lucknow flight, Delhi Police made one of them a witness in the case.

On Saturday, an airhostess had pressed charges against pilots Commander Ranbeer Arora and Captain Aditya Chopra for allegedly trying to molest her inside the cockpit. The stewardess said when she resisted, the pilots pushed her out.

Hijab Boxers in 2012 Olympics

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Cairo, October 05: The International Boxing Association, which awards world and subordinate championships, said Muslim boxers will be allowed to play in the 2012 Olympics while observing their religious dress code.
“At the moment there is nothing preventing women boxers from wearing full Islamic dress,” an IBA spokesman told the Sunday Times on October 4.

The 2012 summer Games in London will be the first time women allowed to box under the Olympic banner.

Millionaire candidates take over Haryana polls

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Chandigarh, October 05: In a year when Haryana has got much less rainfall, it is raining millionaires and billionaires in the state’s electoral fray.

Over 50 percent of the candidates in the fray for the October 13 assembly elections are millionaires and the ruling Congress is leading the pack with 80 percent of its 90 candidates being millionaires and billionaires.

Abbas faces uproar over deferred war crimes vote

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Ramallah, October 05: Engulfed by domestic outrage, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rushed Sunday to limit the fallout from his decision to suspend efforts to have Israeli officials prosecuted for war crimes over last winter’s military offensive in Gaza.

The decision set off a wave of condemnation, not just from his Islamic militant Hamas rivals, but also Palestinian human rights groups, intellectuals and commentators. Leading members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and even Abbas’ own Fatah movement quickly distanced themselves, saying they had been taken by surprise.

Former Japanese finance minister found dead

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Tokyo, October 05: A former Japanese finance minister who stepped down after appearing to be drunk at an overseas news conference was found dead in his home Sunday, police said, ruling out foul play.

Shoichi Nakagawa was lying face down in bed when his wife found him in their Tokyo home, a spokesman for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said on condition of anonymity due to police policy.

Four swine flu deaths in Maharashtra, India toll 344

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New Delhi, October 05: Four new swine flu deaths, all of them from Maharashtra, were reported Sunday, taking the country’s toll due to the contagious virus to 344, the union health ministry said.

Of the four deaths two took place Sunday while two people died of the virus Saturday but were officially confirmed Sunday.

With these deaths, the toll in Maharashtra has gone up to 139, the highest among the states in the country.

UAE, Cuba sign accords to strengthen ties

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Havana, October 05: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Cuba would strengthen bilateral cooperation particularly in the field of trade and investment, WAM news agency reported Sunday.

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Ruiz here Saturday.

Al Nahyan said the visit would contribute in establishing friendship and joint cooperation between the two countries.

‘Friends’ movie to hit screens by 2011

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London, October 05: The cast of hit sitcom “Friends” are to be reunited once again for a movie version of the successfull series.

The six main stars have agreed to move onto the big screen following the success of the “Sex And The City” film at the box office, and word is that the “Friends” movie comes out in the summer of 2011, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Studio bosses from Warner Brothers are also prepared to pay a fortune to the stars who were being paid six figures an episode by the 10th and final season of “Friends”, which pulled in 10 million British viewers.

NSG’s India exception can weaken NPT, says non-proliferation body

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New Delhi, October 05: The exception that the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) has made for India in allowing global nuclear trade and fuel commerce with it can weaken the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), says the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND).

“There is a thinking that the India-US (civil nuclear cooperation) agreement would jeopardise the position of NPT,” Yoriko Kawaguchi, co-chair of International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament and former Japanese foreign minister, told reporters here Sunday.

Head of UN nuclear watchdog sees Iran cooperation

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Tehran, October 05: The visiting head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog set Oct. 25 as the date for his inspectors to check Iran’s newly revealed uranium enrichment site and struck an upbeat note Sunday, saying Tehran’s confrontation with the West is shifting gears to more cooperation and transparency.

Though the United Nations has no “concrete proof” of an ongoing nuclear weapons program, the chief of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said he has “concerns about Iran’s future intentions.”

Beckinsale named sexiest woman alive

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New York, October 05: British actress Kate Beckinsale has been named Esquire magazine’s Sexiest Woman Alive.

The 36-year-old actress has taken the crown from Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry, who was named last year’s sexiest lady. Beckinsale, however, insists her brothers won’t let the new title go to her head, reports accesshollywood.com.

Megan Fox was bullied for acting dreams

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London, October 05: Hollywood actress Megan Fox has revealed she was targeted by school bullies because she wanted to be an actress.

The “Tranfromers” star made her ambitions clear when she was growing up, but it didn’t go down well with her female classmates, reports fametastic.co.uk.

Madonna, Lady GaGa catfight on live TV

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London, October 05: Pop diva Madonna and English singer Lady GaGa stunned America Saturday night by staging a catfight on live TV.

