Month: April 2010

‘Go by what Indian government says, not media’

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Beijing, April 06: External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today said China should be guided by India’s official stand on issues concerning bilateral ties and not by the reports in the Indian media, an “independent entity” which takes a critical stance on various issues.

“We have an independent media which is very articulate, which is sometimes extremely critical not (only) on India-China relations, but also on various internal and external factors,” he said when a Chinese journalist asked him about “adverse” reports in the Indian media last year.

Nazir remanded to seven days police custody

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Kochi, April 06: A local court today remanded suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba operative T Nazir to seven days police custody in connection with the murder attempt on a Muslim spiritual leader at nearby Kakkanad in January 2008.

Judicial First Class Magistrate (Aluva) V S Vidhyadharan, remanded Nazir, first accused in the case, to custody when he was produced in court this morning.

About 15 accused had brutally attacked Rahim Pukkadassery alias K M R Guru, who heads a spiritual organisation in Kottayam, and fled thinking he had died.

Official blames al-Qaida in Iraq for bombs, 34 die

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Baghdad, April 06: Baghdad’s top military spokesman is blaming al-Qaida in Iraq for a series of massive explosions at apartment buildings across Baghdad which killed at least 34 people.

Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, an spokesman for Baghdad’s operations command center, said after the blasts Tuesday “we are in a state of war with the remains of al-Qaida.” He spoke in an interview on state-owned TV.

Australia not to supply uranium to India

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Melbourne, April 06: Australia Tuesday ruled out changing its policy and said it would not supply uranium to India, which is seeking fuel for its nuclear energy programme, a media report said.

Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean told reporters in Canberra: “There is no prospect for a change.

“We have consistently said, made this clear to India that we, because of our policy, cannot supply to countries that are non-signatories to the non-proliferation treaty,” the Australian Financial Review quoted him as saying.

Turkey plays down Iran sanctions, backs diplomacy

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Ankara, April 06: As the US and its allies push for swift UN sanctions against Iran, Turkey urges diplomacy to settle the ongoing dispute over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

“We consider that this affair must be resolved by the diplomatic path,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro published on Tuesday.

Homosexuals should have same rights as others

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New Delhi, April 06: NAZ foundation, in its counter affidavit, filed in the Supreme Court today has claimed that homosexuals has same rights as heterosexuals to establish intimate sexual relations in privacy without interference and are also entitled to have live in relationship.

Youth arrested for defacing Maya’s hoarding

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Ghaziabad, April 06: A youth was arrested for defacing a hoarding of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati at the Collectorate campus here, police said today.

Braham Pal Singh had painted the face of the chief minister black in protest against alleged police inaction in a theft case, they said.

Singh, arrested yesterday, said during interrogation that he was angry over delay in action by the police in the theft case which he had registered recently.

UN closes Peshawar offices for two days

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Peshawar, April 06: The UN announced a two-day closure of its offices here Tuesday, a day after a deadly Taliban attack on the US consulate in this northwestern Pakistani city and a massive explosion at a political rally in Lower Dir claimed 59 lives.

“For security reasons, United Nations’ offices in Peshawar have closed temporarily for two days,” UN spokesperson Ishrat Rizvi told Geo News.

“We took this step as a precautionary measure and for the protection of our staff, we have advised them to work from home for two days. This step was taken because of security fears,” she added.

Shahid, Nana did Paathshaala for free?

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Mumbai, April 06: Very rarely do you find directors starting a production house and not directing their first film themselves. But that’s what Ahmed Khan has done.

Having directed Lakeer and Fool & Final, besides being an accomplished choreographer and making the top most stars dance to his tunes, Ahmed decided to write his next film, produce it as well, but not direct it himself. This time, for Paathshaala, Ahmed decided to entrust the directorial reins to Milind Ukey, who had directed an award winning Marathi film earlier.

Priyanka Chopra offends many on Twitter

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Mumbai, April 06: Priyanka Chopra unknowingly ended up offending some people on her Twitter account by saying she was back into ‘civilization’ from Kashmir.

She clarifies, “I did tweet to say I was going back to civilization. That was more a state of mind expressing my happiness at being back in familiar surroundings. It didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy Kashmir.”

She eulogizes, “Kashmir is to me a dreamscape. I want to go back there as soon as possible. I tweeted saying it’s completely safe. Forget Switzerland. When we have Kashmir, we don’t need to go anywhere else.”

Juhi Chawla’s brother in ICU

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Mumbai, April 06: Bobby Chawla, brother of actress Juhi Chawla, and the CEO of Shahrukh Khan’s company Red Chillies Entertainment, was admitted to a suburban hospital in a critical condition on Sunday evening.

US casts doubt on Iran interest in denuclearization

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Washington, April 06: As Iran prepares to hold an international conference on nuclear disarmament US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley whose country possesses the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons tries to cast doubt on Iran’s interest in global denuclearization.

Iran is to hold an international conference on nuclear disarmament on April 17th and 18th.

Afghan official: Foreigners behind corruption

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Kabul, April 06: An Afghan official says a large proportion of the widespread corruption in Afghanistan is due to foreign involvement in fomenting the crisis.

