Month: April 2010

Youth killed in bomb blast in police firing range

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Guwahati, April 03: A youth was killed and another injured in a bomb explosion in a police training firing range area in Assam’s Nagaon district today.

Kishna Gopal Hazarika (9) saw a bag in which the bomb was kept and took it to 21-year-old Phagu Bumij.

As the youth tried to open the bag, it exploded killing him on the spot while Krishna was injured, officials said.

The wounded was admitted to hospital.

Police are investigating as to how the bomb was left there.
–PTI

450,000 employees strike work in Jammu and Kashmir

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Jammu, April 03: More than 450,000 government employees of Jammu and Kashmir Saturday began a four-day strike demanding payment of arrears due to them as per the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission.

The strike paralysed work in almost all government offices across the state, though essential services like hospitals, public health engineering and power supply continued to operate.

Mamata to attend meeting on women’s quota bill

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New Delhi, April 03: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee will attend a meeting of all political parties in the Lok Sabha on the women’s reservation bill here Monday, a Trinamool Congress leader said Saturday.

The Trinamool Congress, the second largest party in the Congress-led ruling coalition, had abstained from voting on the women’s quota bill in the Rajya Sabha March 9.

“Mamataji will attend the meeting,” Trinamool chief whip in the Lok Sabha Sudip Bandopadhyay told IANS.

However, the party did not reveal the strategy to be adopted in the meeting.

India willing to hold another Secy level meet with Pak

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New Delhi, April 03: After the ice-breaking February 25 Foreign Secretary-level talks, India has conveyed to Pakistan its willingness to have the second round of parleys but is yet to get any response.

India also has not heard anything from Pakistan on the three dossiers given to it containing names of 34 terrorists wanted here, including LeT chief Hafiz Saeed, with a demand for handing them over and other effective actions.

Sources said India has told Pakistan that the second round of talks can be held but they have to “come back to us”.

Chennai win toss, elect to bat against Rajasthan

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Chennai, April 03: Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first in the Indian Premier League match against Rajasthan Royals here today.

For Chennai, Australian pacer Doug Bollinger replaced Thilan Thushara, while Sudeep Tyagi came in place of Manpreet Gony. Aniruddh Srikkanth replaced C Ganapathy.

Shane Watson came in place of Adam Voges in the Rajasthan team. Siddharth Trivedi and Paras Dogra have been replaced by Srikant Wagh and Abhishek Raut.

The Teams:

Musharraf to meet Pak parliamentarians in UAE

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Dubai, April 03: With his two year ban from active politics coming to an end, former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf who was forced to quit office is considering his options to float a political party and will meet lawmakers from his country here.

“At least 35-40 parliamentarians of different political parties are to meet the former general,” an aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity said.

“A political party is in the realm of speculation, but talks have not yet reached a decisive phase,” he added.

Kolkata on terrorist radar: police commissioner

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Kolkata, April 03: The metropolis was very much on the radar of terrorist groups “exported from a neighbouring country”, a top police official said today.

“Kolkata is very much on the radar of terrorists,” Commissioner of Kolkata Police Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti said.

The police were making every effort to make sure that terrorist outfits “exported from a neighbouring country” were unable to strike in the strategically located city, he said.

Sanctions would just increase Iran’s motivation, Ahmadinejad says

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Tehran, April 03: Sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programmes would just increase the country’s motivation for more technological progress, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday.

“You cannot intimidate our nation by such threats and cannot hinder our progress,” Ahmadinejad said in a speech in Sirjan in south-eastern Iran, where he inaugurated an industrial project.

“The more you [the world powers] try to hinder us by force, the more such threats will increase the people’s motivation,” he said in the speech carried live by the news network Khabar.

25 dead in attack on Iraq village

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Baghdad, April 03: Iraqi officials say gunmen have killed 25 people during raids in a Sunni village south of Baghdad.

The officials say most of the dead are members of local Sahwa, or Awakening Councils — one of several names for the Sunni fighters who changed the course of the war when they revolted against al Qaida and joined the Americans in late 2006 and 2007. They are also known as Sons of Iraq.

Mustafa Kamel, a Sahwa leader south of Baghdad, said the attack took place late Friday in Arab Jobour village, about 15 miles south of Baghdad.

Shoaib Malik in Hyderabad as Ayesha controversy heats

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Hyderabad, April 03: Unfazed by threats of legal action from the family of Ayesha Siddiqui who claimed to have married him, Shoaib Malik today made a surprise visit to Sania Mirza’s house amid reports that their marriage may be shifted to Dubai.

Clad in a trouser and T-shirt, Malik who is slated to marry Sania on April 15, appeared on the balcony of the tennis star’s house and was seen talking on his mobile phone while Sania and her mother were involved in an animated discussion with each other.

At times, the talk between the mother and daughter appeared to be tense and heated.

Unintentional physical activity also helps

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Washington, April 03: Make physical activity a part of your daily life, even if it be unintentional.

“If you aren’t in the habit of being physically active, you can run out of energy trying to force yourself to do it everyday,” said David Conroy, associate professor of kinesiology and human development and family studies at Pennslyvania State University (PSU).

Three acquitted in Hurriyat leader’s murder

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Srinagar, April 03: A local court in Baramulla has acquitted three persons accused of murdering senior leader of moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference Sheikh Abdul Aziz during a protest march in 2008.

They were acquitted by the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, Baramulla, presided over by Mohammad Yousuf Akhoon yesterday for want of material evidence, defence counsel Sheikh Mohammad Ashraf said today.

