Month: November 2009

Afghan ministry: NATO strike kills Afghan soldiers

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Kabul, November 07: Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that a NATO airstrike in the western province of Badghis the previous day mistakenly hit a joint base housing coalition troops and Afghan security forces, killing four Afghan soldiers and three policemen.

NATO said it and Afghan authorities were investigating whether an alliance airstrike during an operation Friday to rescue two missing American paratroopers had caused casualties. It said it could not confirm whether the base had been hit.

Five US soldiers hurt in search operation

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Washington, November 07: Five US soldiers were wounded during a search operation for two American troops who went missing in Afghanistan, a spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

The five are believed to have been among more than 25 ISAF and Afghan troops injured by what a military official said anonymously was friendly fire.

However, ISAF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Todd Vician, of the US Air Force, said: “We have nothing to confirm friendly fire”.

Eleven dead in Russian military plane crash

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Russia, November 07: A Russian military plane crashed into the sea during a training exercise in Russia’s Far East region, leaving all eleven crew members missing and presumed dead, officials said.

The Tupolev Tu-142 plane disappeared from radar as it was coming to the end of a training mission Friday over the Tatarski Strait that divides Russia’s Far East island of Sakhalin from the mainland, the defence ministry said.

Mitterrand’s son convicted in Angola arms trade trial

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Africa, November 07: Disgraced by a criminal conviction in a trial centred on arms sales to Angola when it was at war, the son of former French President Francois Mitterrand still sees a future for himself doing business in Africa.

Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, who as his late father’s Africa adviser was once at the heart of influential networks, was last week handed a two-year suspended jail sentence and fined 375,000 euros ($557,900) for his role in the “Angolagate” case.

US grieves after massacre

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Washington, November 07: US President Barack Obama led his nation in mourning on Saturday as shocked Americans struggled to understand why a Muslim army doctor killed 13 in a massacre at a US military base.

Alleged shooter Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a psychiatrist and specialist in combat stress who had been about to deploy to Afghanistan against his wishes, also wounded 30 people in Thursday’s rampage.

Saudi man beheaded for murder

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Jeddah, November 07: A Saudi man was beheaded by the sword in the western region of Mecca after being convicted of murdering a compatriot, the interior ministry said.

Hasan bin Ahmed al-Qarni was found guilty of running over Mohammed bin Hasan bin Ali al-Qarni with his car and then shooting him several times with a pistol over a land dispute, the ministry said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency.

The beheading took to 60 the number of executions in Saudi Arabia this year. Last year, Saudi Arabia put 102 people to death.

Two killed in Agra accident

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Agra, November 07: Two men were killed and another critically injured when a speeding milk tanker hit their scooter here Saturday, police said.
The accident occurred in the morning near the TDI Mall, close to the Taj Mahal, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Haider and Shah Rukh, while the third man on the scooter Munnu was rushed to the hospital, where his condition was stated to be critical, police added.

A bystander was also injured in the accident, but was discharged from the hospital after treatment, police said.

Three arrested for beating two Naga students

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New Delhi, November 07: After Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit personally intervened in the matter, three people have been arrested by Delhi Police for allegedly beating two Naga students in the Kotla Mubarakpur area.

An official statement from the chief minister’s office said Saturday: “Delhi chief minister’s office has been informed that the Delhi Police has arrested three youths in connection with beating of two Naga students on Nov 5, 2009.”

Rural micro insurance scheme launched

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New Delhi, November 07: The government Saturday launched a micro insurance drive in Tamil Nadu aimed at expanding the Rural Postal Life Insurance (PLI) network.

Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja launched the scheme in Sholur Mattam, Coimbatore.

The Rural PLI was introduced by the Department of Posts in 1995 with a specific aim of covering people living in rural areas. Till March, 2009, there were around 4 million PLI policies and around 7.8 million Rural PLI policies.

Karan Singh honoured by New York varsity

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New York, November 07: Karan Singh, president, Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), was conferred with an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters by the State University of New York here Saturday.

“As an internationally respected humanitarian and one of the most learned individuals of modern times, you have a lasting impact on philosophy, culture, education and the environment in India and abroad,” the university said in its citation.

Al Qaeda videos recovered from LeT operative’s house in US

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Washington, November 07: A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) plot to launch new terror attacks in India with the help of two Pakistan-born Chicago men has taken a new turn with FBI agents recovering two inflammatory Al Qaeda videos from the house of one of them.

The videos recovered from the house of Pakistan-born Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who was arrested last month along with the other accused David Coleman Headley, a Pakistan-born American national, contain speeches by Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders.

British PM revives global tax idea at G20 meet

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London, November 07: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Saturday resurrected the idea of the international community imposing a global tax on banks as a repayment for the billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money they have received from governments.

The idea is said to mimic the so-called “Tobin tax” – a 0.1 percent tax on all international currency transactions proposed by the economist James Tobin in the 1970s in order to fund global development.

Amend Right to Education Act: NGO

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New Delhi, November 07: Starting this Children’s Day Nov 14, child rights NGO CRY will start a nationwide campaign asking the government to amend the Right to Education Act 2009.

Listing out a three-point agenda, members of the NGO said that amendment in the act is necessary in order to make education accessible to all.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, in the present form, talks about compulsory education to children in the age group of six to 14.

49 percent turnout in ‘peaceful’ Uttar Pradesh by-poll

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Lucknow, November 07: About 49 percent of the 4.9 million electors in Saturday’s by-elections in Uttar Pradesh turned out to cast their vote in 11 state assembly and one parliamentary constituency.

