Month: November 2009

Mont Blanc shrinks by 45cm in two years

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France, November 05: Western Europe’s tallest peak, the snow-capped Alpine giant Mont Blanc, has shrunk by 45cm in two years, experts say following an official survey.

The new height of Mont Blanc, which lies on the three-way border between France, Italy and Switzerland, is now 4810.45m, just over half that of Nepal’s Mt Everest but still the tallest Alpine peak.

The volume of snow and ice coating the summit has also dropped by about a tenth, topographer Bernard Dupont said, adding that this could not be linked directly to the effects of climate change.

Lette to be awarded honorary doctorate

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Australia, November 05: Best-selling Australian novelist Kathy Lette is being awarded an honorary degree by an English university in recognition of her contribution to the arts and media.

Southampton Solent University will honour Lette, who shot to fame in the late 1970s with her teen novel Puberty Blues, with the honorary degree of Doctor of Arts today.

“Kathy is being recognised for her outstanding writing career,” the university said in a statement.

China assured India not to do anything to damage other nations’ interests

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Beijing, November 05: Amid reports that it was building a dam in Tibet on Brahmaputra river, China assured India that it will not do anything to damage other nations’ interests.

“China is a responsible country and will not do anything to damage the interests of others,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a bi-weekly press briefing when asked to comment on reports that China was building a dam on Yarlung Zangbu River or Brahmaputra.

Ind vs Aus 5th ODI: Aussies win by three runs

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Hyderabad, November 05: In yet another game, Aussies won fifth One day international of the seven-match series by three runs.

Putting an impressive show, Master blaster contributed 175 runs. He played a fiery innings and added 175 runs with help of 19 fours and four sixes.

—Agencies

Sri Lanka steps up mine clearance

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Colombo, November 05: The Sri Lankan government has stepped up clearing mines in former rebel-controlled areas aimed at resettling 159,000 war refugees before the end of January, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said Thursday.

He told Colombo-based diplomats that an estimated 1.5 million unexploded landmines remained in an area of 402 sq km.

Bogollagama said the government has recently imported the latest in de-mining machinery from Slovakia and Croatia and five more machines had also arrived to speed up the mine clearance.

India to supply coastal security equipment to Mauritius

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New Delhi, November 05: India and Mauritius signed an agreement for enhancing coastal security during the visit of the Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor earlier this week, when he also handed over a Dhruv helicopter to the Indian ocean island state.

Tharoor on a two-day official visit was the chief guest at the 175th anniversary celebrations of the arrival of indentured labourers from India. The Indian minister also met with the Mauritian President Anerood Juganauth, Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and held talks with Foreign Minister Arvin Boolell.

Joining Samajwadi Party was my mistake, says Nafisa Ali

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Lucknow, November 05: Social activist Nafisa Ali returned to the Congress fold and apologised to party Chief Sonia Gandhi for contesting the May Lok Sabha polls on an SP ticket from Lucknow.

The 52-year-old former Miss India told reporters that though she had contested the election as an SP nominee she had never taken its membership and now she has returned to her “family” after apologising to Gandhi.

UAE was world’s top cast iron rods importer in 2008

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Abu Dhabi, November 05: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has imported cast iron rods worth $6.77 billion in 2008, a 237 percent increase over last year and 14 times more than the global growth rate of imports, news agency reported.

Turkey was the UAE’s main source of cast iron rods in 2008, contributing 87 percent of supply. China came second at 12 percent, while the remaining one percent coming from other global sources, the foreign trade ministry said in a report Wednesday.

Swearing in of new Haryana ministers put off

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Chandigarh, November 05: The swearing-in of new ministers in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in Haryana, which was to be held Friday, has been postponed, an official said Thursday night.

The Congress, which won 40 seats in the assembly polls, has taken the support of seven Independents and a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member to get the numbers to form government.

—IANS

India denies foreign press barred from Dalai Lama’s visit

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New Delhi, November 05: The government on Thursday denied that it has restricted foreign journalists from covering the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh later this week.

To travel to Arunachal Pradesh, a protected area permit is required.

“The ministry of external affairs, the nodal agency for foreign correspondents, recommends them to the ministry of home affairs when applications are made to visit Arunachal Pradesh,” official sources said here.

Woman found murdered in Bangalore

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Bangalore, November 05: A 20-year-old woman was found murdered in her house in Yelahanka here, police said.

The deceased identified as Bhagya was stabbed in the neck and chest with a screw driver late Wednesday night, deputy commissioner of police (north-east division) Basavaraj Malagatti said.

She was married to an electrician. Police suspect the man, who is absconding, to be the murderer.

Neighbours said the couple had recently shifted to Bangalore from Mysore.

—Agencies

Pakistani cricketers set to return to Indian Premier League

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Karachi, November 05: Forced to sit out this year due to PCB’s no to their participation, Pakistani cricketers are all set to return to the Indian Premier League’s third season as the Board has decided to give them the go ahead for competing in the cash-rich Twenty20 tourney.

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt said the PCB would not object to its players taking part in the lucrative league and has conveyed this to IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi during a meeting in India.

West Bengal governor briefed on law and order status

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Kolkata, November 05: On the day Home Minister P. Chidambaram asked the West Bengal government to maintain law and order, state Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen called on Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi to brief him on the current situation.

