Jeddah, November 29: The death toll from the heaviest rainfall to hit Saudi Arabia in years rose to 98 on Saturday as more bodies were recovered, with dozens more expected to be found, a rescue services spokesman said.
The victims were drowned or were killed by collapsing bridges and in car crashes when floodwaters caused by the torrential rainfall ripped through the Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Wednesday.
Jeddah, November 29: Operations have been going on round the clock to clear the Harmain Expressway in east Jeddah of hundreds of mangled vehicles destroyed in the Wednesday’s devastating flash floods in which at least 106 people drowned.
The section of the expressway next to King Abdulaziz University was one of the worst affected areas when the floodwaters swept across from higher grounds to the east. By mid-afternoon Saturday, operators from Saudi Crane Services said that they had removed 700 vehicles from one stretch of the expressway.
Washington, November 29: Barack Obama is set to make the boldest strategic move of his presidency on Tuesday and order a surge of tens of thousands more US troops into an increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan.
In front of cadets at the prestigious West Point military academy, Obama is expected to announce between 30,000 and 35,000 reinforcements as part of a new Afghan strategy intended in his own words to “finish the job” there.
New Delhi, November 29:Chilly winds swept through the national capital Saturday with the lowest temperature of the season – 7.9 degrees – being recorded here.
“The minimum temperature recorded today (Saturday) was 7.9 degrees Celsius, two degrees below average. The maximum temperature was 25 degrees Celsius,” a met official told IANS.
The previous seasonal low of 8.6 degrees Celsius was recorded Nov 21.
“This is the lowest temperature recorded in November since 2006, when the temperature had dipped to 7 degrees Celsius,” the official said.
Munich,November 29:Searches on the Yahoo engine should soon deliver more results, thanks in part to new filter functions, reports the company.
Those new filters could allow a searcher, for example, to limit results to those found on major websites like Amazon or Wikipedia. The company also reports that its filter allows searches by related terms.
The engine’s search methods have also been upgraded, reports Yahoo. It now analyses the search habit of users over a certain period of time to come up with logical connections between past and present searches.
Bangalore, November 29: GE Healthcare, the $17-billion unit of General Electric, has initiated a project to provide IT solutions to Indian hospitals for affordable treatment.
The $1.5-billion GE Healthcare’s IT business has tied up with the Delhi-based Diwan Chand Aggarwal (DCA) imaging research centre for a pilot project to develop solutions that integrate the various functions of hospitals to deliver quality healthcare.
Tehran, November 29: Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani warns world powers not to force Tehran into scaling down its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“If you keep up this ludicrous carrot and stick policy, Iran will make ‘new arrangements’ in its interaction with the Agency,” Larijani said in a parliamentary address on Sunday.
Spain, November 29: With just days left for the Copenhagen climate change summit, India and 52 other members of the Commonwealth today sought the “strongest possible” outcome of the crucial meet with a legally binding agreement and backed a multi-billion-dollar plan to help developing nations tackle the grave challenge.
New Delhi, November 29: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has donned a new avataar which would probably make him more popular.
Omar who is part of India’s young breed of dynamic politicians and is an icon in his own right has just added another feather to his cap by becoming GQ magazine’s new cover boy.
Abdullah who became Jammu and Kashmir youngest chief minister at the age of 29 is also known for his sense of style and seemed the perfect choice for the cover of GQ particularly since he’s a fan of the magazine as well.
Bhopal, November 29:An Anti-Terrorist Squad constable, involved in tracking members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), was killed along with two others by a motorcycle-borne youth Saturday night. Police suspect the killer to be a SIMI activist. Six people have been arrested in connection with the killings, police said Sunday.
The police have recovered the motorbike used by the assailant.
Toronto,November 29:During his recent visit to the Sikhs’ holiest shrine, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper could not believe that the Golden Temple was all covered with real gold.
Harper was so struck by the sight of the resplendent Sikh temple that he asked someone in his entourage whether it was all real gold.
Patna, November 29: They have always been ‘criminal-catchers’. But now, Bihar’s policemen are turning expert matchmakers as well.
The state’s crime graph may have witnessed a sharp decline in recent times – as claimed by none other than Chief Minister Nitish Kumar – but that has not taken the load off the police.
In fact, they are often busy with another equally challenging responsibility – help lovers torn apart by family opposition get married.
Dubai, November 29: Saudi Arabia said on Saturday it had taken control of a strategic mountain on the Saudi side of the border with Yemen, clearing the area of Yemeni Shia rebels.
“The Saudi forces have taken control of Jabal (Mount) al-Dood … These men have cleared this area,” Defense and Aviation Assistant Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan told al-Ekhbariya Television, describing the peak as strategically important.
