Month: February 2010

Pak players Imran, Rameez back Afridi’s tampering claim

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Karachi, February 03: Shahid Afridi is not the only one who thinks that all teams tamper with the ball.

Pakistan’s World Cup winning former captain Imran Khan and another ex-skipper Rameez Raja feel the same.

Afridi, who has been banned for two Twenty20 matches for tampering with the ball in a one-dayer against Australia in Perth, has claimed that all teams try such tactics to exploit the conditions to their advantage.

Backing Afridi’s claim, Imran said only the sub-continental teams are punished for the offence.

Aide to Malaysian PM to quit over race remarks

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Kuala Lumpur, February 03: An aide to Malaysia’s prime minister plans to resign after allegedly calling ethnic Indian and Chinese citizens “immigrants” in an embarrassment for the government’s faltering campaign to promote harmony in this multiracial country.

The prime minister’s office made the announcement in a statement received today, saying that aide Nasir Safar’s alleged remarks did not “in any way reflect the views of the prime minister.”

“Nasir never intended to make any derogatory remarks,’ the statement said. “Nevertheless … Nasir apologizes for any offense caused.”

Britain urges military co-operation with France: Report

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London, February 03: Britain is calling for greater military co-operation with France in a bid to map out a more secure future for the country’s cash-strapped armed forces, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

A government blueprint on the way ahead for the forces, cited by the Financial Times, puts an unexpectedly heavy emphasis on its need to work with the EU to maintain its role on the world stage.

In particular, the document praises the decision by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to take France fully back into the military alliance NATO and raises the prospect of joint defence work.

Pilot mistake caused deadly US plane crash

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Washington, February 03: A pilot who pulled instead of pushing a control column and an inattentive crew led a US commuter flight to crash last year, killing 49 people on board and one on the ground, a probe showed.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a report Tuesday that the pilot’s “inappropriate response” to a warning mechanism on a Continental commuter flight from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo International Airport in New York state on February 12 caused the plane to plummet to the ground.

Hrithik Roshan’s Krrish 3 back to square one

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Mumbai, February 03: Rakesh Roshan has no option left but to re-work on the script of Krrish 3. The sole reason being that the script which Roshan had penned down more than a year back has the same plot as Spiderman 3.

A source close to the director reveals, “Rakesh Roshan had written portions of Krrish along with other writers. The movie starring Hrithik Roshan turned out to be a major hit.

Frustration growing at Haiti aid bottlenecks

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Port-Au-Prince, February 03: The aid flooding into Haiti by plane and boat is not reaching earthquake victims quickly enough to stem growing unrest because of transportation bottlenecks and isolated violence.

Many foreign aid workers and Haitians say ample donations are arriving, but express frustration at the slow pace of distribution of food and medicine from Port-au-Prince’s port, airport and a warehouse in its sprawling Cite-Soleil slum.

Iran hails successful launch of satellite rocket

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Tehran, February 03: Iran hailed the successful launch of a home-produced satellite rocket on Wednesday amid Western concerns it is using its nuclear and space industries to develop atomic and ballistic weapons.

The Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer) rocket was carrying an “experimental capsule”, state-owned Al-Alam television reported.

State television’s website said it was carrying “live animals” — a rat, turtles and worms.

“The capsule has the ability to send back empirical data,” the website said.

Iran fires mouse, turtle and worms into space

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Tehran, February 03: Iran successfully launched a rocket today carrying a mouse, turtle and worms into space for research purposes, the country’s defense minister said.

The launch of the Kavoshgar-3, which means Explorer-3 in Farsi, is part an ambitious Iranian space program that has worried Western powers who fear the same technology used to launch satellites and research capsules could also deliver warheads.

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Maoist explosive expert held, gun and landmines seized

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Rayagada, February 03: A hardcore Maoist was arrested in Orissa’s Rayagada district and five landmines and an equal number of guns besides a large quantity of explosives were recovered from his possession.

Purna alias Ramesh Mambalika, an explosive expert and a master in making landmines, was nabbed from his native village at Tubuni in the Gudari police stattion area Tuesday night on a tip-off, Rayagada SP Anup Kumar said.

Ammunition, including gelatines and 15 kilograms of splinters used in the making of landmines, were seized, the SP said.

Indian Mujahideen terrorist remanded to police custody

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New Delhi, February 03: A city court Wednesday sent Shahzad Ahmad, an alleged terrorist of home grown terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) and wanted for his role in September 2008 Delhi serial blasts, to three days police custody after he was produced before a magistrate.

Delhi Police’s Crime Branch produced Ahmad before Metropolitan Magistrate Naveen Arora, who sent him to three days police custody. Ahmad was produced before the court in connection with the murder of Special Cell inspector Mohan Chand Sharma.

Amar Singh praises Congress, rules out joining BSP

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New Delhi, February 03: After his expulsion from Samajwadi Party, Amar Singh on Wednesday praised Congress and ruled out joining BSP.

But he suggested that he could do business with the Mayawati-led party on issues like trifurcation of Uttar Pradesh.

As regards Congress, Singh struck a conciliatory note.

He said that though the “family” was important there, it was different from other parties which are run by political families including the SP.

Delhi HC pulls up CBI in ’84 riots cases

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New Delhi, February 03: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday pulled up CBI and other prosecuting agencies for being “insensitive” in handling the 1984 riots cases as routine ones and suggested appointment of a special public prosecutor to speedily pursue the matter on the line of Gujarat riots cases.