Even as the state’s chief electoral officer Umesh Sinha described the poll as “peaceful and incident free”, a death was reported from a village in Firozabad parliamentary constituency.

Three swine flu deaths take India’s toll to 484

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New Delhi, November 07: Three swine flu deaths, including two in Kerala, were reported Saturday, taking the toll due to Influenza A (H1N1) virus in India to 484, health authorities said here.

At least 66 new cases were reported in the country, taking the total number of people affected with the flu to 14,406.

Of the fresh cases reported, 18 were from the national capital. With these, the total number of people affected with the flu have gone up to 3,592 – the second highest in the country.

Former CPI-M legislator shot in West Bengal

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Kolkata, November 07: Former Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) legislator Subhas Soren was shot by unidentified men in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district Saturday evening, police said, amid speculation that the assailants may be Maoists.

The incident occurred at Gopiballavpur in West Midnapore district, wracked by Maoist violence. Soren, who represented Nayagram constituency, was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, police said.

Soren is a member of the CPI-M’s West Midnapore district committee.

—IANS

Food prices to decline after winter crop: Sharad Pawar

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Bangalore, November 07: Food prices will decline after the rabi crop as production of wheat, rice, pulses, oil seeds and sugarcane during the winter is expected to be higher than in the drought-hit kharif season, union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said Saturday.

“Cultivation of foodgrains and other essential commodities like pulses in the rabi season is expected to be good, leading to reduction in food prices early next year,” Pawar told reporters on the margins of a function here.

“Shortage of sugar and pulses is a temporary phase due to lower production in kharif season.”

More than 100 arrested at Tehran opposition rally

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Tehran, November 07: More than 100 people have been arrested on charges of “disturbing the public order” during a demonstration earlier this week in Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported Saturday.

Ignoring warnings from security officials, thousands of opposition supporters gathered on the streets of Tehran to protest the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday. The protest took place at the same time as annual state-organised, anti-US rallies were underway.

Lahiri maintains lead at BILT Open

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Noida, November 07: Anirban Lahiri was five strokes ahead when play was suspended due to bad light on day three of the BILT Open 2009 golf tournament in Greater Noida near here Saturday.

Only seven professionals out of 52 could complete round three as play began six hours behind schedule due to bad light and poor visibility caused by the haze that had enveloped the National Capital Region during the first half of the day.

10 arrested for killing police chief in Mexico

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Mexico City, November 07: Ten people have been arrested for killing a police chief in northern Mexico, officials said.

Arturo Esparza Garcia and his four bodyguards were killed Wednesday in Garcia town when they rushed to the house of Mayor Jaime Rodriguez Calderon to protect him from gunmen who barged into his house.

Calderon said about 30 gunmen came to his house to force him into cooperating with organised crime. The gunmen opened fire at the police team when they reached Calderon’s house.

‘Cows’, ‘sheep’, ‘pigs’ lie in coffins to protest animal slaughter

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Agra, November 07: Dressed as dead cows, sheep and pigs, volunteers of the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India lay on the ground in a row of open coffins in front of a leather footwear fair here Saturday. A banner reading “Leather Is Murder” was laid across the coffins.

Other PETA members held up large pictures of animals slaughtered for their skin and a funeral wreath was placed on each of the open coffins in front of the Leather Footwear Components & Technology Fair.

Mumbai children’s film fest starts with ‘Smile Pinki’

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Mumbai, November 07: The 1st Mumbai International Children’s Film Festival (MICFF) began here Saturday with a special screening of Megan Mylan’s Oscar winning documentary “Smile Pinki”.

“I am one of the jury members of MICFF and it is wonderful to see my film getting screened as well,” Megan told IANS.

The special screening of “Smile Pinki” was attended by 350 students.

Another film “Aansoo Bane Moti” which has been made by the children of Pali Chimbai Municipal School and Santa Cruz School where writer Amol Gupte teaches will also be screened at the festival.

Yeddyurappa sheds tears at fate, dissidents firm on his sack

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New Delhi, November 07: Left with little option but to bow to dissident’s demands to save his chair, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa Saturday shed tears publicly but the rebels stood firm on his removal.

In a rare spectacle in Indian politics, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) first chief minister in south India did not try to conceal his helplessness as he told a TV channel in New Delhi that under pressure from the dissidents, he had let down people who trusted him.

Somdev in Charlottesville challenger semis; Sanam bows out

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Charlottesville, November 07: India’s No.1 Somdev Devvarman stormed into the semifinals while compatriot Sanam Singh went down fighting in the $50,000 Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) challenger.

Third-seeded Somdev Friday swept aside Matwe Middelkoop from the Netherlands 6-3, 6-4 to set up a meeting with fifth-seeded American Ryan Sweetings, who took out top seed Michael Russell 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(1) in the quarterfinals.

Sanam, a University of Virginia sophomore, lost to second-seeded American Kevin Kim 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-7(5) in the quarterfinals.

—IANS

Bayern Munich need a football philosophy: Lahm

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Munich, November 07: Bayern Munich are lagging behind the European football giants because they don’t have a football philosophy, their Germany defender Philipp Lahm has said.

The wing back Lahm, 25, told Saturday’s edition of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) daily that the Bundesliga club must decide on a tactical scheme and then hire the players who fit this system.

“If you want to measure yourself with Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United you as Bayern need a philosophy. That must be the aim of the club,” Lahm told the SZ.