Congress, alliance partner to contest Tripura council polls alone

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Agartala, April 03: The 28-year-old alliance between the main opposition Congress and the tribal Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) ended Saturday with both parties deciding to contest next month’s Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) election separately.

For the ruling Left Front, regaining the constitutional body appears to be a virtual cakewalk as the Congress, the INPT, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), a tribal based party, will fight the polls separately.

Dibakar Banerjee takes the year off for baby

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Mumbai, April 03: Dibakar Banerjee won’t be starting another film till next year as he is taking the rest of the year off to get to know his baby daughter Ira.

“Otherwise she’ll never be able to accept me as anything but an alien in her life. At the moment she’s seven months old. I want to spend some months with her and become an integral part of her life,” he said.

Movies can wait. “I won’t be starting another film till next year. I need to be home, to let my daughter get used to my presence around the house.”

How the brain stores memories for specific fears

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Washington, April 03: Neuroscientists are clueing into how the brain is capable of holding and retrieving memories for specific fears, revealing a more sophisticated storage and recall capacity than previously thought.

The study may have implications for treating post-traumatic stress syndrome – as scientists begin to understand how different fears are stored in the brain, they can move toward addressing specific fear memories.

Shahi Imam meets PM on Batla House shootout

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New Delhi, April 03: A top Muslim cleric Saturday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the alleged fake shootout at the Batla House in which two suspected terrorists were killed following the 2008 serial bomb blasts in Delhi.

Shahi Imam Ahmed Bukhari, who leads the prayers in Delhi’s Jama Masjid, said he held a 35-minute meeting with the prime minister during which he showed him documentary evidence suggesting that the Sep 19, 2008 gunfight in Batla House was staged by the police.

Lata Mangeshkar to sing for Shiv Sena on Maharashtra Day

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Mumbai, April 03: Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar will sing a specially-composed patriotic song May 1 at a celebration organised by the Shiv Sena to mark the golden jubilee of Maharashtra’s formation.

Making the announcement, Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray told mediapersons here Saturday that the song would be composed and set to music by well-known music director Anil Mohile.

“He is famous for his musical works. We have requested him to perform his magic with a composition for this momentous occasion,” Uddhav said.

Government doesn’t pay for Kalam’s foreign trips

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New Delhi, April 03: The government Saturday clarified that it was not paying for former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s foreign trips, saying his travel expenses were borne by his hosts.

A report in a national daily March 12 had suggested that ever since demitting office in 2007, Kalam has been a “frequent flyer” and the government was “looking to see if it can put a cap on such visits”.

Israel Threatens Gaza Invasion in ‘Near Future’

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Gaza,April 03:Israeli warplanes continued their bombardment of the Gaza Strip today, destroying a workshop in the refugee camp of Nusseirat and bombing a street in Khan Younis. Reports say that three children were injured in the attacks, which came as the planes peppered Khan Younis with leaflets threatening of further strikes.

Honduras most dangerous country for journalists

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Paris, April 03: With the killing of five journalists in March, Honduras has become the world’s most dangerous country for media professionals, a new report says.

The report by Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres Borders (RSF) said Friday “no one has been brought to justice for any of the murders or any of the physical attacks or acts of intimidation or censorship of journalists and human rights activists” in the country in recent months.

‘Australian police tried to hush up attack on Indian’

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Brisbane, April 03: Police tried to hush up a knife attack on an Indian last month at one of the busiest train stations in Australia to prevent sparking off another racial abuse debate, a media report said Saturday.

Thirty-four-year-old Narendrakumar Patel’s throat was slashed in an attack on Platform 9 at Brisbane’s Roma Street Station about 4.20 p.m. on March 17, the Courier Mail reported.

Though a 26-year-old man later handed himself in at the police headquarters near the station, the news of the knife attack was kept under wraps by authorities.

US wants emerging powers to pressurise Iran

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Washington, April 03: A day after asking India and Pakistan not to have transactions like their gas pipeline with Iran, the US wants everyone, particularly emerging powers, to put pressure on Tehran to curb its nuclear ambitions.

“I’m not familiar with any particular project, but this is part of our ongoing dialogue with countries that we are looking to place pressure on Iran,” state department spokesman P J Crowley told reporters Friday when asked about plans for an Iran-Pakistan India gas pipeline.

Jolie’s teenage pictures a big hit at auction

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London, April 03: Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie’s early photos were a big hit at a Profiles in History vintage glamour photography auction.

Modelling shots of Angelina Jolie when she was 15 were displayed at a vintage Hollywood photo auction last weekend. A spokesperson reveals her pictures were sold separately and became highlights of the sale.

“They garnered much bidding interest. They sold individually for over $2,500 each – more than six times their expected sale price,” Hollywood.com quoted a spokesperson of Profiles in History as saying.

Pak Islamic experts question Ayesha’s ‘Nikahnama’

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Karachi, April 03: Islamic scholars and Pakistani lawyers have questioned the validity of the marriage certificate produced by Ayesha Siddiqui to prove herself as the first wife of Shoaib Malik, saying the document cannot prevent the cricketer from tying the knot with Sania Mirza.

A renowned scholar Mufti Muhammad Naeem said according to Islamic Shariat a Nikah on telephone, as claimed by Ayesha, was not valid.

“There is no question of a divorce since a Nikah without proper witnesses on telephone is not recognised in Shariat,” he said.