Washington, January 29: US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates discussed the need for New Delhi to be transparent in regards to Indian activities in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The Defense Department also discounted the role of India in a security training capacity in Afghanistan.
Washington, January 29: The United States has formally affiliated with the Copenhagen Accord and pledged to cut its carbon emissions “in the range of 17 percent” from 2005 levels, conditional on Congressional action on climate legislation.
In a letter to the UN Framework Conventional of Climate Change Secretariat Thursday, chief US negotiator Todd Stern said the “pathway” in that pending legislation would cut US emissions 30 percent by 2025, 42 percent by 2030, and 83 percent by 2050.
Washington, January 29: An Indian American cardiologist has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison and ordered to pay back to the state the $16 million he failed to pay in income taxes.
Pradeep Srivastava, the 50-year-old cardiologist who had offices in Oxon Hill and Greenbelt, Maryland, evaded the income tax in his 1998 and 1999 filings and filed a false return in 2000, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Washington, January 29: Although US President Barack Obama vaguely acknowledged Israel as the cause of Palestinian “plight,” he affirmed that he will never waver from support for Tel Aviv.
Obama made the remarks in a speech to a crowd in a gymnasium in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday when he was asked about his policy on Israel.
“Here’s my view: Israel is one of our strongest allies. It is a vibrant democracy. It shares links with us in all sorts of ways. It is critical for us, and I will never waver from Israel’s security.” Obama said.
Washington, January 29: In a bid to reach out to South Asian and Arab communities, the US will increase engagement, dialogue, coordination and enhance information sharing with faith-and community-based groups.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Thursday met with leaders from Muslim, Sikh, South Asian and Arab communities, described as “key partners in homeland security that contribute to many different parts of American life and exemplify the diversity that is a hallmark of our country.”
New Delhi, January 29: Flight operations at the IGI airport here remained normal for the second consecutive day today due to absence of dense fog.
All flights were operating as per schedule as the airport has not witnessed any fog since last night and runway visibility remained over 2,000 metres through the night and this morning,” an airport official said.
Hyderabad, January 29: Popular Telugu film actor Junior NTR will marry Narne Pranita, daughter of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu’s niece Narne Mallika.
The former chief minister Thursday confirmed that the young actor would soon enter into wedlock with Pranita, whose father Narne Srinivas is a businessman and owns Telugu news channel Studio N.
Junior NTR, 27, is the grandson of thespian, TDP founder and former chief minister N.T. Rama Rao, who was popularly known as NTR. Naidu is the son-in-law of NTR.
Kabul, January 29: A bomb explosion killed a US soldier in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, after a senior Afghan police officer was assassinated in the Kandahar province.
NATO failed to announce the exact location of the Thursday blast. The latest death brings to 41 the number of foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the start of 2010.
The rise in NATO fatalities has led to a sharp decline in public support for the Afghan mission, among the US and the European public.
Srinagar, January 29: Two jawans were killed in a fierce gunbattle between militants and troops in Kishtwar district early today. Acting on a tip off, troops of 11 Rashtriya Rifles launched a search operation in Sondar forest belt in Taksham area of the district, nearly 300 kms from here, a senior army official said.
During the search, militants fired on the troops and threw grenades, he said, adding the encounter took place as troops fired back. In the gunbattle, two jawans were killed.
Three militants are in the cordon, the official said.
—PTI
Washington, January 29: Two senior U.S. senators on Thursday introduced legislation that seeks to write off Haiti’s foreign debt, increase trade and create an infrastructure fund to help the quake-hit country rebuild quicker.
Chris Dodd, a Democrat who is chairman of the Senate banking committee, and Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican on the Senate foreign relations committee, said the legislation explores ways to boost economic activity by adjusting U.S.-Haiti trade agreements.
New York, January 29: Mukesh Ambani and steel baron Lakshmi Mittal have been featured by the US magazine Forbes among the world’s most powerful billionaire.
The Forbes has named influential people across the world which have great wealth plus political power as well as industrial might.
“A few plutocrats have the mix of money, industrial might and political prowess to earn a spot among the world’s most powerful billionaires,” the magazine stated.
Mumbai, January 29: Citing the advantages of homoeopathy over allopathic treatment for thyroid and other hormone-related problems, Dr Bandish D Ambani from Mumbai said that over 80 percent of patients depending exclusively on homoeopathic treatment stand a chance of being completely cured in a year’s time.
Praising the holistic approach of the therapy, Dr Ambani, while interacting with Newsline on Thursday, said the treatment helps stimulate the body’s glands to produce hormones.
Bangalore, January 29: With the worst fears of a prolonged recession being over, Wipro Chairman and a Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Azim Premji said that the outlook for the global economy has turned positive this year though the road ahead is full of challenges.
London, January 29: Pakistan Foreign Minister SM Qureshi accused the “Indian polity” of being confused and hypocritical in its attitude toward Pakistan.
He said he had given Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna a “crisp proposal and a roadmap” on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last year “but he hasn’t got back to me”.
“That means he has nothing to offer,” he told Indian journalists at the end of an international conference on Afghanistan in London.
New Delhi, January 29: Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday said there is a case for shooting off a showcause notice to Scared Heart Convent in Chandigarh, asking why they expelled Ruchika Girhotra from the school on account of non-payment of fee. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), to which the school is affiliated, is learnt to be considering the same.
London, January 29: As attacks against Indians continued unabated in Australia, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today met his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith for the second time in two days and is understood to have conveyed displeasure over the assaults.
Krishna met Smith here on the sidelines of the conference on Afghanistan hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
During the meeting, Krishna is understood to have conveyed India’s displeasure over continuing attacks against the community members despite assurances from the Australian Government.
Kabul, January 29: Plans to engage the Taliban in talks have gathered pace, with Afghanistan inviting members to a peace council and reports of a secret UN meeting.
At a key Afghanistan summit in London, President Hamid Karzai vowed to reach out to “disenchanted brothers”.
A UN official told news agencies special envoy Kai Eide had met Taliban members in Dubai on 8 January after they had asked for talks.
Mr Eide denied meeting on that date but refused to comment on other dates.
New Delhi, January 29: Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi seems to have taken a fancy to following star couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan. He did it yet again here Thursday evening, almost a fortnight after reportedly found tailing them in Mumbai.
Vivek made an unexpected late entry at the premiere of “Rann”, at the PVR Select Citywalk, where Aishwarya and Abhishek were present for the red carpet premiere of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer.
Hyderabad, January 29: Sania family is from middle class but the driving force is her mother who hails from mumbai is very much after the worldly gains and this seems to have created wedge between the families.
London, January 29: Iran leaves the world no recourse but to apply penalties aimed at curbing a fast-track nuclear programme, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Thursday.
In London ostensibly for conferences on Afghanistan and Yemen, Ms. Clinton has devoted significant time to Iran ahead of a U.S.-led sanctions push at the United Nations expected by the end of the week.
Her discussions here are intended to win support from countries whose backing the United States and its allies need to win and enforce new U.N. sanctions.
Washington, January 29: The U.S. Senate has passed a legislation that would allow President Barack Obama to slap sanctions on those companies supplying gasoline to Iran, a move aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act of 2009, passed unanimously on , would impose new sanctions on Iran’s refined petroleum sector and tighten existing U.S. sanctions in an effort to create new pressure on the Iranian regime.
The House of Representatives has already passed a similar legislation.
Mumbai, January 29: While her contemporaries Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta are flaunting their curves in bikinis, Bollywood actress Vidya Balan is happy and comfortable in her favourite attire – the sari – and says she will never wear a bikini.
“I don’t see myself in a bikini ever. I am very comfortable in my saris and other Indian attire. Even if the script demands, I don’t think I will ever wear one,” she said at a press conference in the Big Cinemas here Thursday.
Previously, Vidya had received a lot of flak for her dressing sense and plump body.
New Delhi, January 29: After dipping marginally for a few weeks in a row, food inflation changed tack yet again to move up to 17.40 per cent for the week ended January 16 from 16.81 per cent in the previous week, mainly on account of higher prices of eggs and vegetables.
The official data on wholesale prices of primary food articles and fuels, coming as it did a day ahead of the third quarterly review of credit policy on Friday, dashed all hopes of any early respite from high food inflation which had touched its 10-year peak of close to 20 per cent in December last.
New Delhi, January 29: In the wake of continuing attacks on Indian students in Australia, pace bowler Brett Lee has come out strongly in condemning the violent acts and reiterated that his country was a very safe and wonderful place.
“We Australians are a multi-culture society with people from different races. I know there are some issues and I am very sad. I am working very closely with the authorities in Australia in this regard.”
Second home
Panaji, January 29: After identifying those involved in the sexual assault of a nine-year-old Russian girl on a beach on Tuesday, the Goa police on Thursday despatched teams outside Goa as well as within the State to search for the accused and his accomplice.
The police earlier identified the accused as Aman Bharadwaj from Uttar Pradesh who was working as a machine operator for a local pharmaceutical company at Dhargal in the Pernem taluk of north Goa. They added that he is around 25-30 years of age.