Month: October 2009

Can’t deny what Clinton said was true: Pakistani media

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Islamabad, October 31: An editorial in a leading English daily Saturday maintained that much of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s harsh words on Pakistan’s lack of seriousness in tackling the Al Qaida were true and that Islamabad should be honest enough to accept this.

Another editorial in the same vein said the “circumstantial evidence” of Al Qaida’s presence in Pakistan was “unending”.

“If we are honest, we cannot deny that much of what she said was true,” The News said in an editorial headlined “Clinton’s call”.

We are in no rush to get married: Saif-Kareena

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New Delhi, October 31: Bollywood superstars Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor have no plans to get married soon as they believe that this might impact their career.

The Bollywood stars, who are constantly surrounded by wedding rumours since they started dating two-years ago, said that they are happy to be in love and would like to focus on their career and relationship at this point of time.

“We have not really addressed that issue (marriage).

We can beat Aussies at their home: Malik

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Karachi, October 31: Prolific batsman Shoaib Malik said that world champions Australia are no longer invincible after the retirement of “great players” so Pakistan can beat them in their own den in the upcoming Test series.

“I am quiet confident we can beat them because there is no doubt Australia have become weakened after the retirements of great players like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer

ICC all for high scoring one-dayers and T20s

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Karachi, October 31: The International Cricket Council has asked all its member nations to prepare sporting pitches for the one-dayer and Twenty20 internationals probably in the wake of low-scoring matches played in the Champions Trophy and Champions League T20 tournaments recently.

A senior official of the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed that they had also received the letter sent out by the ICC.

AMU students asked to vacate hostels by Sunday

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Aligarh, October 31: Aligarh Muslim University has asked its students to vacate hostels by tomorrow evening, after the varsity was closed indefinitely in the wake of ongoing agitation by students over the death of a colleague.

The university was closed yesterday with immediate effect till further orders.

“We have to resort to such an extreme step of ordering closure of the university since negotiations with the students has not yielded any result,” vice-chancellor P K Abdul Azis said last night.

Direction? Some day but not now, says Kareena

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New Delhi, October 31: She has a legacy of cinema behind her, takes interest in different aspects of filmmaking and might one day go behind the camera like her grandfather and father. But right now Kareena Kapoor says she is happy being an actress.

“I like to know who is going to be the director of photography of my film. How am I going to look. Mostly what happens is when a script is narrated to you, it doesn’t turn out to be the same on screen. So an actor has to know all this,” Kareena said at the HT Leadership Summit in the capital Saturday.

US calls on Iran to release American hikers

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Washington, October 31: The US called on Iran Friday to immediately release three Americans who were arrested in July after they wandered into Iran while hiking in Iraq.

Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal should be released under an international agreement because they have been held for more than 90 days without charges or legal representation, a US State Department spokeswoman said.

“We urge the Iranians to release these three Americans without further delay,” she said.

13 dead in China road accident

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Taiyuan, October 31: At least 13 people were killed and 41 injured in a road accident in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi, Xinhua reported Saturday.

The accident occurred at 3.50 p.m. (local time) Friday, when a bus with 54 people on board was on its way from Hebei province to Taiyuan, the capital city of Shanxi, plunged into a valley while negotiating a curve on a mountainous road in Yangquan city.

Ten passengers were killed on the spot, while three others died on their way to hospital.

World is much better off without Saddam: Bush

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New Delhi, October 31: Defending the war on Iraq that created much hostility against the US in the Muslim world, former US president George W. Bush Saturday said the world was “much better off without Saddam Hussein” and asked Muslims not to allow terrorists to hijack their religion.

“The world is much better off without Saddam Hussein. There is no question about that. Hussein was a threat to the US,” Bush said here at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

Is the Taliban winning in Pakistan?

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Peshawar, October 31: For Rubina Ajmal, life has come to a standstill since Wednesday’s car bombing that targeted women buying clothes, bangles and cosmetics in a crowded market in Pakistan’s north-western city of Peshawar, killing more than 100 people.

Expecting few women to leave the relative safety of their homes in the coming days and weeks, Rubina, 35, has decided to shut down her small beauty salon – her only way of making a living since her husband died in a traffic accident three years ago.

‘Frida’ moustache just doesn’t go away, rues Salma

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London, October 31: Mexican actress Salma Hayek regrets the moustache she grew to play Frida Kahlo in the film “Frida” because now she has to keep waxing her top lip.

Hayek feared she wouldn’t be able to pull off the artist’s look if she faked a hairy top lip, so she started shaving her face in a bid to have the bristles grow back thicker and darker. And now she can’t keep them away, reported imdb.com

“Now I’m all messed up, because in real life, I have a moustache if I don’t wax,” she said.
–IANS

New girl in Chris Brown’s life?

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London, October 31: Rapper Chris Brown seems to have moved on after splitting from ex-girlfriend Rihanna. The singer has been spotted romancing reality TV star Natalie Nunn.

Despite professing his love for Rihanna in recent Internet posts and interviews, Brown has accepted he won’t be reconciling with her anytime soon. A court order demands he stays at least 100 yards away from the R&B star who he had beaten up after a violent row in February.

And now he has a new love interest in Nunn, reported femalefirst.co.uk.

