Month: April 2010

Hottest Couple of Decade

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Mumbai, Aprill 29: Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif may be tight-lipped about their relationship status, but they have been voted the hottest couple of the decade in a poll by MSN India that also declared superstar Shah Rukh Khan the actor of the decade.

The two have beaten the likes of Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai, Bipasha Basu-John Abraham and Saif Ali Khan-Kareena Kapoor.

MSN India had conducted an online poll and invited its readers to vote for their favourite Bollywood actors under various categories as part of their Decade Special for Bollywood.

‘U.S. needs to develop clean coal technologies’

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Washington, April 29: Observing that India and China are not going to turn their back on coal because of their increasing energy needs, a top Obama Administration official has told American lawmakers that the United States needs to develop clean coal technologies.

“I agree with you absolutely that China and India are not going to turn their back on coal, and so we have to develop the technologies that can use coal cleanly,” the US Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, said yesterday in response to a question from Senator George Voinovich.

US issues travel alert for Thailand

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Washington, April 29: The US has called for peaceful resolution of the current political impasse in Thailand and issued a travel alert for American nationals for that country.

“Our message remains what it has been since this situation evolved, which is to peacefully resolve the situation,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley.

Due to escalating violence in central Bangkok, demonstrations in Chiang Mai, and other incidents throughout Thailand, all US citizens should avoid non-essential travel to Thailand, the State Department said in a travel alert.

Foreign nationals trying to enrol as Indian citizens: BJP

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Hyderabad, April 29: The BJP’s Andhra Pradesh unit alleged that over one lakh Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals, who were staying illegally in the state, were trying to enrol themselves as Indian citizens during the on-going Census drive.

Speaking to reporters here, party spokesperson N. V. S. Prabhakar demanded appointment of an IAS officer to supervise the Census exercise and ensure that no foreigners could enlist as Indian citizens, particularly in the old city areas.

Friend of India award goes to Senator Dodd

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Washington, April 29: Top Democrat Senator Christopher Dodd would receive ‘Friend of India’ award for his contribution in strengthening the Indo-US relationship.

The award, instituted by the Connecticut chapter of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) would be presented to Senator Dodd at the GOPIO-Connecticut’s fourth annual gala on May 2 in Stamford.

Muslims can’t buy my house

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Melbourne, April 29: A former right-wing leader in Australia has ignited a controversy by openly declaring that she would not sell her property to Asians who lived overseas, and to Muslims who she believes are not “compatible with our culture”.

ICICI ranked 45th among 100 most valuable global brands

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New Delhi, April 29: Leading private sector lender ICICI Bank has been ranked 45th among the top 100 most valuable global brands.

According to the BrandZ Top 100 Global Brands Report, ICICI Bank has been ranked 45th and becomes the first and only domestic brand to feature in the list.

No desire to immediately tackle immigration reform

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Washington, April 29: President Barack Obama said that there may not be an “appetite” in Congress to immediately tackle the divisive issue of U.S. immigration reform.

Given the amount of work to do on energy legislation and lawmakers’ concerns about congressional elections in November, comprehensive immigration reform might be too much, he told reporters on board Air Force One when asked if he thought immigration reform could be passed this year.

China gives aid, invites officials

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Kathmandu, April 29: China on Wednesday made a spirited bid for increasing engagement with SAARC as it rolled out the red carpet for officials to Beijing and announced a hefty sum for the SAARC Development Fund (SDF).

Knife attack in China’s primary school

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Beijing, April 29: Sixteen primary school children and an art teacher were stabbed by a mentally ill person in south China’s Guangdong province, officials said.

The incident took place Wednesday when 33-year-old Chen Kangbing, a teacher from another school, barged into Leicheng First Primary School and started attacking students with knife.

India, China renew Brahmaputra pact

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New Delhi, April 29: India and China have signed an agreement for sharing flood-related hydrological data for Brahmaputra during the monsoon season. The agreement follows the renewal of an MoU between the two countries during the visit of the then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Beijing in 2008.

Earthquake hits Myanmar

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New York, April 29: An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale struck Myanmar, the US Geological Survey said Thursday.

The quake hit at 12:31 a.m. ((2331 IST Wednesday) with a depth of 35 km, 425 km northwest of Yangon, reported quoting the USGS.

There were no reports of any damage so far.

—-IANS

Iran president applies for US visa

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New York, April 29: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has applied for a visa to attend a nuclear non-proliferation conference at the United Nations in New York next month, US officials confirmed Wednesday.

Leaders and diplomats from dozens of countries are expected in New York beginning Monday to attend the review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty held every five years.

Iran is likely to be a major focus of the discussions as the US and its allies are pushing for UN Security Council sanctions to punish the Islamic republic over its nuclear activities.

