Month: November 2009

Militants kill former colleague-turned-BSF trooper in J&K

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Srinagar, November 08: A group of militants early Sunday shot dead their former colleague who had joined the Border Security Force (BSF) as well as his wife in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The militants barged into the house of Mohammad Arif, a trooper in BSF, in Kandi Bakori village in Rajouri, about 200 km north-west of Jammu.

They fired indiscriminately killing 38-year-old Arif and his 30-year-old wife Malika Khatoon while their eight-year-old son Abraham got bullet injury in the leg, a police officer said.

Kumar Sangakkara targets ‘last frontier’

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Colombo, November 08: The Sri Lankan cricket team arrived in Mumbai on Saturday afternoon with the captain Kumar Sangakkara promising their best in an attempt to conquer “the last frontier”.

Sri Lanka have yet to win a Test in India in 14 attempts but Sangakkara backed them to break a winless, 27-year streak.

“We know we are good enough to win and match India if we really wanted to, ” he told Cricinfo before departing from Colombo. “We’ve just got to be tough as possibly as we can both mentally and physically if we are going to do well.

To defang Taliban, some look to private schools

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Qutbal, November 08: The schoolhouse is so tiny that dozens of pupils have to sit outdoors. They’re lucky if their teachers have more than a basic education. And the chanting of math equations and Quranic verses gets so loud that the children have a hard time hearing themselves.

Yet the pupils love the Islamia Model School, one of thousands of private schools popping up in Pakistan. Unlike at area public schools, Islamia’s seven teachers show up regularly to work. Unlike at religious schools, its curriculum extends well beyond Islam.

Karkare wanted to quit Indian Police Service: Wife

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Mumbai, November 08: Slain Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare was toying with the idea of quitting his high-profile job in the Indian Police Service and join some multi-national firm to experiment with new ideas, his wife Kavita Karkare has revealed.

“He was planning to quit the police force and join some multinational company as he wanted to experiment with new jobs but his dream remained unfulfilled,” Kavita said wistfully, wondering if life would have unfolded any differently for her had Karkare shed his Khaki before the 26/11 tragedy.

Japan: More time needed for new US deal

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Tokyo, November 08: As US President Barack Obama is due to visit Japan this week, Tokyo says that a new agreement on a 2006 military deal cannot be reached anytime soon.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Sunday the issue cannot be expected to be finalized during Obama’s visit, adding it needs more time to be resolved.

Obama is scheduled to meet with Japanese new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as he will arrive in the Asian country on Friday.

‘Obama agrees to recognize Palestine’s statehood’

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Washington, November 08: US President Barack Obama in a secret meeting with Palestinian officials has agreed to recognize Palestine’s statehood, Israeli media outlets report.

The Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has reached a secret understanding with the Obama administration over US recognition of an independent Palestinian state, Israeli news website, Haaretz, reported in Sunday.

Tel Aviv is concerned about the possibility of a unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence within the 1967 borders.

Yemen’s president: War has just started

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Sanaa, November 08: Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh declares that the government will step up military attacks on the positions of Houthi fighters.

In a speech on Saturday, Saleh said there will be no reconciliation or truce until the military uproots Shia Houthis from the northern Sadaa province.

“The war just started two days ago, and what has been happening in the past six years was just … training for the army units,” he said.

“The war will never stop no matter how much money or martyrs it costs,” AP quoted Saleh as saying.

Dark chocolate prevents wrinkles, skin cancer

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London, November 08: A new study suggests that chemicals in dark chocolate could help prevent wrinkles and skin cancer caused by sunlight exposure.

Researchers at the European Dermatology London, a privately held Harley Street skin clinic, say that dark chocolate could protect the skin from ageing effects of UV light in sunlight.

The study, published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, says the most likely mechanisms which protect the skin are the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of the flavanols.

I want an Oscar, says Zoya Akhtar

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New Delhi, November 08: She may just be a film old but that is not stopping ‘Luck By Chance’ director Zoya Akhtar from aiming for the stars as she aspires to bring home none other than the most coveted trophy in world cinema, the Oscar.

Zoya, who portrayed a darker side of Bollywood in her directorial debut is now being touted as one of the directors paving the way for the new wave in Hindi cinema.

However, the film-maker believes that she has a long way to go and many dreams to capture, one of which is to win the Oscar.

India worried over rise of terror in Pak,Afghan: PM

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New Delhi, November 08: Worried over the rise in terror incidents in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked the global community to extend sustained cooperation for dealing with the menace for ensuring stability in the region.

“We are very worried about the rise of terrorism in our neighbourhood, particularly what is going on in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. We have a vital stake in peace, progress and stability of these countries and other countries of South Asia,” Singh said while inaugurating the India Economic Summit here.

Situation under total control

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Jazan, November 08: The Kingdom is fully capable of defending its land, securing its borders and repelling intruders, said a high-ranking Saudi official during a visit to the border zone where Yemeni rebels attacked Saudi Border Guards on Tuesday.

“It is our duty to deal with this rash and irresponsible action and put an end to this tragedy,” said Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation Prince Khaled bin Sultan while addressing members of the armed forces and special security forces in Al-Khoba. The situation is under total control, he added.

SRK will shoot for Fauji sequel

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Mumbai, Novemebr 08: There has been a lot of talk about Shah Rukh Khan’s company Red Chilies Idiot Box Entertainment buying the rights for a sequel to Fauji, a TV serial that the actor had worked in about two decades ago.

SRK, it was assumed, might not be a part of the show. But he admits that he will be shooting for a few initial scenes of the show.

