Month: January 2010

Preity won’t catwalk in Bangalore

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Mumbai, January 31: Refuting rumours, Bollywood actress Preity Zinta clarified Saturday that she is not walking the ramp at the ongoing Bangalore Fashion Week.

“Hey guys! Just to clarify that I will not be walking the ramp at Bangalore Fashion Week! Was never meant to do so. I don’t know how the rumour started,” Zinta posted on her Twitter account.

Designers like Abdul Halder, Namrata G, Ramesh Dembla and Shantanu and Nikhil are participating in the Bangalore Fashion Week that concludes later Saturday.

–IANS–

UK Press Slam Blair’s ‘No Iraq Regret’

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London, January 31: Britain’s newspapers expressed shock Saturday, January 30, over former prime minister Tony Blair’s defiant insistence he had no regret for the 2003 Iraq invasion.

“He finished with the only clear lie of the day. He had no regrets,” commented.

“That can’t be true.

“Too many dead for zero regrets, surely. And some of their parents there in the room behind him. But there it was: no regrets, only responsibilities.”

Mother’s gum disease kills her unborn child

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London, January 31: Pregnant women are being warned about the danger of gum disease after an unborn baby died as a result of its mother’s poor dental hygiene.

It is the first time oral bacteria has been found to be responsible for the death of a baby which had nearly reached full-term.

A study published in the Obstetrics And Gynaecology journal revealed the case of an unnamed 35-year-old woman who had the common gum disease gingivitis.

Gunfight between militants, forces in Kashmir

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Sriagar, January 31: A gunfight broke out between the security forces and separatist guerrillas holed up in a house in north Kashmir’s Sopore town late on Saturday evening, police said.

Police said troops of 22 Rashtriya Rifles and the Special Operations Group of the state police surrounded a house in Sopore, 52 km from here, on Saturday evening following a tip-off on the presence of militants.

“The militants started indiscriminate automatic gunfire at the surrounding security men.

Forget IPL, resume Indo-Pak cricket

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Mumbai, January 31: Shahid Afridi is pained at the turn of things since the January 19 auction of the Indian Premier League. The encouraging words from biggies like P Chidambaram and MS Gill have failed to enthuse the Pakistan all-rounder. What’s more, even Shah Rukh Khan’s comment that Pakistan players should have been picked up by the franchisees has not given him any hope.

Congress hits out at Modi for remark against Sonia Gandhi

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Ahmadabad, January 31: Gujarat Congress today hit out at chief minister Narendra Modi for his remarks on Sonia Gandhi regarding price rise issue.

“Modi has no right to attack Sonia Gandhi, who is Congress party president. If Modi wants to write on the price rise, he must write to the prime minister,” state Congress president Siddharth Patel said at a media briefing here.

Plan attack on UK with bombs INSIDE their bodies

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London, January 31: Britain is facing a new Al Qaeda terror threat from suicide ‘body bombers’ with explosives surgically inserted inside them.

Until now, terrorists have attacked airlines, Underground trains and buses by secreting bombs in bags, shoes or underwear to avoid detection.

But an operation by MI5 has uncovered evidence that Al Qaeda is planning a new stage in its terror campaign by inserting ‘surgical bombs’ inside people for the first time.

Why are Indian students being targeted in Australia?

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I have lived in Melbourne for over seven years and there is no doubt that the situation has changed for Indians here. Denying racism in Australia is like denying casteism and dowry in India. But there is more to this issue then just blaming the Australian government.

I would like to define the term which has been used again and again, “Indian students”. Who are these students and how are so many of them here all of a sudden? When we talk of overseas students, what comes to mind are students of engineering, bio-physics, medicine, MBA, PhD or some research work.

No more controversies please: Vivek

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Mumbai, January 31: Vivek Oberoi is clearly not happy about being tagged as a “stalker” or a “gatecrasher” and says he is “genuinely sick” of all controversies.

“Suddenly I’m a stalker one day and one day I’m a gatecrasher. Mela laga hua hai kya (Is it a fair of controversies)? Will anybody say anything and walk away? What nonsense is this? It’s very irresponsible and I completely disapprove of it. It’s rubbish. If there was an element of truth in this, I can understand. But this is nonsense,” Vivek told IANS.

Trader robbed of jewellery worth Rs.15 lakhs

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New Delhi, January 31: Two motorcycle-borne assailants Saturday robbed a businessman of gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs.15 lakhs near the Karol Bagh Metro station, police said.

According to police, Rajat Jain had come to the Metro station in his car. He asked his driver to park the car. As he waited for his driver, the two assailants snatched his bag and fled.

Police said they suspect that the robbery was committed by someone known to the victim.

–IANS–

Student dies during physical education test

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Ghaziabad, January 31: A class 12 student died during a physical education exam at a public school in Ghaziabad district Saturday, police said.

According to the police, T.R.M. Public School in Modinagar was conducting physical education exams for the upcoming Class 12 boards. Pavneesh Panwar was asked run and he collapsed on the track.

Brightest moon shines Saturday night

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New Delhi, January 31: The evening sky Saturday was lit by the moon shining at its zenith. Being closet to the earth, the moon was seen 15 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter as compared to rest of the year.

“It is beautiful to see the biggest and the brightest moon of the year. We clicked some pictures for our records,” said C.B. Devgun, director, SPACE (Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators), a Delhi-based organistion that works toward popularising science and astronomy.

Wipro Introduces Greener Desktops In India!

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New Delhi, January 31: Wipro’s IT business arm Wipro Infotech has rolled out its environment-friendly and toxin-free Wipro Greenware desktop PCs, which are made using materials free of lethal chemicals.

