Paris, March 25: A 25-year-old who allegedly hacked the Twitter accounts of numerous well-known figures, including Britney Spears and President Barack Obama, has been detained, French police said on Wednesday.
The suspect, who goes by the online pseudonym “Hacker Croll,” was caught following a joint operation with the FBI and detained for questioning on Tuesday in the Puy-de-Dome region of central France, they said.
Jaipur, March 25: In a shocking incident, a man after allegedly killing his two kids at home jumped before a moving train along with his wife and three other children near here, police said.
“Five bodies, including those of three girls and their mother, were recovered from the railway track near Harmara area this morning.
Two more bodies of a boy and a girl were found in their house in Jairampura village,” they said. “Prima facie, the man first administered poison to his children, and later left his home along with his wife and three children and jumped before the train,” they said.
Srinagar, March 25: The Jammu and Kashmir has achieved the distinction of becoming the first state where professional audit in the health department has been introduced to bring work culture, transparency and accountability in healthcare delivery system.
Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma said today that this has helped in bringing improvements in the last one year in existing peripheral health institutions in terms of infrastructure, equipment and manpower and also in making progress in institutional deliveries and major surgeries.
New Delhi, March 25: The government has put a brake on the withdrawal of troops, which saw 36,000 army personnel leave Jammu and Kashmir over the last 18 months, because of renewed infiltration attempts from across the border. Last year was the most peaceful in Jammu and Kashmir in more than a decade: violent incidents dropped by nearly a third over 2008.
Mumbai, March 25: Believe it or not, but Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif are apparently set to dazzle the silver screen for the last time in near future.
According to the latest buzz, the sizzling jodi has mutually agreed to do only one more film together for now, and it is Anurag Basu’s ‘Khamoshi’ where Ranbir would be playing a deaf-and-mute role and Katrina would be seen portraying a very influential and powerful character.
Kolkata, March 25: Eight more bodies were recovered from the 150-year-old heritage building in upscale Park Street, raising the toll in the devastating fire that swept the building on Tuesday to 24.
Firefighters who began search operations last night from the top floor of the Stephen Court, housing restaurants, offices and residences, said the bodies were mainly recovered from the fifth and sixth floors of the seven-storeyed building.
New Delhi, March 25: Delhi Police have arrested a part-time Bollywood actor for his involvement in two murder cases. Imran Hasmi, 26, had even shared screen space with Shah Rukh Khan in Billu. Hasmi was arrested from a south Delhi mall on Wednesday when he came to meet notorious western UP gangster Pehelwan.
“Hasmi had acted in My Friend Ganesha and Billu. During interrogation, he revealed his involvement in two murder cases. He had twice escaped from the custody of Uttar Pradesh Police and Delhi Police,” deputy commissioner of police (south) HGS Dhaliwal said.
Mumbai, March 25: A Chennai-bound Jet Airways flight with 80 passengers returned to Mumbai airport soon after take off on Wednesday as one of its engines stopped working.
At around 7 pm, the pilot asked the air traffic control (ATC) officials for permission to land under emergency conditions. Fire tenders, safety officers and ambulances rushed to the tarmac but the flight landed safely.
All passengers were safely shifted to another flight that left at 8:45 pm. A Jet Airways spokesperson said: “The decision to bring back the aircraft to Mumbai was taken as a precautionary measure.”
Moscow, March 25: Russia and the United States have reached agreement on a landmark nuclear arms reduction treaty, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, but the White House said some issues still needed to be worked out.
“All documents for the signing of START have been agreed,” said the Kremlin official, who asked not to be identified. The official said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama would decide when to sign it.
Washington, March 25: In a blatant snub to Pakistan, the United States on Wednesday gave the cold shoulder to two of Islamabad’s pet peeves – an India-type civil nuclear deal and mediation on Kashmir.
The US has cleared that Pakistan’s hopes for a nuclear deal are not feasible.
Addressing a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the end of the first of two days of a high-level strategic dialogue between Islamabad and Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cleared that such a deal is out of the question.
Chicago, March 25: People’s addiction to social networking sites is fast on the rise, according to a study which said an increasing number of Facebook and Twitter users check their accounts first thing in the morning while some look at their social media messages even while having sex.
The study conducted by consumer electronics shopping site Retrevo said 53 per cent of people surveyed check their Facebook/Twitter accounts as soon as they get up in the morning, even “before getting out of bed”. Nearly 31 per cent say “this is how I get my morning news“.
Kabul, March 25: A NATO soldier has been killed during a firefight with insurgents in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said, taking to 134 the number of foreign troops killed this year in the country.
“An ISAF service member died as a result of a small-arms attack in southern Afghanistan,” NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement released late Wednesday.
It did not give further details, and the nationality of the soldier was not disclosed, as per ISAF policy.
Mumbai, March 25: The Bombay high court has pulled up a two-bench central excise tribunal for not adhering to judicial precedents while delivering judgment in a case involving Mercedes Benz India Private Ltd.
A division bench of justice VC Daga and justice KK Tated was hearing last week a petition filed by Mercedes Benz, challenging an order passed by the tribunal in November 2009. According to the petition, the tribunal had ruled against the company, though their case was squarely covered by previous judgments.