” I will shoot for a few scenes in the show,” says SRK, who is easily the biggest star who made it to movies from TV. But he adds that his presence would be limited in the show as his character would be of a dead man.

Injured Casey pulls out of PGA Shanghai, Hong Kong

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Shanghai, November 08: World number four Paul Casey pulled out of the WGC-HSBC Champions on Sunday and will also miss next week’s Hong Kong Open after a recurrence of a torn rib muscle.

The Englishman, who only returned after an 11-week absence at the World MatchPlay Championship last weekend, will fly straight to the United States to see a specialist.

“He’s going to get back and see a specialist he’s been working with, go get it scanned, have a look and see,” said his manager Guy Kinnings.

Mallika has a filmy tryst with US polls

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Mumbai, November 08: Mallika Sherawat is all set for a tryst with the United States elections and President Barack Obama. The experience, however, will be restricted to the big screen only.

The sultry diva will star in Doug McHenry’s romantic comedy, Love, Barack . The film tracks the romance between a Democrat campaign volunteer and her Republican counterpart in the run- up to last year’s Presidential election in the US. Mallika confirms the development on her Twitter account.

Her character, Aretha Gupta, is inspired by Kamala Harris, the attorney general of San Francisco.

PM condoles Gopi Arora’s death

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New Delhi, November 08: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday condoled the death of former civil servant Gopi Arora, a close aide of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Arora, who died Thursday, was from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and wielded enormous influence in the 1980s. He was finance secretary in 1989-90, serving the Indian government for over 35 years.

Broad to sit out of warm-up matches

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Bangalore, November 08: Stuart Broad aggravated an injury on his right shoulder that he picked up in England’s opening tour match against the Diamond Eagles during fielding practice.

He has, however, suffered no major damage, but will sit out of England’s remaining two warm-up matches ahead of the limited-overs series against South Africa, the ECB has confirmed.

An ECB statement said that England’s medical staff will continue to assess the knock.

Obama may send 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan

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Washington, November 08: As the Afghan war is stretching into its ninth year, a new report says President Barack Obama would send 34,000 more US troops to the war-ravaged country next year.

Administration and military officials told the McClatchy newspaper that President Obama may not announce the surge until after he consults with key allies and completes a trip to Asia later this month.

Agra university students forcibly close colleges

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Agra, November 08: Hundreds of students of the Dr. B.R.Ambedkar University took to the streets on Saturday afternoon forcibly closing down all colleges, to protest the assault on students, including on girls, on Friday by varsity employees.

The agitating students want assistant registrar Balaji Yadav sacked for allegedly instigating the employees to beat up the students, who had come to demand redressal of their grievances.

Iran covered up rape of detainees: Rights group

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Tehran, November 08: Claims that detainees were raped by their jailers first emerged in August, deeply embarrassing Iran’s clerical leadership in the midst of a crackdown on protesters who accused authorities of rigging President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s June 12 re-election.

An international human rights group said Friday it has documented three cases of sexual assault against detainees arrested during Iran’s postelection turmoil, including one that was supported by an official report but not investigated further.

Koda to be questioned by IT officials in Ranchi

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Ranchi, November 08: Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who has been discharged from a city hospital, will be questioned by the Income Tax Department at his residence here in connection with the Rs 2,000 crore hawala transaction case.

IT sources said officials from the department will question Koda at his residence.

The sources said the Enforcement Directorate has been communicated about the IT department’s move to question Koda and that they would be closely following the questioning.

Safin set for final farewell in Paris

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Paris, November 08: Tennis will bid farewell to one of the greatest stars of the game’s recent history this week when Russian former world number one Marat Safin takes his final bow at the ATP Paris Masters.

The 29-year-old has decided to call time on a glittering career in which he won the 2000 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open while inspiring his country to Davis Cup glory in 2002 and 2006.

Unity govt deal reached in Lebanon

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Beirut, November 08: Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri will announce a new national unity government to include Hezbollah in the next few days, politicians said on Saturday.

Lebanon has been without a functioning government since Hariri led his coalition to victory in a June parliamentary election against Hezbollah and its allies.

Politicians from both sides said Hariri had now clinched a deal with the opposition on the new government’s makeup.

‘Stop seeking compromise with Israel’

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Damascus, November 08: Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to stop seeking compromise with Israel but has offered him an olive branch, saying Palestinians must end their divisions.

Sounding conciliatory after raising the political ante against Abbas following his call for national elections last month, Meshaal said Hamas “stretches its hand” to Abbas’s Fatah faction to end divisions between the two sides undermining the Palestinian cause.

Australia bowl out India for 170

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Guwahati, November 08: Opting to bat, India were bowled out for a paltry 170 in the crucial sixth one-dayer against Australia at the Nehru stadium here today.

Australia lead the seven-match series 3-2.

Brief Score:

India: 170 all out in 48 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 57, Praveen Kumar 54 not out; Doug Bollinger 5/35, Mitchell Johnson 3/39, Shane Watson 2/27 ).
–PTI

PA forces arrest 9 Hamas members

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Ramallah, November 08: The Hamas movement on Saturday said that security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas arrested 9 of its members and supporters in West Bank.

Hamas said in a press statement that the detainees included university students, teachers, head of an Islamic charitable association and Hamas’ prisoners recently released from Palestinian Authority jails.

The movement added that the detentions were made in the governorates of Hebron, Toubas, Salfeet and Qalqilyah which are controlled by Abbas’ Fatah movement; Hamas’s bitter rival.