During the half-hour meeting, the home secretary apprised the governor of the law and order scenario with special focus on the West Midnapore district belt of Lalgarh, where central paramilitary troopers and state armed forces are jointly combating the Maoists rebels.

Congress, NCP resolve Maharashtra deadlock; swearing-in Saturday

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New Delhi, November 05: The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) finally broke their deadlock over power sharing in Maharashtra Thursday, paving the way for swearing-in of the new government by the weekend – more than a fortnigt after the assembly poll results were declared.

As per the formula worked out, the Congress will get 22 ministers plus the chief minister as compared to the NCP’s 20, said NCP spokesman D.P. Tripathi in New Delhi.

Sachin Tendulkar scored 45th ODI century, crosses 17000-run mark

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Hyderabad, November 05: After completing 17,000 runs in the 50-over format of the game, Sachin Tendulkar scored his 45th ODI century off just 81 balls during the fifth One-Day International against Australia in Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad.

Earlier, Tendulkar finally touched the magical 17,000-run mark in One-Day International cricket, when he completed the formality of scoring seven runs needed to reach another milestone in his glittering career.

Sanath Jayasuriya is second on the list with 13,377 runs while Aussie captain Ricky Ponting has a lot of catching up to do.

Man shoots brother, sister-in-law’s unborn child

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Greater Noida, November 05: A man killed his brother and shot at his nine-month pregnant sister-in-law who came to rescue him, injuring her seriously and killing her unborn child in Doom Manikpur area under Badalpur police station of Greater Noida late Wednesday night, police said on Thursday.

According to police, Amit Rawal objected to the daily drinking of his younger brother, Manoj. Late Wednesday night when Manoj entered the house heavily drunk, Amit scolded him, triggering a heated argument. Manoj then took a pistol from his pocket and fired at his brother, killing him on the spot.

Nick Watney steals Tiger’s thunder in China

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Shanghai, November 05: American Nick Watney stole Tiger Woods’ thunder at the WGC-HSBC Champions on Thursday as he raced to a two shot lead, but the world Nick Watney number one is lurking dangerously three off the pace.

Watney, who qualified for the seven million dollar event by winning February’s Buick Invitational on the USPGA Tour, stormed out of the blocks with successive birdies and never looked back.

He finished with an eight-under-par 64 to tie the course record, a score he would have bettered were it not for a bogey on the last hole.

Murthy’s wife sells 2 mn Infosys shares for Rs.4.3 bn

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Bangalore, November 05: Sudha Murthy, wife of Infosys’ Technologies co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy, sold two million shares of her holding in the IT bellwether for over Rs.430 crore (Rs.4.3 billion/$91.5 million), the company said on Thursday.

In a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges, the global software major said post-sale, Sudha Murthy’s holding in the company had declined to 7,314,600 shares from 9,314,660 shares.

Three officials in line for best information officer award

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New Delhi, November 05: A government official in Dehradun, another in Mahbubnagar in Andhra Pradesh and a police official in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh have aided transparency in governance by providing complete and satisfactory information in all Right to Information (RTI) applications received by them. The three have been shortlisted for awards.

Campus Front of India to be launched on Nov. 7

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Bhopal, November 05: (Pervez Bari): The Campus Front of India, a neo-social student’s movement which aims to empower the campuses by developing a new generation of activists, will be formally launched at New Delhi on November 7.

U.N. pulls out foreign staff from Afghanistan

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Washington, November 05: The United Nations said on Thursday it would evacuate hundreds of its international staff from Afghanistan for several weeks due to deteriorating security, a sharp blow for Western efforts to stabilise the country.

Spokesman Aleem Siddique said the United Nations would relocate about 600 of its roughly 1,100 international staff, with some being moved to safer sites within Afghanistan and the rest withdrawn from the country temporarily.

Arunachal an integral part of India: Dorjee Khandu

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Itanagar, November 05: Majority of people in Arunachal Pradesh speak Hindi which proves that the border state is an integral part of India, Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu told the state assembly today. “Most Arunachalees speak Hindi fluently and Arunachal is one of the Hindi speaking states in the country.

Woman, three others arrested for robbery

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New Delhi, November 05: With the arrest of four people, including a woman and recovery of jewellery, police today claimed to have solved a robbery case in the national capital. Police arrested Vinneta Bhardwaj, her associates — Farman Malik alias Suhail Malik, Nazim and Imran — for allegedly stealing Rs 35,000 in cash, gold jewellery worth rupees three lakh and two property documents from the house of Rajeshwar Singh in Rohini locality.

TRS not to contest Hyderabad civic body polls

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Hyderabad, November 05: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) would not contest the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections scheduled to be held on November 23.

“That (GHMC) is third class subject for us. Our main focus is building up the movement for achieving separate Telangana,” TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao told reporters here today.

The last date for filing nominations is November 6. The papers would be scrutinised on November 7 and the last date for withdrawal is November 10.

TRS not to contest Hyderabad civic body polls

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Hyderabad, November 05: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) would not contest the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections scheduled to be held on November 23.

“That (GHMC) is third class subject for us. Our main focus is building up the movement for achieving separate Telangana,” TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao told reporters here today.

The last date for filing nominations is November 6. The papers would be scrutinised on November 7 and the last date for withdrawal is November 10.