Yadav seeks reinstatement as Andhra police chief

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Hyderabad, October 31: Andhra Pradesh’s controversial police officer S.S.P. Yadav has moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) seeking his reinstatement as state police chief.

A few days after being removed as the director general of police (DGP), the senior officer moved CAT Friday, challenging the appointment of R.R. Girish Kumar as the head of police force saying the state government showed undue favour.

India isolating itself globally on Pakistan: editorial

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Islamabad, October 31: India is isolating itself globally on Pakistan by insisting that Islamabad first eliminate its terror infrastructure before peace talks can resume, an editorial in a leading English daily said Saturday in reference to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remarks on the issue.

“India should realise that it is isolating itself globally by putting the condition of removing terrorism on Pakistan before it begins talking,” Daily Times said in an editorial headlined “Mr. Singh’s hidden ‘precondition’.”

India remembers Indira on 25th death anniversary

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New Delhi, October 31: Indians Saturday flocked to Shakti Sthal to pay homage to former prime minister Indira Gandhi on her 25th death anniversary Saturday. Known as ‘Iron Lady’, she ruled the country for 15 years in two stints before being assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the slain leader’s daughter-in-law, were amongst the first to pay tribute at her memorial on the banks of the Yamuna river.

An all-religion prayer was also organised on the occasion.

Nuclear deal is India’s passport to the world: Bush

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New Delhi: Former US president George W. Bush, who played an instrumental role in the signing of the India-US nuclear deal, Saturday said the pact was New Delhi’s “passport to the world”.

Calling the accord “historic”, Bush said at the HT Leadership Summit here that it would provide India an opportunity to get energy without making pollution.

“(By signing the deal) the US recognised India’s nuclear weapon’s programme. It is India’s passport to the world,” said Bush.

Virbhadra begins campaign in Himachal’s Jawali seat

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Shimla, October 31: Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh Saturday started the Congress party’s election campaign in Himachal Pradesh’s Jawali constituency, ahead of the by-elections next week.

The former chief minister had been in Rohru, the other constituency where by-elections will be held Nov 7.

Virbhadra Singh, who has been chief minister five times, said the party was in a comfortable position on both the seats.

Ind vs Aus 3rd ODI: It is advantage India

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New Delhi, October 31: Buoyed by the thumping victory at Nagpur, a confident India will have advantage in the third ODI against Australia at Ferozshah Kotla.

Dhoni brigade is looking to exploit the slow and low track of Kotla against Australia in a day-night encounter of seven-match ODI series.

Both teams will try to take a lead in the series here at Kotla ground. World Champions have been trying to sort out the loopholes in the bowling department.

Ricky Ponting said that team will bounce back in Delhi. He asked teammates to fire with full potential here today.

Yadav seeks reinstatement as Andhra police chief

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Hyderabad, October 31: Andhra Pradesh’s controversial police officer S.S.P. Yadav has moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) seeking his reinstatement as state police chief.

A few days after being removed as the director general of police (DGP), the senior officer moved CAT Friday, challenging the appointment of R.R. Girish Kumar as the head of police force saying the state government showed undue favour.

Rukhsana’s house attacked in Jammu and Kashmir

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Jammu, October 31: Jammu and Kashmir’s teen braveheart Rukhsana, who had killed a top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander last month and grabbed national headlines for her show of courage, came under attack again when terrorists fired grenades at her village home. Luckily, no one was present inside the house at the time.

Police said the incident took place late Friday in Kalsi village of Rajouri district, about 180 km from here.

No takers for crypt above Marilyn Monroe

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London, October 31: A second auction of the marble mausoleum crypt above Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe has failed to attract any bids.
A previous $4.6 million (22.8 million pounds) bid for the space fell through in August when Elsie Poncher first attempted to sell off her late husband’s crypt.

The new eBay.com auction required a 1-5 percent refundable deposit to be able to bid.

Jaipur Indian Oil depot blaze continues to rage

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Jaipur, October 31: The massive fire at an Indian Oil depot here that has killed five people and injured 150 continued to rage for the third consecutive day Saturday. Officials are still waiting for the fuel stock to burn out and the blaze to die out, inviting criticism from residents.

“We have taken steps to see that the fire does not spread much…nothing much can be done except wait for the fire to extinguish on its own,” a district official said.

He said the fire should be controlled in the next 24-36 hours.

Withdraw sanctions, release patriots: Cuban envoy tells US

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Agartala, October 31: Cuban Ambassador to India Miguel Angel Ramirez Ramos has urged the US to withdraw the embargo on Cuba and release five of its citizens, who have been in American jail for the past 11 years.

“My country has lost more than $92 billion in trade and commerce since the embargo started in the early 1960s,” Ramos said while addressing a seminar here Friday night on 50 years of Cuban revolution.

Jeev fails to make semis despite late fightback

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Casares, October 31: A back-nine fightback by Jeev Milkha Singh fell just a bit short and he missed making the semi-finals of the Volvo World Match Play championships on Friday.

Jeev, who at one stage fell four holes behind Ross Fisher after 10 holes, narrowed the gap down to just two with two holes to go. A missed putt on 17th ended his hopes despite the birdie which further reduced the gap to just one.

Fisher’s one hole win earned him a second victory and with four points he topped the pool and moved into last four.