Month: May 2010

Ash is better than Abhi, says Big B

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Mumbai, May 04: Abhishek Bachchan has no doubt come a long way from where he started a decade back. Though he has managed to please the audience and critics in many of films over the years, his father still believes he can do better.

Apparently when Amitabh Bachchan saw the promo of Raavan for the first time, he quite liked it.

“My father patted on my back and said well done,” says a cheerful Abhsihek. “And then he turned back and said Aishwarya was better than I was!” he laughs out.

He added saying,

Mayawati ‘ expels’ criminals who were not in BSP

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Lucknow, May 04: Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Sunday announced her decision to expel 500 party workers for their involvement in criminal activities.

While her effort to cleanse politics of criminal elements was appreciated, what came as a surprise, though, was that a number of these people were either unknown or had no relationship with the BSP. Some like Billoo of Muzaffarnagar and Munna of Eta, who are among the 500 expelled by the BSP supremo, were virtually unknown in their own areas.

97pc Gulf students pass SSLC exams

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Thiruvananthapuram, May 04: Students from the Gulf have outperformed their Kerala counterparts again this year in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination, with 97.52 per cent securing eligibility for higher education. The pass percentage last year was 98.7 per cent.

The results were announced by Education Minister M A Baby here on Monday. The overall percentage of students who have secured eligibility for higher education in the examination is 90.72 as against 91.92 last year.

Strike hits life in Nepal

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Kathmandu, May 04: The indefinite strike called by the UCPN (Maoist) affected normal life across the country for the second day on Monday.

Transportation came to a halt as Kathmandu and other places were filled with Maoist cadres since early morning. Shops and markets, educational institutions and industries remained closed.

On Sunday, the demonstrators obstructed higher secondary school examination and the exams were cancelled at some places. On Monday, they vandalised some colleges that had conducted examinations on Sunday.

Ranbir-Deepika back again???

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Mumbai, May 04: The once upon a time real-life couple Ranbir-Deepika seem to have patched up once again.

After the most talked about break off few months ago, the duo was seen together with close friends around recently. The couple later on went to catch up with Deepika’s latest release Housefull in one of the theatres.

A source revealed that Ranbir-Deepika sat next to each other and were quite comfortably chatting. This act of theirs took everyone present in the theatre by a surprise but they did not bother and were busy enjoying the film and attention as well.

Japan PM: Moving US base off Okinawa ‘impossible’

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Tokyo, May 04: Japan’s prime minister said Tuesday that it will be impossible to move all parts of a key U.S. Marine base out of Okinawa, breaking with past promises to relocate the facility outside the southern island.

It was the first time since Yukio Hatoyama became prime minister in September that he officially acknowledged that at least part of Futenma U.S. Marine Corps airfield would remain in Okinawa, which hosts more than half the 47,000 American troops based in Japan under a security pact.

National ID must for immigration transactions

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Abu Dhabi, May 04: EIDA has announced that ID cards will be compulsory to stamp, renew residence visa at all naturalisation and residency departments countrywide.

Starting before the end of this year with the Abu Dhabi department.

Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, Deputy Chairman of Higher Management Committee at The Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA), told mediapersons on the sidelines of the ID World Abu Dhabi 2010 forum on Monday that the ID cards will be eventually obligatory to process any transaction at any ministry.

Arguments for quantum of sentence to be presented today

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Mumbai, May 04: A special court would today hear arguments on the quantum of sentence to be awarded to Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab, who has been held guilty for the murder of 166 persons in the 26/11 terror strikes in the financial capital of the country.

The punishment for the offences committed by Kasab ranges from life imprisonment to death.

The court had on Monday held him guilty of various offences, including mass murders and waging war against the nation.

AP CM Rosaiah inaugurates Brandix India Apparel City

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Visakhapatnam, May 04: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah inaugurated the Brandix India Apparel City and urged the company to provide the jobs they promised to the people.

Promoted by Sri Lankan textile major Brandix, the Apparel City is at Achyutapuram, 50 kms from here. It is spread over 1000 acres in a Special Economic Zone and is expected to attract an investment of Rs 4,500 crore in the next few years.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister told the company management to provide employment in the textile units to locals whose lands were acquired for the Apparel City.

‘Tell-tale signs’ of foreign link in NY bomb plot

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Washington, May 04: US investigators are looking into ‘tell-tale’ signs of a foreign connection to the failed car bomb attempt in New York’s Times Square, the Washington Post reported Monday.

The newspaper cited unnamed administration officials as saying the failed bombing increasingly appeared to have been coordinated by several people in a plot with international links.

