New Delhi, March 27: Sony Ericsson on Friday introduced its new range of hi-end mobile phones eyeing bigger market share in the fast growing smartphones market. It launched five mobile phones with the latest multimedia and entertainment features, priced between Rs.25,695 and Rs.35,795.
Key Biscayne, March 27: Former champion Novak Djokovic lost his opening match at the Sony Ericsson Open to Olivier Rochus 6-2, 6-7 (7), 6-4 on Friday.
Djokovic won the tournament in 2007 and arrived at Key Biscayne with a 15-3 win-loss record this year. But he looked listless at times against Rochus, and by the third set fans were groaning as his errors mounted.
Ranked No. 2, Djokovic drew scattered jeers when he left the court. He responded with a thumbs-up signal.
I don’t believe in ghosts. I think they are the folly of a fearful mind. But yet I find ghosts to be funny characters. They hound you at the most awkward of hours and at the most awkward of places. Having said this, some ghosts are not funny, they can make life miserable. Ask Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat.
Washington, March 27: Pakistan, once supportive of a Taliban government in Afghanistan, has clarified that it does not want a militant takeover in its north-western neighbourhood.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was on a visit to Washington recently, told the National Public Radio that Pakistan was in favour of the reconciliation process, but said this has to be an Afghan-led process.
Mumbai, March 27: Rebutting the prosecution’s charge of Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab’s participation in the 26/11 terror attacks, his lawyer K P Pawar today told the court that the CCTV footage and photographs purportedly showing his client in action were not “reliable” evidence.
Picking holes in the prosecution’s case, Kasab’s lawyer said photographs clicked by media cameraman Sebastian D’souza were “doubtful piece of evidence” as he had given the memory cards to police 42 days after he had shot the frames.
London, March 27: Women can cut their daily calorie intake by almost a fifth if they simply take a herbal diet pill, a research reveals.
The supplement has also been shown to help those with a sweet tooth, reducing the temptation to indulge in sugary snacks.
Zotrim, which is based on three South American plants, was tested by scientists at the University of Liverpool.
They found that women who took the pill with their breakfast had a much lower appetite at lunch time, cutting their calorie intake by 17.6 percent, reported.
New Delhi, March 27: With the Supreme Court upholding the validity of 4% reservation to the backward among Muslims in Andhra Pradesh, Congress today said there is a case for reservation for backwards in all communities.
The party, however, steered clear of the questions on whether the court order would strengthen the case for implementing Ranganath Mishra Commission report, which recommended reservations for Muslims.
Ahmedabad, March 27: Three wins in a row and now we have a turnaround in the fortunes of Rajasthan Royals. Many believed, and quite rightly so, that Shane Warne no longer remained the monarch of all he surveyed. His team lost their first three games and looked like a bunch of warriors who don’t enjoy a scarp anymore.
All this has changed over the past week! It started on Saturday when they beat Knight Riders in Ahmedabad and then humbled Kings XI Punjab at Mohali. On Friday, they pulled off their biggest win when they downed defending champions Deccan Chargers by eight wickets.
New Delhi, March 27: Islamic scholars, writers and academics from different parts of the world will be attending a three-day International Seminar on the Holy Quran, planned by the Arabic Department of Kerala University at Thiruvananthapuram from April 29.
The focus of the seminar would be the status of Quranic Arabic language in the knowledge era from a different perspective, according to A Nizarudeen, Head of the Department of Arabic in the university.
Mumbai, March 27: Another actor son makes his debut next week. And Luv Sinha, the son of actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, is unabashed about following in his father’s footsteps and says he wants to be a trendsetter too.
Luv, who is set to make his debut with the partition drama “Sadiyaan” with veterans Hema Malini, Rekha and Rishi Kapoor, is quite clear about the path he wants to follow.
Islamabad, March 27: The Pakistan government today said it remains convinced that the composite dialogue is the only way forward to resolve all outstanding issues with India, including Kashmir, and to achieve peace and security in the region.
The government conveyed its stand in a written reply by foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi during question hour in the National Assembly or lower house of parliament.
Qureshi said in the reply that Pakistan underlined the need to resume the composite dialogue process during the foreign secretary-level talks held in New Delhi last month.
Chicago, March 27: A Chicago man of Pakistani origin, with suspected links to HUJI chief Ilyas Kashmiri, was arrested on Saturday on charges of providing material support to a terrorist organisation.
Raja Lahrasib Khan, a naturalised citizen of the US who worked as a taxi driver in Chicago is alleged to have discussed a plot to attack a stadium in the US and is to be produced in a court here today, officials said.