The head of Afghanistan’s High Office of Oversight and Anti-corruption, Mohammad Yasin Osmani, in remarks addressed to the Senate on Monday said that foreigners are responsible for 80 percent of the corruption in the country, the Afghan Voice Agency reported.

He added that a 40-member US anti-corruption delegation has arrived in Kabul; and has so far assessed 36 cases of fraud in the foreign institution.

5 massive blasts jolt central Baghdad

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Baghdad, April 06: Five heavy explosions have rocked through Baghdad with one of them hitting near a ministry building in the center of the Iraqi capital, an interior ministry official says.

The blast in the center of the city occurred on Tuesday near the public works ministry close to Haifa street in Salhiyeh neighborhood, AFP reported.

The incident happened when a bomber blew himself up at a popular restaurant.

Ambulances and emergency service workers rushed to the scene as a large column of smoke rose from the explosion site close to the ministry building.

47 illegal street vendors held in Bahrain Suad Hamada

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Manama, April 06: Forty-six expatriate street vendors were arrested last week in various markets in Bahrain during inspections conducted by the authorities.

According to a statement by the Labour Market Regularity Authority (LMRA), all the arrested workers face deportation for illegally living in 
Bahrain.

Vice-Chairman of the LMRA for Legal Affairs, Yousif Al Harmi, said on Monday all goods of the vendors were seized during the inspections conducted in four districts simultaneously.

Ahmadinejad rejects parliament’s subsidies law

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Tehran, April 06: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected parliament’s subsidies law on Monday and demanded double the cuts in food and fuel supports, in a rebuke to an assembly dominated by his erstwhile conservative allies.

He was tacitly supported by the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who urged parliament to work with the government to reach a compromise.

Diplomacy should settle Iran N-question: Erdogan

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Paris, April 06: The crisis over Iran’s nuclear programme should be settled through diplomacy, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview published Tuesday by the French newspaper Le Figaro.

“We consider that this affair must be resolved by the diplomatic path,” Erdogan, who starts an official two-day visit to France Tuesday, told the newspaper.

Although several countries had been speaking in terms of sanctions, he said he did not think this was the way to get results.

Abu Dhabi evicts ‘investors’ from low-cost houses

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Abu Dhabi, April 06: The Abu Dhabi Municipality has this year made 55 low-cost houses and villas vacant after ‘investors’ turned them into apartments to exploit the rent situation.

A municipality source told that offenders had been referred to the municipal court after the grace period. Majority of those refused to fall in line were evacuated by law.

‘My style is my strength’ – Virender Sehwag

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Mumbai, April 05: Virender Sehwag has revealed that he has no intentions of changing his aggressive style of play, irrespective of the odd failure.

“When I play a cover-drive, I play it to score runs. I don’t play a shot to get out. So, if the cover-drive ends up in a catch at slip, I am spared criticism. If it ends up in the hands at covers, I am slammed. The shot attempted has remained the same, only the mode of dismissal is different,” Sehwag told the Hindu.

Final appeal in Sama Dubai case lost

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Dubai, April 06: Four former executives of Sama Dubai’s Lagoon Project lost their appeal against their jail terms on Monday as the Court of Cassation upheld the verdict of the Court of Appeal.

On January 26, the Court of Appeal sentenced the four to three years each in prison.

Aquino’s lead widens in Philippine opinion poll

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Manila, April 06: Frontrunner Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino widened his lead in Philippine presidential race ahead of the May 10 election, as support for his nearest rival dropped for a second month, a Pulse Asia opinion poll showed on Tuesday.

The survey, conducted on March 21-28, showed support for opposition senator Aquino, son of the country’s democracy icon Cory Aquino, has been steady at 37 and 36 percent so far in 2010, although below a peak of 45 percent in December.

Shoaib Akhtar selected for one-day Pentangular

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Karachi, April 06: Shoaib Akhtar has been selected to play in the one-day Pentagular Cup that begins in Lahore on April 17, while Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan do not feature in any of the five teams.

“The event will help the selectors pick some talented boys from it as feedback for the national side which has some challenging tasks ahead, including the Asia Cup and six Test matches in England, soon after the World Twenty20,” chief selector Mohsin Khan told Dawn after announcing the teams for the tournament.

China rescuers race to save miners still trapped

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Xiangning, April 06: Efforts to reach 33 Chinese miners still trapped in a flooded coal pit forged ahead Tuesday, boosted by the rescue of 115 of their fellow workers who were pulled out a day earlier after more than a week underground.

Authorities found five bodies in the mine in northern China’s Shanxi province on Tuesday, state television reported, but expressed confidence that the remaining miners could be saved.

Riot police in place to confront Thai protesters

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Bangkok, April 06: Thousands of anti-government demonstrators clashed with Thai police and military troops trying to prevent them from leaving from the capital’s commercial district Tuesday to stage protests elsewhere in Bangkok.

The demonstrators pushed against police lines and pelted the riot squads with eggs and plastic water bottles along a tree-lined boulevard near the Four Seasons Hotel.