Month: April 2010

Pak court dismisses petition against Shoaib and Sania

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Lahore, April 28: A Pakistani court today dismissed a petition seeking the registration of a case against Shoaib Malik and his wife Indian tennis star Sania Mirza for the alleged violation of several rules during a reception held in Sialkot to celebrate their wedding.

A man named Sheikh Hasan Sheraz had alleged in a petition filed in the Lahore High Court that the couple had violated the Marriage Functions (Prohibition of Ostentatious Displays and Wasteful Expenses) Ordinance of 2000 and the Dowry and Bridle Gift Restriction Act of 1976 by accepting expensive gifts.

US working on ‘tough’ Iran sanctions

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Washington, April 28: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Washington is holding talks with its partners to impose tough new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

Clinton also accused Iran of defying the international community.

“Iran’s continued disregard for its international obligations underscores the importance of united international pressure to change its policies,” Reuters quoted Clinton as saying on Tuesday.

Qureshi roots for Indo- Pak dialogue

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New Delhi, April 28: Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said a dialogue between India and Pakistan was the “ most sensible” way of taking its relations with New Delhi forward.

Qureshi’s views came a day after external affairs minister S. M. Krishna hinted at a possible dialogue between the prime ministers of India and Pakistan.

Talking to the media here on the eve of the two- day 16th SAARC summit, Qureshi said, “ Why not, one always lives in hope… I think talking and engaging is the most sensible way forward.” Krishna too echoed similar sentiments.

Sharjah truck toll gate operations go smoothly

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Sharjah, April 28: The first experimental week of the newly launched toll gate system at Al Dhaid area has proved to be a success, according to a senior official at the Sharjah Directorate of Public Works (DPW), on Monday.

The official operation of the toll gate system is going to begin on May 1 and Dh100 will be levied for a one way passage of heavy trucks.

Indian-origin man wins South Africa’s top national award

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Cairo, April 28: An Indian-origin man who founded a humanitarian aid organisation that has provided relief to people worldwide has received one of South Africa’s highest honours.

Imtiaz Sooliman, who started the Gift of the Givers Foundation more than a decade ago, received the Order of the Baobab in Silver from President Jacob Zuma at a function in the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria last night.

Nityanand faked heart attack to avoid police

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Bangalore, April 28: A day after he faked a heart attack to avoid police interrogation, doctors on Tuesday declared the controversial self- styled godman, Nityanand Paramahamsa, hale and hearty.

Nityanand, whose judicial custody has been extended by two days, had complained of severe chest pain to policemen on Monday night.

He was subsequently admitted to the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology in Bangalore where he underwent several tests.

However, the results of the tests were normal.

“ He wanted to spend two- three days in the hospital.

Maids top list of illegal residents in Ajman

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Ajman, April 28: Instances of housemaids fleeing their sponsors in Ajman are on the increase, according to statistics released by the Department of Residency and Naturalisation in Ajman on Tuesday.

House maids topped the list of illegals in the emirate, the figures say.

Omran Al Ketbi the Director of the public prosecution unit of the Ajman Department of Naturalisation and Residency said a total of 1,050 illegal migrants have been arrested in the emirate in the first quarter of this year, an increase from 850 illegals in the same period last year.

Maneka cries foul as BJP refrains from seeking Pawar, Patel scalps

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New Delhi, April 28: In a veiled attack on Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, BJP MP Maneka Gandhi on Tuesday asked the party why it was shying away from demanding the resignations of Union ministers Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel for their alleged involvement in the IPL scam.

Expressing her views at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, Maneka said Patel and his daughter had flouted many rules but the party was not demanding the minister’s resignation.

Relief for Tytler as court accepts CBI clean chit

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New Delhi, April 28: In A reprieve to senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, a Delhi court on Tuesday accepted the closure report by the CBI in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against him. It said the evidence available was insufficient to put him on trial.

“There is nothing which suggests that accused Tytler was seen on November 8, 1984, near Gurudwara Pulbangash or incited a mob for killing Sikh people,” additional chief metropolitan magistrate (ACMM) Rakesh Pandit said. The court also accepted CBI’s case closure report against him.

‘ UPA misuses CBI for survival’

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Patna, April 28: The BJP on Tuesday said the government was manipulating corruption cases against Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad to manage their support in the Lok Sabha.

During the run- up to voting on the cut motion, it became clear that the government had managed the floor strategy of the Yadavs and the Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) chief. The BJP said their support was in lieu of services rendered by the CBI. The CBI has been investigating corruption cases against all the three politicians.

Shanghai Expo designer denies mascot copy of Gumby

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Shanghai, April 28: The Shanghai Expo mascot Haibao, a plump sky blue cartoon figure shaped like a stick person, is the latest target of claims event organizers may have “borrowed” some creativity for the event.

Chinese Internet chat rooms are all atwitter over suggestions Haibao looks suspiciously like Gumby, the longtime American TV cartoon character.

UN Security Council adopts resolution to try Somali pirates

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New York, April 28: The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution proposed by Russia to set up a special body to try Somalian ship hijackers.

The Security Council has called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to provide ‘concrete’ measures for the prosecution of pirates, including a special chamber at the national court of one of the countries in the region.

Sarkozy seeks to bury the hatchet with China

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Beijing, April 28: French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in China on Wednesday for a visit aimed at reinvigorating ties tested two years ago over Tibet and at winning support for new sanctions against Iran.

The French president, making his second state visit to China, will meet the country’s top leaders including his opposite number Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing before heading to Shanghai for the start of the World Expo.

