Month: December 2009

Pakistan police arrest gang accused in bombings

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Peshawar, December 07: Police commandos acting on a tip killed one militant and arrested five others Sunday in a raid against a bombing cell accused in recent attacks around the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar, authorities said.

Elsewhere in the volatile region, a remote-controlled roadside bomb killed two anti-Taliban tribal elders — underscoring the difficulty Pakistan faces in cracking down on the loose and flexible network of militants threatening its stability.

Romanian president, rival both claim election victory

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Bucharest, December 07: Romania’s centre-right incumbent President Traian Basescu and his Social-Democrat challenger Mircea Geoana both claimed victory after Sunday’s presidential run-off vote.

“We won together. Our victory is the victory of all Romanians who want a better life,” Geoana told supporters after three exit polls out of four put him ahead of Basescu.

The Insomar institute ordered by the private news channel Realitatea TV credits Geoana of 51.6 percent of the votes. The Curs institute says he won with 50.80 percent, while a CCSB poll gave him 51.2 percent.

Earthquake hits northern Malawi, injuries reported

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Blantyre, December 07: A few people were injured in the Karonga district north of Malawi after an earthquake hit the area, officials said on Sunday.

District Health Officer for Karonga James Mpunga confirmed the earthquake but said the number of casualties was unknown. Some reports said two people were taken to hospital.

Residents in Mzuzu, Malawi’s third city also confirmed feeling the tremors.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported four earthquakes measuring between 5.1 and 5.8 on in the hour to 1829 GMT on Sunday north of Mzuzu.

Karzai says to fight corruption, urges patience

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Washington, December 07: Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for patience on Sunday if his government could not meet a 2011 deadline for assuming responsibility for Afghan security while pledging to meet demands to fight corruption in Kabul.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced last week he would send another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan but would begin bringing them home in 18 months and start handing off responsibilities to Afghan forces.

UAE Calls for Global Action

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Dubai, December 07: With the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen beginning today, the UAE has agreed to strengthen its commitments to tackling climate change and has called for renewed global action.

The statement was a part of the joint pledge posted on the conference website during by foreign ministers of Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Iceland, Singapore and Slovenia, who are Jose Brito, Bruno Stagno Ugarte, Össur Skarphéinsson, George Yeo, Samuel bogar respectively, during the weekend.

KT Opinion:

Copenhagen’s Fate is Balanced on Economics, not Science

Hacked e-mails are damaging: Climate chief

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Copenhagen, December 07: The world is entering talks on a new climate pact with unprecedented unity and leaders must seize the moment to create a turning point in the battle against global warming, the UN’s top climate official said Sunday.

Jewish occupiers set fire to Palestinian property

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Ramallah, December 07: Jewish occupiers on early Sunday set fire to a house and two vehicles in the West Bank village of Ain Abous, southwest of Nablus, in an apparent attempt to avenge a construction freeze in Jewish settlements.

The Israeli Army Radio quoted security sources as saying that the act was carried out as part of the occupiers’ “price tag” policy following the Israeli government decision to freeze constriction in settlements for 10 months.

Opposition to Obama’s Afghanistan exit strategy growing

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Kabul, December 07: Several senior US officials have said they are opposed to the idea of setting a target date for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, the head of the US Central Command of the armed forces, General David Petraeus, disputed the July 2011 date as a swift US retreat from the conflict-torn country.

“This [date] does not trigger a rush to the exits,” he stated.

‘First to enter Babri Masjid were CRPF men’

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Ayodhya, December 07: BJP leader Vinay Katiyar today claimed that a group of about fifty men who had first entered the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya were not VHP workers but CRPF jawans in plainclothes who started demolishing the mosque and provoked the ‘Kar Sewaks’ to charge at it.

The BJP MP alleged that on December 6, 1992 when the mosque was being demolished by ‘Kar Sewaks’, muslim leaders, some union ministers and Members of Parliament tried to contact the then Prime Minister P V Narsimha Rao, seeking his intervention to stop the demolition.

US has evidence linking Headley, Rana to 26/11

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New Delhi, December 07: The US has indicated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has evidence linking American terror suspect David Coleman Headley and his Pakistani-Canadian accomplice Tahawwur Rana to the deadly Mumbai terror attacks.

A FBI team arrived here today for discussions with their Indian counterparts during which it may share information on Headley’s links with several people in the country, including those linked to the Mumbai terror attacks.

Dogs from all over India bark in Nashik

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Mumbai, December 07: It was a dog’s day out in Nashik. The Boy’s Town Public School ground, where the 23rd and 24th dog championships were held, was overflowing with canine calls as owners, trainers and breeders from across the country gathered for an All-India dog show.

The show, which was organised by the Mumbai Canine Club in association with the Blue Cross Society and the Kennel Society of Nashik, saw 310 entries coming from Nashik, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata.

Punjab Police on high alert Monday after shutdown call

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Chandigarh, December 07: Authorities in Punjab remained on high alert Monday following a state-wide shutdown called by radical Sikh organisations to protest against Saturday’s violence in Ludhiana.

Security forces, including Punjab Police, remained on high alert following the shutdown call given by radical Sikh organisations led by Damdami Taksal.

Ludhiana city continued to be under curfew for the third day Monday while students did not report to schools in various cities of the state.

Doctors take out pen cover from nine-year-old’s lungs

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Kolkata December 07: Safiqul Mondal had given up hope that his nine-year-old son will ever be able to lead a normal life after the child accidentally swallowed a pen cover. But doctors of a private hospital here have brought smiles back on Safiqul’s face by removing the ‘foreign element’ stuck in the child’s lungs.