U.S. announces award for women and girls empowerment

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Washington, April 29: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced two awards with grants up to $ 500,000 for the empowerment of women and girls.

Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Innovation Award seeks to find and bring to scale the most pioneering approaches to the political, economic and social empowerment of women and girls around the globe.

The award is part of the State Department’s continuing emphasis on public-private partnerships, and is administered by its Office of Global Women’s Issues.

I may turn director too in few years

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Mumbai, April 29: He had written “Namastey London”, turned producer with his Hari Om Productions and has of course acted in umpteen actioners and comedies. Now Bollywood star Akshay Kumar says he may wield the megaphone as well after a few years.

Access to Headley may come as early as next week

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New Delhi, April 29: The US government has agreed to take “suitable steps” to facilitate direct access for Indian authorities to Lashker operative David
Coleman Headley, a statement put out by the Indian embassy in Washington has said.

The aforesaid agreement between India and US was reached at an April 27 meeting in Washington comprising solicitor-general Gopal Subramanium and US attorney-general Eric Holder. After detailed discussions on the Headley case, the two sides finalised a mutual commitment for the best possible co-operation in their common fight against terrorism.

All eyes on PM-Gilani meet today

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Washington, April 29: On the eve of a crucial meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani, the US said that it encourages such development which is good for the region.

Dr. Singh and Mr. Gilani are scheduled to meet today on the sidelines of the on going 16th SAARC Summit in Thimphu, the Capital of Bhutan.

US flight cleared after possible terror threat

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Washington, April 29: A Continental Airlines flight to Washington from Houston was cleared after being diverted on Wednesday to North Carolina because of a threatening message found in the bathroom, the second plane threat in as many days.

Continental flight 3006 landed at Greensboro, North Carolina, where passengers were interviewed about a threatening message was found on the mirror in the bathroom, the Transportation Security Administration said.

IPL DRAMA :Silent and innocent Spectators

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New delhi,April 29 :ONE BY one, members of the IPL governing council — a majority of whom are a part of the BCCI — are admitting that part of the responsibility for the mess lies with them. They realise they were not pro-active in the affairs of the world’s richest cricket tournament that allowed Lalit Modi to run it like his “own fiefdom”.

Rahman gets 5.5 crores for CWG Tune

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New delhi,April 29 : FOR ALL those who had forgotten Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, here’s how money is being spent for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

A. R. Rahman, revered for his soul- stirring music and recently bestowed the Padma Vibhushan by the government, will be paid close to Rs 5.5 crore by the Games’ Organising Committee ( OC) for composing the opening ceremony theme song.

Sources confirmed that Rahman would also be associated with ‘ promotional events’ relating to the October 3- 14 sporting extravaganza to be held in the Capital.

SC quashes ‘pre-marital sex’ cases against Khushboo

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New Delhi, April 28: The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed 22 criminal cases filed against South Indian actress Khushboo for her remarks in various magazines allegedly endorsing pre-marital sex.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices Deepak Verma and B S Chauhan allowed the appeal filed by the actress against the decision of the Madras High Court which had dismissed her plea to quash the cases.

The cases were registered in various places in Tamil Nadu for her interviews in 2005.

Rs 3 lakh fine, 694 cases, 140 vehicle seizures

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Hyderabad, April 28: The ‘nakabandi’ organised by the city police at various junctions across the city has added a decent Rs 3 lakh to their coffers through compounding fee collected from drunken drivers and other violators of the Motor Vehicle Act. Over 140 vehicles were seized.

In the two-hour exercise which started around 11 p.m on Monday, police checked over 10,000 vehicles apart from 85 lodges in the city.

Rupee slumps by 20 paise Vs dlr

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Mumbai, April 28: The rupee today slumped by 20 paise against the US currency after a sharp fall in stock markets following concerns over the Greece’s debt crisis.

Month-end dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners, too weighed on the rupee, dealers said.

After fairly active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic currency closed at 44.64/65, down 20 paise over the previous close.

Analysts: Israel Scud allegations linked to wider aims

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Beirut, April 28: Recent allegations by Israel that Hezbollah is stockpiling missiles are related to wider issues in the Middle East, notably the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, analysts say.

They say that by claiming that the Lebanese group has acquired Scud missiles, Israel may be seeking to divert attention from its illegal settlements policy in occupied Palestinian territories of East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

It could also be laying the groundwork for a potential strike against Hezbollah, according to several analysts said.

Hezbollah: US arms destabilising Middle East

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Beirut, April 28: Hezbollah on Wednesday shot back at US charges it was stockpiling sophisticated weapons, accusing Washington of destabilising the Middle East and vowing to continue to build its artillery.

“The resistance has the right to use all legitimate means to build its capacity to defend Lebanon,” Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said on Wednesday.

“US arms are annihilating the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon and are the cause of all suffering in the region,” he added.