The two singers performed a synchronised dance-off, dressed in matching black lingerie and knee-high boots, as part of a comedy skit on “Saturday Night Live”, which was called to a halt when Madonna started pulling GaGa’s wig and throttling her, yelling, “What the hell is a disco stick?” referring to the younger star’s hit, reports gossip.ie.

New governors named for Nagaland, Tripura

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New Delhi/Agartala, October 05: Former Delhi Police chief Nikhil Kumar has been appointed the governor of Nagaland and Kamla, former Rajasthan deputy chief minister, has been named the governor of Tripura, a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said Sunday.

Kumar will take over from Gurbachan Jagat, governor of Manipur who is holding additional charge of the governor of Nagaland, and Kamla will replace Dinesh Nandan Sahaya.

Sahaya, a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and former senior vice president of the Samata Party in Bihar, had assumed the charge in June 2003.

Mulayam’s daughter-in-law launches her political foray

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Firozabad (Uttar Pradesh) October 05: Dimple Yadav, the daughter-in-law of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, began her foray in politics with a maiden speech at a huge rally in Firozabad where she is contesting the bye-election for a parliamentary seat.

Introducing his daughter-in-law as the party candidate for the Firozabad by-poll, caused by his son Akhilesh vacating it to retain Kannauj seat, Mulayam Singh promised free water for irrigation to farmers from government tubewells.

Andhra Pradesh suspends aviation official

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Hyderabad, October 05: The Andhra Pradesh government Sunday suspended K.V. Brahmananda Reddy, managing director of state-owned Aviation Corporation Limited, allegedly for the delay in arranging a helicopter for the chief minister to undertake an aerial survey of flood-hit areas.

Though the government order cited no reason for the action, sources said the official had failed to arrange a chopper for Chief Minister K. Rosaiah on Saturday.

Big B welcomes Rakhi Sawant’s mom on ‘Bigg Boss’

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Lonavala (Maharashtra), October 05: Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan launched the third season of the reality TV show “Bigg Boss” here Sunday night and welcomed 13 participants – including item girl Rakhi Sawant’s mother Jaya.

Jaya, who used to work as nurse to bring up her kids, was quite an unexpected participant on the show considering her strained ties with daughter Rakhi, who was a part of the show in the first season in 2006.

Bodo militants gun down 11 people in Assam, 15 injured

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Guwahati, October 05: At least 11 people were killed and 15 wounded, seven of them critically, in a daring attack by tribal separatists in Assam late Sunday, officials said.

A police spokesperson said heavily armed militants of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) attacked Bhimajuli village in Sonitpur district, about 240 km north of the state’s main city of Guwahati.

India’s infant mortality crisis

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New Delhi, October 05: More than 400,000 Indian babies die every year from preventable causes within 24 hours of their birth, despite the country’s recent economic development, a new report said Monday.

India accounts for a fifth of all newborn deaths worldwide, according to the major report published by the Save the Children charity to launch a global campaign to reduce infant mortality.

Government initiatives in India to provide basic health care to all have not changed the grim reality for the nation’s babies, said Thomas Chandy, head of Save the Children in India.

Home Minister to visit flood affected Karnataka and AP

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New Delhi, October 04: As the flood situation in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh continues to be grim, Home Minister P Chidambaram will undertake an aerial survey of the two affected states for an assessment of the damaged caused by the natural disaster.

Chidamabaram, who is currently in Tamil Nadu, is also expected to hold meetings with the Chief Ministers of both states – B S Yeddyurappa (Karnataka) and K Rosaiah (Andhra Pradesh) — and other top officials in Bangalore and Hyderabad, official sources here said.

Rat holds up Air India flight to Riyadh

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Kozhikode, October 04: A rat has possibly done it, again. An Air India flight to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia was held up here Sunday, possibly due to a rat in the aircraft. But an airline official blamed the delay on a technical snag, and said a replacement flight will be made available soon.

“The rat incident has not been declared officially. But the aircraft that was to depart at 2.05 p.m. has not taken off due to a technical problem,” Air India station manager Yogesh Mundwa told IANS here.

3 towns in AP, 200 villages still under water

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Hyderabad: The flood situation in Andhra Pradesh continued to be grim on Sunday as three towns and over 200 villages in the worst-hit districts remained under water.

Though the inflows into Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers have slightly reduced, this has not ended the misery of people in Kurnool and Mahbubnagar, the two worst affected districts due to unprecedented floods over the last three days.

Risk factors of ‘smoking while pregnant’

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Washington, October 04: Children born to mothers who have smoked during pregnancy are at a greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms in the long run, a new study finds.

Previous studies had reported that smoking harms both mother and the newborn, leading to the birth of smaller babies at an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome and heart defects.

According to the study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, children of smoking mothers are more prone to developing psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations.