Month: January 2010

What’s in a headscarf?

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Paris, January 27: Conservative Muslim women cover their hair in an array of fashions — French members of parliament are keen to outlaw some of them.

But Muslim women are not alone in concealing their hair — ultra-Orthodox Jewish women wear headscarves and some Protestant Christian minority communities also exhort their women to cover their hair.

Women in many faiths are also urged to dress ‘modesty’ or cover parts or all of their body.

The following are some of the major Muslim traditions for female headgear:

Attackers of Indians were Australian teens

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Sydney, January 27: The Australian government has released a police dossier that shows that nearly half of those arrested since March last year for vicious assaults were less than 18 years old.

The dossier, prepared by Victoria Police, was handed over after Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith telephoned Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Jan 11 to express his condolences over the Jan 2 murder of Indian student Nitin Garg in Melbourne.

‘Italian Job’ was never offered to Priyanka Chopra: Abbas-Mustan

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New Delhi, January 27: Filmmakers Abbas-Mustan have cleared the air about rumours that actor Abhishek Bachchan urged them to remove actress Priyanka Chopra from the cast of the Hindi remake of “The Italian Job” saying she wasn’t offered the film at all.

“The star cast of ‘Italian Job’ was finalised long time back. We had signed Abhishek Bachchan, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Katrina Kaif in the first go and Katrina was always our first choice so there was no question of talking to Priyanka Chopra,” Abbas told.

Chop hands of those who attack religious places: Yeddyurappa

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Bangalore, Janaury 27: Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, under attack over frequent vandalisation of churches in the state on Wednesday said hands of those who indulge in such acts should be “cut off”.

“I am telling you chop off the hands of these people if you catch them,” Yeddyurappa told a public meeting in Karwar in Uttara Kannada district, about 500 km from here.

“You may wonder why a chief minister is saying such things. But what can be done when people try to hit at the very basis of our society, that of peace and brotherhood?” he said.

Pope recalls cruelty in Auschwitz Nazi camp

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Vatican City, January 27: Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday recalled the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz, an event which revealed “the unprecedented cruelty” of the Nazi Holocaust.

The 82-year-old pontiff made the remarks in his native German during his weekly general audience.

“Jan 27, 1945, the gates of the Nazi concentration camp near the Polish city of Oswiecim, better known by its German name of Auschwitz, were opened and the few survivors freed,” Benedict said.

Jackson, Lisa Marie marriage certificate sold for $70,800

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London, January 27: Pop star Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley’s marriage certificate has been sold for $70,800 at an auction.

The document, which boasts both stars’ signatures, was issued to the couple following a 15-minute ceremony on May 26 in 1994 in the Dominican Republic.

It went under the hammer on Saturday with an opening price of $27,000 and quickly sparked a bidding war as two collectors vied for the item, racking up 20 offers between them.

Decongesting prisons: 42 undertrials freed

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New Delhi, January 27: A city court released 42 undertrial prisoners on Wednesday in a start to a project to put the criminal justice system on a fast track. The plan is to reduce the number of undertrial prisoners by two-third in the next six months. About 170,000 prisoners will be released countrywide by July.

Jolie pays tribute to late mother

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London, January 27: Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie has created a video to pay tribute to her late mother Marcheline Bertrand on her third death anniversary.

The actress and her brother James Haven, Bertrand’s children with Jon Voight, have honoured their beloved mother by compiling home video footage shot during a family vacation in Hawaii in 1981.

The clip entitled “To Mom With Love – James and Angelina” starts with the message: “One place Marcheline loved was Hawaii. She made many happy memories for her family there.”

Haryana fails to file reply in Ruchika case, court upset

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Chandigarh, January 27: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday expressed its displeasure as the Haryana government failed to file its reply in time in connection with a public suit filed by a human rights activist in the molestation case of teenager Ruchika Girhotra.

In the public interest litigation (PIL) filed Dec 29, Ranjan Lakhanpal, who is also a senior lawyer, had sought that former Haryana police chief S.P.S. Rathore be charged under Section 305 (abetment of suicide of a minor) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) since he allegedly drove teenager Ruchika to suicide in 1993.

Delhi government asked to expedite 1984 riot cases

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New Delhi, January 27: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Delhi government for the appointment of special public prosecutors to expedite the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases pending before the various trial courts.

A division bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked the CBI and the state government to respond by Feb 3.

Oprah voted favourite TV personality

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London, January 27: American TV host Oprah Winfrey has topped a survey to find the biggest TV star in the US, while actor-director Clint Eastwood was voted the most sought after movie star.

The two won in the new Harris Interactive poll, reported.

Winfrey beat political talk show host Glenn Beck, while Eastwood came in ahead of Johnny Depp, Denzel Washington and Sandra Bullock.

—Agencies

India hosts Hockey World Cup after 28 years

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New Delhi, January 27: History will repeat itself exactly in a month from now as the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium in the Indian capital will host the World Cup hockey after 28 years.

World Cup Hockey championship involving top 12 hockey playing nations in an event that has been dubbed as the dress rehearsal for the mega sporting event here in October, the Commonwealth Games.

India would be hosting the hockey World Cup after 28 years, a far cry from the days when they were among the top hockey-playing nations of the world, having last won the Cup way back in 1975.

Pak blast claims three lives in NWFP

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Islamabad, January 27: Another blast took place in the restive tribal region of North West Frontier Province of Pakistan which claimed three children lives on Wednesday.

The bomb exploded near the house of a tribal elder in Nanger Khani area of Upper Dir district, killing three minors and damaging the house partially, Amjad Ali, a resident, told Xinhua.

Police have cordoned off the area which is close to Swat valley, once a base of Taliban militants.

Five Taliban leaders removed from UN sanctions list

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United Nation, January 27: Karzai says there are thousands of moderate Taliban elements who could be reintegrated

The United Nations said Tuesday that a Security Council committee removed five senior Taliban leaders from its sanctions list.

The UN said in a statement that the decision was made on Monday and the five would no longer be subject to international travel bans and asset freezes.

Rashid inches closer to title in Rajasthan Open

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Jaipur, January 27: Rashid Khan’s rollercoaster third round of two-under 70 kept him 11 strokes ahead of his nearest rival as the Delhi golfer inched closer to the title in the LG Rajasthan Open Amateur Championship here today.

With just one more round to go, Rashid (210) is perched at the top after rounds of 65,66,70 while fellow Delhi Golf Club player Pawan Kumar, who carded 68 today, trail him by 11 strokes.

Jamshedpur’s Karan Taunk (70) is in sole third place at five-over 215, one shot ahead of the trio of Abhinav Lohan (69), Ajay Singh (68) and Moin Malak (70).
–PTI

Blair faces ‘judgement day’ at Britain’s Iraq War inquiry

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London, January 27: This Friday, former British prime minister Tony Blair will be given yet another chance to stop the traffic.

However, the extensive security measures laid on for Blair’s testimony at the Iraq War inquiry are designed not so much to signify his importance as to protect him from the wrath of protestors and relatives of the war dead.

Anti-war protestors have vowed to form a “gauntlet of hate” outside the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in central London where Blair is due for a six-hour questioning session.

The bowlers did a terrific job by taking 20 wickets: Dhoni

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Dhaka, January 27: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday singled out star performer Zaheer Khan for the team’s series victory and said the bowlers did an excellent job on an unresponsive track in the second Test against Bangladesh.

“It was a difficult task to get wickets on this track, both for spinners and pacers. But all credit goes to the bowlers. They really put their best to get those 20 wickets, especially Zaheer’s spell,” Dhoni said after his team crushed the hosts by 10 wickets to clinch the series 2-0.

Haldiram’s owner held guilty for murder

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Kolkata, January 27: The owner of India’s biggest confectionary chain Haldiram’s, Prabhu Shankar Aggarwal was convicted of conspiring to murder by sessions cout in Kolkata with four others.

Agarwal was charged for murder of a tea stall owner in 2005 at Kolkata after the stall owner refused to vacate the area where Agarwal had planned a food plaza.

Agarwal reportedly hired contract criminals to killed the tea stall owner but could only injured a nephew of the man in March.

The court will pronounce punishments for Prabhu Shankar Agarwal and the four others on Friday.
–Agencies

Andhra hooch tragedy toll rises to 14

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Hyderabad, January 27: The death toll in the hooch tragedy in East Godavari district of coastal Andhra Pradesh rose to 14 Wednesday.

A police officer said three more people, who drank moonshine three days ago, died at a hospital in Kakinada. While one person died late Tuesday evening, two others succumbed Wednesday morning.

Seven deaths were reported Monday, a day after the victims consumed moonshine. Four more succumbed Tuesday.

Jaya-Sonia meet has no political significance: Vasan

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Tirunelveli (TN), January 27: Describing the meeting between AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa as “of no political significance,” Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan today asserted the “winning combination” of Congress-DMK would continue in 2011 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections also.

“It is only a courtesy meeting and has no political significance,” Vasan, a former TNCC President, told reporters here reacting to reports on Jayalalithaa meeting Gandhi and exchanging greetings during the Election Commission’s Diamond Jubilee celebration in Delhi on Monday.

Telangana MLAs move SC for acceptance of resignation

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New Delhi, January 27: MLAs from Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh today moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction for the Assembly Speaker that their resignation be deemed to be accepted.

The petition filed by former MP and sitting MLA M Narayana Reddy was mentioned before a bench, headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, which said it will hear the matter on February 1 as listed by the registry.

The 139 MLAs, cutting across party lines, are named as petitioners in the matter.

They had submitted their resignation to the Speaker on December 10 and 23 last year.

Mumbai belongs to all of India: Mukesh

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London, January 27: Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has said the recent controversy over fluency in Marathi as a pre-requisite for Mumbai’s taxi drivers is unfortunate.

“We are all Indians first. Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi belong to all Indians. That is the reality,” he said to NDTV’s Barkha Dutt at a panel discussion at the London School of Economics organised to release Rajya Sabha MP N K Singh’s book, ‘Not by Reason Alone: The Politics of Change’.

Law student ends life; college says unaware of ragging

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Pune, January 27: The college authorities here today denied allegations that one of its Law student allegedly committed suicide due to ragging.

Second-year law student of the Fergusson college Prashant Chitalkar had committed suicide in the neighbouring Ahmednagar district by jumping into a well on January 25.

A complaint filed by his father with the Rahuri police station alleged that the deceased was subjected to ragging by the seniors.

Mulayam says ‘Happy B’day Amar singh ji’

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Saifai(Etawah)/Varanasi, January 27: Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today called up Mr Amar Singh to wish him on his birthday, a day on which the former also made important appointments in the party to fill the post vacated by the high profile leader who fell out with the Yadav family recently.

Mr Singh, who still retains party membership, told reporters here that ‘Netaji’ (Mulayam Singh Yadav) made phone call to him to wish him a happy birthday.