New Delhi, March 27: With hopes of David Headley’s extradition receding, India has decided to send a magistrate to the US to record his statement which would be admissible as evidence in a court here.
A request letter for access to Headley, Lashkar-e Taiba operative who has admitted his role in Mumbai attacks, would be sent by hjome ministry next week to the US department of justice, official sources said today.
Hyderabd, March 27: “Hello, this is Sandy speaking from Intelli Group and I would like to conduct a telephonic interview.” Be careful while answering such calls as there are many con interviewers luring youngsters with IT job offers and cheating them of lakhs of rupees.
Sleuths of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) busted one such racket by nabbing three of a five-member gang.
New Delhi, March 27: Three out of ten Muslims in the country are below poverty line living on less than Rs 550 a month, says a survey.
“The Adivasis are the most vulnerable group with nearly 50 per cent below the poverty line…(followed by) the Dalits and Muslims with poverty rates of 32 per cent and 31 per cent,” said the Indian Human Development survey conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and University of Maryland of the US.
Seoul, March 27: South Korean authorities were stepping up the search for sailors still missing hours after a naval ship sank near the disputed sea border with North Korea.
Navy and coast guard vessels as well as air force planes were searching the waters near South Korea’s Baeknyeong Island where the 1,200-ton “Cheonan” sank earlier Saturday during a routine patrolling mission.
Lucknow, March 27: There was no effort from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sangh Parivar leadership to stop the kar sevaks from razing the disputed structure at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. Top saffron leaders, including LK Advani, actually encouraged the demolition, the person in charge of Advani’s security on that day has deposed.
London, March 27: Paedophiles targeting children online could be tracked down by an analysis of the way they use their keyboard.
Researchers believe technology could be used to determine a computer typist’s age, sex and culture within 10 keystrokes by monitoring their speed and rhythm.
The murder of Ashleigh Hall, a teenager from Darlington, last year by a predator she met on Facebook has raised fresh calls for extra security to protect young people on the internet.
Professor Roy Maxion, associate professor at Newcastle University, has been carrying out the research in America.
Bhuwaneshwar, March 27: Prithvi-II’ ballistic missile, which has a maximum range of 295 km, was successfully test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, about 15 km from here, off the Orissa coast early today.
The indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile was test fired at around 0548 hours from a mobile launcher from the ITR launch complex-3, defence sources said.
Ahmedabad, March 27: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is likely to appear before the Supreme Court- appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday in connection with a post-Godhra riots case, sources in the SIT said.
The SIT office here was abuzz with activity today in preparation as all the members except the panel chief R K Raghavan were present at the office.
The date was confirmed earlier by Mahesh Jethmalani, advising Modi, saying March 27 was mutually agreed date on which Modi would appear before the SIT.
New Delhi, March 27: “Islam and Christianity are alien” to India and, therefore, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) feels people from the minority groups, even if their socio-economic condition is low, should not be given the privilege of quota in jobs, legislative bodies and education, a party official said Friday.
Washington, March 26: The US appears in no mood to blink first in its tense showdown with Israel after reportedly handing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a blueprint to kickstart moribund peace talks, experts said Thursday.
“The United States thinks it can’t compromise with its national interests,” political analyst Amjad Atallah from the New America foundation said. “I’m not sure the Israelis have adjusted yet to this.”
Israel, March 26: A new government campaign to train Israelis in how to use propoganda in order to improve their country’s image when they are abroad has been condemned for advancing a right-wing agenda.
The public relations drive, which includes giving travellers tips on how to champion the country’s illegal settlements, is the government’s latest attempt to shore up support abroad following the harsh criticisms of Israel’s attack on Gaza last year made by the UN-commissioned Goldstone Report, which produced evidence of war crimes.
Jerusalem, March 26: Protests shook Israeli-occupied Palestinian Jerusalem this month and tensions remain high in the narrow alleys of the Old City and could erupt again, confounding US-led peace efforts.
The trigger for the March 16 demonstrations in the Palestinian Holy City was the opening of a rebuilt 17th-century synagogue and rumours that it was part of a plan by Jewish extremists to destroy the famed Al-Aqsa mosque.
Libya, March 26: Arab foreign ministers on Thursday agreed to raise funds for Jerusalem’s Palestinians, at preparatory talks for a weekend summit.
Their decision will be submitted to Arab leaders for final ratification when they gather on Saturday and Sunday in the Libyan Mediterranean city of Sirte for their annual conference.
“Yes, they have agreed,” Arab League chief Mussa told reporters when asked if the fund had been approved by the ministers.