He was shown speaking at what appeared to be an area near the frontline, and sounds of artillery fire could be heard.
Spain, November 29: India and Canada today concluded negotiations on a civil nuclear cooperation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper describing the development as a “milestone” opening up “tremendous opportunity” for the two countries.
The negotiations were firmed up at a meeting between Singh and Harper here on the sidelines of Commonwealth Summit.
London, November 29:Britain would host a conference on Afghanistan Jan 28 next year, where members of the international coalition will discuss plans for handing control of the country back to local authorities, the prime minister’s office announced Saturday.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown joined UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to make the announcement Saturday from the Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago, Xinhua reported Sunday.
Washington, November 29: Vice President Joe Biden pressed Iraq’s leaders in a series of telephone calls on Saturday to break a deadlock that has stalled preparations for an election seen as critical for U.S. troops to withdraw, U.S. officials said.
A senior U.S. administration official said Washington was hopeful a tentative deal on Iraq’s election law would allow a national vote to be held and for a new parliament to be elected and seated by March 15, when the term of the current assembly is due to expire.
Biden serves as President Barack Obama’s point man on Iraq.
Mumbai, November 29: Nearly 50 employees working in the maintenance unit of the Kaiga plant in Karntaka fell ill and were treated at a hospital in Mallapur for increased level of tritium after they reportedly drank water from a cooler in the operating area on November 24
In a case of sabotage, Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar on Sunday said somebody “deliberately” put radioactive tritium in a water cooler at the Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant that exposed about 50 workers to increased level of radiation.
London, November 29:US pop star Beyonce Knowles says she is so passionate about her career that she often works like a machine, without any breaks.
She often refuses to pause for meals while she is in the recording studio or rehearsing for performances, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
“When you are the person that created the music and you know how you want things to look, it’s all harmony, it all has to work together. When I work, I don’t eat, I don’t use the restroom. I’m like a machine,” said Knowles.
Lucknow, Novemebr 29:A senior Uttar Pradesh bureaucrat committed suicide at his residence here early Sunday, police said.
Harminder Raj Singh, principal secretary (housing) in the state government, shot himself in the head with his licensed revolver at his residence on Vikramaditya Marg here, an official said.
New Delhi, November 29:Even as the rural market is growing attractive for India’s telecom industry, the operators face several challenges in rural penetration like illiteracy and low revenue per user, according to a report.
“Despite the inherent attractiveness of the rural market for telecom operators, several challenges in going rural stare the operators in their face,” said the report jointly prepared by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and global consultancy KPMG.
Jeddah, November 29: A Saudi lawyer said he will sue the city of Jeddah, as thousands took to Facebook to blast authorities in a rare burst of open outrage after floods killed more than 100 people in the Red Sea port.
The toll jumped to 103 from Wednesday’s floods after authorities discovered more bodies, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television reported late Saturday.
Bangalore, November 29:GE Healthcare, the $17-billion unit of General Electric, has initiated a project to provide IT solutions to Indian hospitals for affordable treatment.
The $1.5-billion GE Healthcare’s IT business has tied up with the Delhi-based Diwan Chand Aggarwal (DCA) imaging research centre for a pilot project to develop solutions that integrate the various functions of hospitals to deliver quality healthcare.
Dubai, November 29: As Aliyah Khan walked to school with her parents at 7:30 in the morning she said, “I feel fresh.” Last week her teachers found her to be more attentive in class and her mother said she had a spring in her step.
What has this 10-year-old been doing differently? She’s been ditching modern transport and walking to school.
“She’s been much more alert,” said Ala Khan, her mother.
“When we drive her to school, she’s droopy eyed and slouched in the car. But this week she has been bright and all geared up for school,” she said.
Dubai, November 29: Filipinos expatriates attended holy masses in churches in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi on Friday in remembrance of those who perished in the massacre in Mindanao province of the Philippines.
The masses in the three emirates were sponsored by the Filipino Press Club-UAE as 18 of the victims were journalists covering the tragic happening.
Members of the Filipino Press Club-UAE wore black outfits as a mark of sympathy with the families of their colleagues who died in the brutal mass murder.
Dubai, November 29: Filipinos expatriates attended holy masses in churches in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi on Friday in remembrance of those who perished in the massacre in Mindanao province of the Philippines.
The masses in the three emirates were sponsored by the Filipino Press Club-UAE as 18 of the victims were journalists covering the tragic happening.
Members of the Filipino Press Club-UAE wore black outfits as a mark of sympathy with the families of their colleagues who died in the brutal mass murder.