Imran, the second child of Safiqul, was suffering from cough and cold since Oct 10. On Oct 17, while playing with the pen close to his nose, Imran suddenly sneezed and the cover disappeared into his throat.

India is facing both internal, external threats: RSS chief

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Chandigarh, December 07: Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said here Sunday that India is facing internal threats from various quarters and the outside world is trying to take advantage of the situation.

“India is facing a big problem of Maoists and Naxalites. Unfortunately other countries have established strong links with them and now they are posing a big threat for the country’s security,” said Bhagwat, while addressing RSS workers’ convention here.

Government misusing CBI: Amar Singh

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New Delhi, December 07: The Samajwadi Party Sunday accused the central government of misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for favouring “persons close to the party.”

Party general secretary Amar Singh said Sunday that cases against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi were withdrawn based on the advice of the solicitor general but the advice of the attorney general in a case against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had been ignored.

“It is not Central Bureau of Investigation but Congress Bureau of Investigation,” he said.

Kerala mulls pay hike for government employees

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Thiruvananthapuram, December 07: Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has called for a meeting with representatives of state government employees to discuss a revision of pay scales, state Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said Sunday.

“This meeting is the first step (towards pay hike) and has been called to listen to what their (employees’) needs are. After this, we will set up the Ninth Pay Commission. We expect that employees will be able to draw a revised salary by April 1, 2011,” Isaac.

PV was denied Lok Sabha ticket over Babri demolition: Congress

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New Delhi, December 07: After admitting there were perceptions that former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao did not do enough to prevent demolition of Babri mosque at Ayodhya in 1992, the Congress Sunday said the leader had to atone for his mistake by denial of the Lok Sabha ticket in 1998.

Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said: “Mr. Rao was made to atone for the constitutional paralysis that afflicted him by denying him a ticket in 1998 to contest the Lok Sabha elections.”

Iraqi legislators agree on new election law

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Baghdad, December 07: An agreement has been reached by the parties in Parliament on a new election law for Iraq’s upcoming vote, legislators said Sunday.

If passed, the it would pave the way for voters to head to the polls early next year. However, the legislators questioned whether the needed quorum could be gathered to push the bill into law during a late-night special session of the house.

While details remain cloudy, the main change would be an increase in the number of deputies, from 275 seats to 325 seats, legislator Khaled al-Asadi said.

1.8 tonnes of cocaine seized in Venezuela

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Caracas, December 07: Venezuelan authorities seized 1.8 tonnes of cocaine hidden in two containers bound for Spain, Interior Minister Tarek El Aissami said Sunday.

The shipment was detected Saturday by National Guard members and officials at the Port of La Guaira, the country’s main customs station, located about 20 km northwest of Caracas.

The cocaine was found to be distributed in packets hidden in boxes mixed in with others containing the cleaning products, including detergents and disinfectants, El Aissami said.

‘Jana Gana’ replace with ‘Vande Mataram’ in ‘Rann’

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Mumbai, December 07: Ram Gopal Varma has replaced controversial song “Jana Gana Mana Rann” with the “Vande Mataram” in the final cut of his forthcoming movie “Rann” and says that the track will play in the background.

So is another controversy on the way as the filmmaker has moved from the country’s national anthem to the national song?

“Not at all. What we have used of ‘Vande Mataram’ are just these two words. I don’t see anything controversial in this since it stands for ‘Bow to thee, Mother’. Tell me, what’s wrong in using that?” Varma told IANS.

‘Rocket Singh’ short but sweet album

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Mumbai, December 07: Film: “Rocket Singh”; Music Director: Sulaiman and Salim Merchant; Lyricist: Jaideep Sahni; Singers: Benny Dayal, Vishal Dadlani and Salim Merchant; Rating: ***

“Chak De! India” director Shimit Amin is back with “Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year”. If the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer had six original tracks, the album of his new film has only three songs. But they are definitely worth a hear.

Malnutrition killed 25 in 50 days in MP district

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Bhopal, December 07: Malnutrition has reached epidemic proportions in most parts of Madhya Pradesh. While activists say it has claimed 25 lives in nearly 50 days in the tribal-dominated Sidhi district, the administration says the deaths were due to malaria.

The MP Support Group of the Right to Food Campaign (RTFC) says 25 people, including 22 children, perished in Kusmi block between last week of August and first week of October mainly due to malnutrition.

Rafsanjani accuses Iran rulers of intolerance

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Tehran, December 06: Powerful cleric and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani accused Iran’s rulers on Sunday of being intolerant, saying they have closed the door on constructive criticism.

Rafsanjani, one of the main figures in Iran’s opposition movement, also called on protesters opposing the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to express their views “within the framework of law.”

“The situation in the country is such that constructive criticism is not accepted,” Rafsanjani told a gathering of students in the northern city of Mashhad, according to ILNA news agency.

Hariri to visit long-time foe Syria

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Beirut, December 06: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Friday he will be visiting long-time foe Syria after parliament grants his government a vote of confidence, but gave no date for the trip.

“I will be going on a tour after the vote of confidence, and Syria will be part of that tour,” Hariri told reporters in Beirut ahead of Thursday’s vote in parliament.

Hariri has had tense ties with Syria ever since his father and former premier, Rafiq Hariri, was killed in a massive Beirut bombing in February 2005.