Month: February 2010

Negative criticism hurts me: Chitrangada Singh

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New Delhi, February 28: She has already made her mark as the thinking director’s actress with just two films in Bollywood and has been likened to yesteryear’s star Smita Patil.

But Chitrangada Singh is not happy with comparisons as she doesn’t like being praised in one film and then criticised in another.
“Its a huge compliment comparing me to Smita Patil, but I don’t really want to be compared to her. If you are good in one film people say you are like her, but the next film might not be that good and then they say you are not. That hurts me,” Chitrangada told PTI.

Conditions ripe for Saudi India energy partnership: PM

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Riyadh, February 28: Opening India’s doors to Saudi entrepreneurs, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the ‘conditions are ripe’ for moving beyond a traditional buyer- seller relationship to a comprehensive energy partnership.

Fresh firing along India-Bangladesh border

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Shillong, February 28: The Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Sunday again traded gunfire in Muktapur along their border in Meghalaya but a BDF official called it “accidental” firing.

The firing, the third time this month, started around 2.35 p.m. and lasted for nearly half hour, a villager on the border who heard the gunshots said.

The firing took place a day after BSF Director General Raman Srivastava announced a reinforcement of his men from Dawki to Muktapur areas.

Saudi worried over Pakistan situation

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Riyadh, February 28: Saudi Arabia is worried about the current situation in Pakistan and wants its political leadership to unite against extremism, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said Sunday.

“Pakistan is a friendly country. Therefore, any time one sees a dangerous trend in a friendly country, one is not only sorry but worried,” the Saudi minister said after a nearly hour-long meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Amitabh Bachchan receives Taj Enlighten Tareef Award

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Mumbai, February 28: A day after he won the best actor trophy at the 55th Filmfare Awards for his role in “Paa”, Amitabh Bachchan received the Taj Enlighten Tareef Award Sunday.

“I am thankful for the opportunity given to me. I think this is a fabulous moment and a wonderful idea to capture the life of very prominent artistes, seniors who have been involved with the Indian film Industry,” Bachchan told reporters before receiving the award from the Taj Enlighten Film Society.

India supports Arab peace plan

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Riyadh, February 28: India Sunday expressed “strong support” to a Saudi-proposed initiative aimed at ending the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Indian decision was made known on the second day of Manmohan Singh’s visit to Saudi Arabia, the second by an Indian prime minister after 1982.

“We exchanged views on developments in the Middle East and on the status of the peace process in the Middle East,” Latha Reddy, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said here Sunday.

She was briefing newsmen about the prime minister’s engagements with the Saudi leadership.

IIT student confesses to murder of woman in Shimla

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Shimla, February 28: A student of the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, arrested in Haryana early Sunday for allegedly murdering a female IIT-Delhi student in a Shimla hotel, has confessed his crime, police claimed here.

A 22-year-old third-year girl student of textile engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi, who came here with the IIT-Roorkee male student, was found murdered in the hotel room Saturday. Since then, the alleged accused was missing.

Vintage beauties roar through Delhi streets

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New Delhi, February 28: It was a car rally with a difference.Sparkling vintage beauties like Rolls Royce 1934, Buick 1935 and Mercedes 1937 roared through the streets of the national capital today as part of the 44th Statesman Vintage and Classic car rally.

The cars and its proud owners queued at Connaught Place this morning where the rally was flagged off by Lt-Governor Tejendra Khanna.

“It was a visual treat. I have not seen so many vintage cars on a single platform,” said Aman Sharma, a spectator.

Scribes pay as police deem coin a security threat

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New Delhi, February 28: Scribes were literally made to pay for it as the security personnel manning the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium insisted that coins posed a security threat to the players participating in the hockey World Cup.

The journalists who came to cover the opening day of the 12-team event got poorer as police personnel relieved them of the coins, fearing they might “throw them into the ground”.

PM sees Saudi as strategic partner to promote peace

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Riyadh, February 28: Giving a new dynamism to bilateral ties, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India sees Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner for promoting peace, stability and economic development and that the conditions were ripe for the two countries to enter into a comprehensive energy partnership.

Call-centre employee killed as crane topples in W Delhi

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New Delhi, February 28: A 30-year-old call-centre employee was crushed to death when a crane toppled and fell on three cars in west Delhi where digging work by Delhi Jal Board work was going on in the wee hours today, police said.

The incident took place near Rajouri Garden flyover at around 3 AM and the victim has been identified as Abhinav Puri, who was returning to his Tilak Nagar residence from a call centre in Gurgaon where he was employed.

Passenger dies while waiting to board flight

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Chennai, February 28: A 54-year-old passenger, who had undergone treatment for cancer, died at the airport lounge today while waiting to board a flight to Kolkata.

Dihind Pomudy died while waiting to board the Indian flight, airport sources said.

He had undergone treatment for cancer at a hospital in Vellore, about 100 km from here. His body was taken to a nearby government hospital, sources said.

–Agencies

Jilted lover shoots woman

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Etawah, February 28: A young married woman was today shot dead by a man, who was having a one-sided love affair with her, in the city area here, police said.

Manorama was shot dead by Chottu near Neelkanth temple, where she had gone along with her family members to pay obeisance this afternoon, they said.

Police said Chottu was having a one-sided affair with the victim and got agitated when she recently married some body else.

–Agencies

Ahmedabad, Guj coast, borders on high alert

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Rajkot/Ahmedabad, February 28: Security has been beefed up in the coastal and border areas of the state and a high alert has been issued for Ahmedabad city during Holi following intelligence inputs, police said here today.