DNRD office opened at Dubai Municipality Clinic

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Dubai, April 28 Expatriates wanting to undergo medical fitness tests for getting new and renewing residence visas in Dubai can avail both the medical and immigration services under one roof with the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department opening a branch office in Dubai Municipality Clinic in Deira 
on Tuesday.

Director of DNRD Major-General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri and Director-General of Dubai Municipality Hussain Nasser Lootah inaugurated the DNRD branch in the DM Clinic that daily serves around 2,000 customers for medical fitness test services.

Did ‘ gifts’ win Maya support for govt?

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New Delhi, April 28: The finance ministry has transferred a senior income tax (I-T) official who had passed an assessment order against UP chief minister Mayawati declaring her gifts to be bogus. Sources in the Central Board Of Direct Taxes (CBDT) alleged that the government has also initiated an exploratory exercise to expedite and withdraw I-T cases against her father Prabhu Dayal and other relatives pending in the Settlement Commission.

25 fishermen rescued from burning vessel

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Ajman, April 28: At least 25 fishermen were rescued from their fishing vessel that caught fire in the Ajman port on Monday night.

The fire broke out around 11pm and continued till 10am on Tuesday and several tonnes of fish were destroyed.

Col. Salih Al Matroushi, head of Ajman Civil Defence, said firefighters from Dubai also joined their counterparts in Sharjah to douse the fire.

New water recycling unit set up in RAK

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Ras Al Khaimah, April 28: The new water recycling and treatment plant in the Al Ghail Industrial Park in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) will help promote agriculture in addition to solving the water problems in the area.

The Dh7.3 million facility will be able to process upto 2,000 cubic metres of water per day which would be filtered for use in irrigation in the farms for at least three years as per its design.

The facility was opened by Shaikh Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi, son of Shaikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy RAK.

Ministry sets up panel to fight human trafficking

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Abu Dhabi, April 28: An anti-human trafficking panel has been set up by the Ministry of Interior, Brig. Ahmed Mohammed Nakhaira Al Muharrami, Director of Human Rights Department at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, said.

The panel will update the legislative bodies regarding human trafficking crimes at the internal and external levels. It will also coordinate with the competent authorities to launch awareness over the human trafficking crimes.

The panel will coordinate with the centres sheltering the victims to ensure they are more protected.

Suicide car bomb kills four Pakistani police

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Peshawar, April 28: A suicide car bomb attack hit a Pakistani police checkpoint on the outskirts of Peshawar before dawn Wednesday, killing four police and wounding 10 people, including a woman, police said.

The attacker struck close to the control post in Tir Bala village, on the main road from Pakistan’s northwestern capital to Mohmand, one of seven districts in the Al-Qaeda and Taliban-infested tribal belt on the Afghan border.

“The vehicle was coming from the tribal area. It was full of explosives and the suicide attacker was coming from Mohmand,” police official Liaqat Ali said.

Disgraced Medical Council chief owns property in Mumbai

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Mumbai, April 28: Medical Council of India president Dr Ketan Desai, who was arrested by the CBI in Delhi on Thursday, has property in Mumbai too.

Desai and two of his associates were arrested on charges of accepting a bribe of Rs2 crore to grant recognition to a medical college.The CBI is planning to strengthen its case by gathering maximum evidence against Desai. In a raid on Tuesday, CBI officers found a shop and an office space in Andheri in the name of Desai. He has five vehicles, including three luxury cars.

Between saffron and green, Hyderabad sees red flags

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It’s been almost a month since Andhra Pradesh government moved to clear the city of all religious flags and buntings that were at the root of the recent communal riots which hit the state capital. But a tug-of-war has again started in the old city areas between Muslim and Hindu groups with green and saffron flags becoming the symbols of clout.

UN shuts Kandahar mission as security worsens

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Kandahar, April 28: The United Nations said on Tuesday it had shut its mission in Kandahar and evacuated many foreign staff from the southern Afghan city, in a sign of worsening security before a major U.S. offensive.

Hours after the announcement, suspected Taliban infiltrators blew up tankers at a fuel depot outside the city, near the airfield that serves as the biggest NATO base in the province, killing four people and wounding at least 30.

A spokesman for Kandahar province Zalmai Ayoubi said there were several blasts and that one of them could have been caused by a suicide bomber.

S.Korea hails Himalaya climber amid controversy

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Seoul, April 28: South Korean media hailed one of the country’s climbers on Wednesday after she claimed to have become the first woman to scale the world’s 14 highest peaks, ignoring controversy surrounding her bid.

All major newspapers ran a front page photo of Oh Eun-Sun holding a national flag at the snow-covered summit of the 8,091-metre (26,545-foot) Annapurna in Nepal.

Oh’s claim to be the first female climber to have conquered all the world’s mountains over 8,000 metres is under scrutiny, however.

Syria,Iran arm Hezbollah with improved missiles: US

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Washington, April 28: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday accused Iran and Syria of arming Hezbollah with increasingly sophisticated rockets and missiles, saying the militia’s arsenal undermined stability in the region.

“Syria and Iran are providing Hezbollah with rockets and missiles of ever-increasing capability,” Gates said at a joint news conference with his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak.

China seizes millions of toxic food containers

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Beijing, April 28: Authorities in China have seized more than seven million toxic disposable food containers, state media reported Wednesday, in the latest product safety scare to hit the nation.

Seven companies in the eastern province of Jiangxi were busted for manufacturing the long-banned foam boxes using plastic waste and fluorescent whitening agents, the official China Daily newspaper said.

Disposable food containers are routinely used by restaurants across China. Authorities banned foam boxes in 1999, but they can still be found in many parts of the country.