Mr. Anand Sankaran, senior vice-president and business head, India & ME business, Wipro announced that the newly launched desktops, which are based on the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, do not contain any carcinogenic materials including PVC and brominated flame retardants (BFRs).

Mr. Sankaran added that greenware would be 15-20 percent out of the yearly desktop output of 2-lakh units.

Gandhi’s ashes scattered in Indian Ocean

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Durban, January 31: Some of the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi were scattered in the Indian Ocean along South Africa’s east coast Saturday, 62 years after his assassination.

After his assassination Jan 30, 1948, Gandhi’s ashes were placed in several urns and distributed across India and other parts of the world.

More than 200 people, including Gandhi’s South African-born granddaughter Ela Gandhi, took part in the ceremony along the Indian Ocean coast at the city of Durban. Flowers and candles were also placed in the water.

Heavy snow shuts roads and railways in Germany

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Berlin, January 31: Heavy fresh snow temporarily shut main roads and railways in the north of Germany Saturday, prompting rail company Deutsche Bahn to deploy every available snow-plough to clear the drifts.

Mecklenburg West Pomerania state on the Baltic coast, which has been covered in snow since mid-December, was worst affected, with main highways closed by jack-knifed trucks and other skidding accidents. Even two snow-clearance vehicles became trapped.

Now, movie on Haiti earthquake

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London, January 31: Singer Wyclef Jean wants to compile footage he shot of the horror in Haiti into a hard-hitting movie so that the world will understand the earthquake relief effort.

The former American hip-hop group Fugees star, fears the international media covering the catastrophe and its aftermath is turning away from the worst scenes and giving TV viewers the impression that the relief effort has been a huge success, reports contactmusic.com.

Jackson to be honored at the Grammy Awards 2010

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Los Angeles, January 31: The much-loved Grammy awards is just a day away. The 52nd Grammy Awards are going to be held at the Los Angeles Staples Centre, on 31st January 2010. For all Michael Jackson fans, there is a special treat, as there is going to be special show to honor him. The music fraternity will remember him by a special 3-D broadcast of Jackson’s orchestral ballad “Earth Song” on Sunday night. The unique 3D tribute will feature Smokey Robinson, Celine Dion, and Usher.

SRK deserves Nishaan-E-Pakistan: Bal Thackeray

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Mumbai, January 31: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray Saturday said Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan deserves Pakistan’s highest civilian award, the Nishaan-E-Pakistan, for supporting the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in the IPL.

In a scathing editorial in Saturday’s party mouthpiece Saamna, Thackeray said that the “Khan” inside Shah Rukh Khan must be crushed by the “Har Har Mahadev” war cry of the “Shivaji” inside the Hindus.

Germany may buy data on tax evaders with Swiss accounts

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Berlin, January 31: Germany’s government is considering buying purloined
files on about 1,500 German taxpayers alleged to be using secret Swiss bank accounts to evade taxes, Berlin officials confirmed Saturday.
Two German newspapers reported Saturday that data on five evaders had been given to Germany as a free sample to test the veracity of the information.

Officials who asked not to be named told the DPA that no decision had been reached yet. Tax authorities could expect to recoup the cost several times over through back taxes and penalties.

Five policemen killed in Mexico

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Mexico City, January 31: Five Mexican police officers were killed and seven wounded in an ambush by an armed group in the southwestern state of Michoacan, officials said.

The attack took place around 3.30 p.m. Friday on the Mexico City-Morelia-Guadalajara highway near the town of Maravatio, when gunmen opened fire on a federal police patrol, the Public Safety Secretariat in Michoacan told EFE Saturday.

Four federal police officers died at the scene and another succumbed to his injuries in a nearby hospital where the wounded were treated.

271,000 Mexicans slip into poverty in US

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Mexico City, January 31: About 271,000 Mexican immigrants have slipped into poverty in the US, Spanish banking giant BBVA said in a report.

It said between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the same period last year, “the number of workers of Mexican origin with jobs decreased by approximately 560,000″.

For that reason, the number of workers of Mexican origin who are currently unemployed increased to about 1.8 million, “of whom around 51 percent are immigrants”, according to the report Saturday.

Argentina’s central bank chief resigns

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Buenos Aires, January 31: Argentina’s central bank head Martin Redrado has resigned.

His resignation came before a congressional panel could issue a non-binding opinion on President Cristina Fernandez’s decision to fire him.

“The government has sought to trample on Congress and on the independence of the central bank by carrying off the reserves, which belong to the people, and I imposed technical and professional limits,” Redrado said Friday at a press conference.

10 killed, 82 injured in Bolivia bus crash

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La Paz, January 31: Ten people were killed and 82 injured when two buses collided head-on in eastern Bolivia, police said.

The accident occurred around 1.00 a.m. Saturday, about eight kilometers south of Santa Cruz town of Camiri. Seven men and three women were killed in the accident.

Of the 82 injured, seven were in serious condition. All have been admitted to a hospital.

–IANS–

Germany mulls burqa ban

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Berlin, January 31: As France has moved closer to a ban on burqas, German politicians are debating whether a similar measure was necessary in their own country, media reports said.

After a French parliamentary commission ruled earlier this week that the enveloping garment worn by some Islamic women is unacceptable and recommended a ban in schools and public offices, former Social Democratic parliamentarian, Turkish-German Lale Akgun urged for a similar ban in Germany.

Get set to answer SRK’s query on love

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Mumbai, January 31: How far would you go for love? If you haven’t given it a thought so far then have your answer ready because Shah Rukh Khan would soon be asking this question across the country. The superstar’s love query to Indians is part of a special promotional campaign for “My Name Is Khan”, says filmmaker Karan Johar.