“There is a general alert in the coastal and border areas. If any intelligence input or not, we always become alert during festival season,” Director General of Police S S Khandwawala told PTI.

“This is a normal practice which we follow,” he said and declined to divulge anything further on the intelligence inputs.

Self-rule only viable solution to Kashmir issue: PDP

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Jammu, February 28: Opposition PDP today said the party’s self-rule proposal was the only viable solution to the Kashmir problem as it aimed at addressing both internal and external dimensions of this issue.

“Self rule is a document of promises and reconciliation without any compromise with the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said addressing a seminar on self rule in Bhaderwah, 220 kms from here.

If one is not Hindu he could not be Indian: Bhagwat

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Bhopal, February 28: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today said that those who were Indians were Hindus and if one was not a Hindu he could not be an Indian.

“For us the word Hindu did not mean any religion but a way of life,” he said at an annual function of the RSS and the Hindu Samagam here.

The Union Finance Minister had in his budget speech quoted from Chanakaya but this was totally out of context, Bhagwat said, adding that what Chanakaya had said was valid for his times and not the present-day India.

Passenger arrested with fake passport

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Coimbatore, February 28: A 45-year-old man from Kerala was arrested at the airport here today while trying to travel to Sharjah on a fake passport, airport sources said.

They said Vijayakumar of Palakkad district was scheduled to board the early morning flight. However, immigration officials grew suspicious of the address given and on verification, found it had an address in Kumbakonam, though it was issued in Tiruchirapalli.

Since the man could not provide proof of residence, he was handed over to police, they said.

–Agencies

MP from Goa says Russians ‘corrupting’ Morjim villagers

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Panaji, February 28: A Parliamentarian from Goa today accused some Russians of moving around without clothes in Morjim beach village (North Goa) and corrupting the mind of locals and children.

“The state government has taken a conscious decision not to prescribe any dress code (to tourists) but during my Morjim tour I was told that some Russians move totally naked, and that they move around in villages with hardly any dress on them,” Parliamentarian Shantaram Naik told PTI after his visit to the village.

RSS chief calls Nanaji a ‘rare politician’

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Bhopal, February 28: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today said departed Sangh veteran Nanaji Deshmukh was a “rare politician” who voluntarily quit politics at the age of 60.

Nanaji was among the first RSS cadres sent to work for the Jana Sangh after the Independence, Bhagwat said at the annual function of local RSS and Hindu Samagam here.

He said Nanaji was a “rare politician” who had voluntarily quit politics on reaching the age of 60.

He had declined an offer of ministership at the Centre in the Morarji Desai government in 1977, of which key was one of the architects.

11 civilians killed in Afghan mine blast

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Kabul, February 28: A mine explosion Sunday in southern Afghanistan killed 11 civilians, including women and children, a provincial spokesman said.

The attack in southern province of Helmand, where thousands of Afghan and NATO forces have been taking part in the biggest-ever operation against the Taliban, happened when the civilians were travelling in a trailer attached to a farming tractor in province’s Nawzad district, a government spokesman said.

Section of media misread my remarks, says Tharoor

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Riyadh, February 28: Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor Sunday stated here that a section of media had misread his remarks about Saudi Arabia being a potential interlocutor for India in its relations with Pakistan.

Tharoor issued the statement of clarification here Sunday after his remarks to the media that Saudi Arabia was a potential interlocutor for India created a mini-storm in political circles back home.

“A section of the media has misread the remarks made by me in Riyadh last (Saturday) evening,” Tharoor said in the statement.

Three pilgrims killed in Himachal accident

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Shimla, February 28: Three pilgrims from Punjab were killed and one was seriously injured Sunday when the car in which there were travelling skidded off the road and fell into a ditch in Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur district, police said.

“Three people were killed when their car fell into a 60-foot ditch near the Naina Devi shrine around 2 p.m. Sunday. One was seriously injured in the accident. The injured has been admitted to the district hospital at Bilaspur town,” Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Sharma told IANS.

Congress maintains silence on Tharoor’s remark

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New Delhi, February 28: Congress today maintained silence over the controversial remark by Union Minister Shashi Tharoor that Saudi Arabia can be a “valuable interlocutor” between India and Pakistan.

There were no reactions either from the AICC or any Congress spokesman on the matter, which has raised the hackles of the Opposition.

However, some Congress leaders, on condition of anonymity, expressed their anger against Tharoor for “landing the government in trouble again and again.

–Agencies

Neelmani takes over as 47th DGP of Bihar

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Patna, February 28: Neelmani, who today became the 47th Director General of Bihar Police, said that making the force at par with their counterparts in other states would be his top most priority.

Neelmani, who took over the charge from Anand Shanker, said that he would try his level best to come up to the expectations of people.

“I have a clear vision about my work,” Neelmani, elevated to the post of state DGP on February 25, told reporters.

Neelmani, an IPS officer of 1975 batch, will have a tenure of 18 months as he is scheduled to retire in August next year.

–Agencies

Two businessmen rescued, one kidnapper held

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Kohima, February 28: Close on the heels of rescuing two traders from kidnappers, Dimapur police have rescued two more businessmen near the town and arrested an abductor.

A special police cell formed recently to handle cases of kidnapping and extortions, rescued two Kohima-based businessmen yesterday.

They were abducted for ransom, from a village near Dimapur with the help of the relatives of the victims, police said today.

One of the abductors was also arrested after getting injured when police had to open fire at him while trying to flee, they said.