“You should respect the sentiments of sufferers, you tell your director to appoint a senior lawyer as a public prosecutor to handle the cases. This is the legitimate demand. Don’t treat these cases as routine cases,” a Bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah said.

Man Who Forced Wife To Wear Niqab Loses Visa Plea

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Abu Dhabi, February 03: The French government has refused to grant citizenship to a man who forced his wife to wear the full Islamic veil or niqab, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

The man needed citizenship to settle in France with his French wife.

Immigration Minister Eric Besson said the application was turned down because the man was impeding on his wife’s rights not to wear a veil.

Bomb hits pilgrims near holy city

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Baghdad, February 03: An Iraqi police official says a motorcycle bomb blast has killed at least 20 people as Shia pilgrims gathered near the outskirts of the holy city of Karbala. About 110 were wounded.

The blast was the latest in a string of attacks this week that have targeted pilgrims making their way to an important Shiite religious observance in Karbala, raising fears of a spike in attacks when the pilgrimage culminates Friday.

Govt constitutes expert panel on Telangana

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New Delhi, February 03: The Central government on Wednesday constituted a five-member expert committee on Telangana issue headed by former Supreme Court Judge B N Srikrishna.

A Home Ministry spokesperson said the committee will hold wide-ranging consultations with all sections of people and different political parties and groups in Andhra Pradesh.

Spontaneous strike cripples life in Srinagar

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Srinagar, February 03: Normal life remained paralysed here for the second consecutive day as people observed a spontaneous strike on Wednesday to protest against the killing of a teenager in teargas shelling on Sunday.

Shops and business establishments remained closed and transport kept off the roads in the summer capital even though no organisation had given a call for the strike today, officials said.

US should encourage talks on Kashmir: Mullen

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Washington, February 03: Asserting that improved Indo-Pak relationship is key to success of the US war against terror in the Af-Pak region, top American military commander Admiral Mike Mullen has said the Obama Administration should encourage back channel talks between the two countries on Kashmir.

‘Indian varsities may soon match Oxbridge’

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London, February 03: Amidst major funding cuts in British universities, a top US academic has told a London audience that India and China could soon build institutions that match Oxford and Cambridge.

Professor Richard Levin, president of Yale University, said increasing focus in India and China on higher education means that institutions there would be ranked alongside Oxbridge within 25 years.

Nepal to have Asia’s first gay, lesbian centre

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Kathmandu, February 03: Nepal is all set to have the first LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Trans-sexual) regional centre, with financial support from the government, near here to promote the rights of sexual minorities of the South Asian region.

According to lawmaker and activist Sunal Babu Pant, the centre with a conference capacity of 300 will be ready within three years at the cost of around USD 2 million. It will be the first such LGBT centre in the entire Asia, he claimed.

CWC meet on Feb 5 ahead of CMs’ meet on price rise

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New Delhi, February 03: A meeting of the Congress Working Committee is being held here on February 5 against the backdrop of issues like price rise.

Party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said today that the meeting will review the current political situation, but did not specify the agenda.

The meeting takes place a day before the conference of Chief Ministers convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on price rise.

The working committee deliberations are also important as the Union Budget 2010-11 is to be presented later this month.

Trials of full-body scanners at Delhi airport from May

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New Delhi, February 03: India will start using full-body scanners to screen passengers at the international airport here on a trial basis from May and decide by the end of the Commonwealth Games in October who will get the multi-million dollar contract to supply such equipment.

Security tightened in Azamgarh as Muslims vow to protest

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Lucknow, February 03: Tight security arrangements have been put in place ahead of senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s visit to Azamgarh Wednesday. The decision was made following an announcement of the Ulema Council (a body of clerics) that it wouldn’t allow Congress leaders to enter the district.

“In the wake of the announcement made by members of the Ulema Council, security has been deployed in every nook and corner of the district, particularly in Sanjarpur town,” district police chief Ramit Sharma told reporters Wednesday in Azamgarh, about 300 km from Lucknow.

IM terrorist Shahzad sent to three-day police custody

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New Delhi, February 03: A suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist arrested in connection with the serial blasts here was on Wednesday sent to the custody of Delhi Police for three days.

Shahzad, who was arrested from Azamgarh on February 1 by Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad, was produced before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Naveen Arora, who granted the Crime Branch plea for quizzing the suspect and sent him to police custody till February 6.

Humans are aliens from outer space: British scientist

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London, February 03: In what sounds to be a new science fiction theme, a top British scientist has claimed that all humans are aliens who have come to earth from outer space.

Prof Chandra Wickramasinghe, an Asian-origin astrobiologist at Cardiff University, said his research “overwhelmingly supported” the view that human life started from outside the planet.

According to Wickramasinghe, the first “seeds of life” were deposited on earth from space some 3,800 million years ago.

Tiwari reviews projects initiated by him in Uttarakhand

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Dehradun, February 03: After lying low for about a month following his resignation from Andhra Pradesh Governor’s post in the wake of a sex scandal, veteran Congress leader N D Tiwari has started reviewing projects initiated during his tenure as chief minister of Uttarakhand.

Tiwari, who denied his involvement in the entire sting episode, has decided to review all big projects which were initiated when he was the chief minister of the state as part of a political strategy, sources close to Tiwari told PTI.