Riyadh, March 25: Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has arrested scores of suspected militants accused of plotting attacks on oil and other installations in the kingdom, Saudi media reported on Wednesday.
Following is a timeline of major attacks and plots in the last 15 years:
June 25, 1996 – A bomb in a fuel truck kills 19 American soldiers and wounds nearly 400 people at a U.S. military housing complex in the eastern city of Khobar.
May 12, 2003 – At least 35 people, including nine Americans, are killed and 200 wounded by al Qaeda bombers in Riyadh.
Bengaluru, March 25: A mysterious caller has been nagging the harried airport police and claiming to have information of the people who planted a crude bomb in the Kingfisher aircraft on Sunday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (north east) Basavraj Malagatti received a phone call from a Mohan from Mumbai. He claimed that he has filmed the people who had kept explosives in the aircraft.
Malagatii said that the caller informed him that he has converted the recording into a CD and would give it to him if he gets suitably rewarded.
Mumbai, March 25: Had the state government lifted its allocated quota, the prices of sugar would have come down from Rs40 per kg to Rs20 kg. The findings of the economic survey reveal the serious lapses on the part of the state administration to avail the sugar quota sanctioned by the Centre, which resulted in spiralling prices of the essential commodity for almost a year.
The allotment in 2008-09 was 18.54 lakh quintal, butthe state sought 5.72 lakh quintal. In 2009-10, the government picked up only 46% of the allotted quota.
—Agencies
Thiruvananthapuram, March 25: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting raids in Thiruvananthapuram international airport.
The raids that began early morning in the Customs wing are being carried out by a 14-member CBI team since Thursday morning, Airport sources said.
The CBI team had arrived in the airport in the wee hours of the day. The reasons for the raids are not known. The customs offices are mainly the international terminal and in the cargo complex of the Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE) situated outside the terminal building.
—-Agencies
Mumbai, March 25: The officers of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Crime Branch have arrested two directors of a car rental company, unearthing a Rs28-crore fraud. The company was running a Ponzi scheme similar to that of the tainted City Limouzine group.
The arrested — Pramod Gangaram Raut, 39, and Sajid Ibrahim Warekar, 33 — are directors of M Limouzine India Ltd, with offices at NC Kelkar Marg in Dadar and one at Ram Maruti Road in Thane.
Mumbai, March 25: The Panchshil Housing Society at Worli Naka lost its second resident to jaundice on Tuesday. Vrushali Jayant Pawar, 26, the deceased, was into her sixth month of pregnancy. On February 23, Kavita Aitla, 24, had died of the disease.
New Delhi, March 25: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed RJD leader Mohammed Sahabuddin’s petition challenging Bihar government’s decision to conduct his trial in various criminal cases against him in Siwan jail.
A division bench headed by Justice Dalveer Bhandari upheld the state government’s decision to hold criminal trial against the former MP in the jail.
The apex court said the notification issued by the government and the Patna High Court for shifting his trial is valid and the High Court is empowered to change the venue of trial.
Kuwait, March 25: The families of six Iraqis jailed in Kuwait since the 1991 Gulf War have begun a three-day visit to their relatives, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday.
The six men have been held in Kuwait Central Prison since a US-led international coalition ousted Iraqi troops that occupied the oil-rich emirate for seven months.
It was the second such visit of its kind, the ICRC said in a statement.
The families were allowed to speak freely with the prisoners.
Kuala Lampur, March 25: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim described his sodomy trial as “rotten” and “malicious” after a court Thursday set fresh dates for a second round of the hearing in May.
The trial opened in February briefly before it was adjourned as Anwar’s lawyers mounted a series of unsuccessful legal manoeuvres, including bids to strike out the entire case and for access to key evidence.
The High Court scheduled the trial to continue on May 10 and will hear the case over four separate sessions up to August 30.
Mumbai, March 25: Fearing that the 12-year-old rape victim and her aunt could be attacked by the absconding accused, police have, at present, kept them at an undisclosed location.
Police also plan to recover the mobile phone that the child’s cousin Dhawal Bapat and his friend Raju Sharma had used to film their act at a Kurla lodge. The girl says the video was used to blackmail and rape her on several occasions. Police plan to send the mobile phone to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) where it would be checked. If the accused have deleted the video, the lab will recover it.
United Nations, March 25: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he will urge Arab leaders this weekend to support indirect talks between the Palestinians and Israelis despite their anger over Israel’s approval of new homes for Jews in predominantly Arab east Jerusalem.
He told the Security Council it’s crucial for Arab countries to help create “a favorable atmosphere” for the indirect proximity talks to succeed.
Riyadh, March 25: Security forces Wednesday arrested 113 militants linked with the Al Qaeda terrorist network in Saudi Arabia, Xinhua reported.
Three terrorist hideouts were busted and 113 insurgents were arrested, the interior ministry said. In one of the cells, 47 Saudis, 51 Yemenis, a Somali, a Bangladeshi and an Eritrean national were arrested.
The security forces also seized arms, photographing equipments, computers and documents from the militants who were planning attacks on oil facilities and other installations in the Kingdom.
—–IANS