‘Don’t be surprised if you find a foreign nexus…. They’re looking at some tell-tale signs and they’re saying it’s pointing in that direction,’ a US official told the Post.

Will Kasab get death or life? Court to decide his fate today

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Mumbai, May 04: A special court would today hear arguments on the quantum of sentence to be awarded to Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab, who has been held guilty for the murder of 166 persons in the 26/11 terror strikes in the financial capital of the country.

The punishment for the offences committed by Kasab ranges from life imprisonment to death.

The court had yesterday held him guilty of various offences, including mass murders and waging war against the nation.

UK Conservatives could secure tiny majority: poll

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London, May 04: Britain’s opposition Conservative Party is gaining ground in pivotal parliamentary seats and could secure a narrow but outright win in Thursday’s election, a poll published on Monday showed.

The final Reuters/Ipsos MORI marginals poll, which surveys voters living in the kind of constituencies held by the ruling Labour Party that the Conservatives need to win for a majority, shows support for the parties in these seats is neck and neck.

Karuna backs Raja over spectrum scam

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New Delhi, May 04: Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh separately on Monday to discuss the 2G spectrum scam. He is learnt to have apprised them about the “politics” behind the 2G controversy involving DMK leader and Union telecom minister A. Raja.

Asin-Dhoni, seeing each other???

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Mumbai, May 04: The hottest news in B-town is that Asin and MS Dhoni are getting cozy and spending some private moments together. Dhoni was recently spotted at Asin’s apartment. Apparently both of them wanted to catch up with the first IPL semi-final between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians.

It has been reported that Dhoni arrived long before the match was about to begin and his presence drew a buzz and media attention. Excited people also gathered to watch a glimpse of their favorite star. It is believed that Dhoni left quitely after the match finished.

US naval power threatened by new weapons: Gates

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Washington, May 04: Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday said new weapons threatened America’s dominance of the high seas and questioned the US Navy’s reliance on costly aircraft carriers and submarines.

Anti-ship missiles and stealthy submarines could undermine the US military’s global reach in the Pacific Ocean and elsewhere, putting carriers and American subs at risk, Gates said in a speech to retired members of the US Navy.

‘We know other nations are working on asymmetric ways to thwart the reach and striking power of the US battle fleet,’ Gates said.

Emcredit made official credit bureau in Dubai

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Dubai, May 04: Emirates Credit Information Company, or Emcredit, a pioneer credit bureau in the UAE, has been made the official body to provide credit information services in Dubai.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, in his capacity as the Ruler of Dubai, issued a decree to this effect on Monday.

Welcoming the move, economists and businessmen said an official credit bureau would ensure improved credit availability in the country.

India to restrict mining in forests: report

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New Delhi, May 04: India is set to prevent top mining firms from tapping 35 percent of the country’s coal reserves due to environmental concerns in forested areas, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.

The decision to make the reserves “off-limits” is part of plans to better regulate the mining industry, which has paid scant attention to environmental rules in the past, the report said.

“I cannot, in clear conscience, clear these projects in the ?no-go areas,?” minister Jairam Ramesh told the newspaper in an interview.

Ahmadinejad, Clinton clash at UN nuclear conference

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United Nations, May 04: In an expected showdown, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton engaged in a verbal attack at a Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty meeting here, where nations gathered for a debate over the world’s atomic weapons.

In his 35-minute speech at the NPT Review Conference here, Ahmadinejad slammed Washington for bullying Tehran over its nuclear programme while not pushing the “Zionist regime” (Israel) for getting rid of its nuclear weapons.

Israel does not confirm or deny having nuclear arsenal.

Indian students struggling to get back tuition fees

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Melbourne, May 04: Thousands of Indian students are struggling to get back their prepaid tuition fees from Australian educational institutions after their visas were rejected following changes in the immigration policy.

Overseas students, particularly from India, are lining up to get their fees back after their visa applications were refused following the international student attack crisis that led to various college closures, The Age has reported.

WI beat England via D/L method, enter the Super Eight

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Providence (Guyana), May 04: A rain disruption cost England dearly as West Indies beat them by eight wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis system to enter the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup here.

Chasing a mammoth 192 for victory, West Indies got lucky when a heavy downpour, that took away over an hour of the match, led to their target being revised to 60 in six overs yesterday.

The hosts, who were 30 for no loss when rain interrupted play, chased down the score after minor hiccups, leaving England dejected and frustrated.

Why name Saeed, Lakhvi in 26/11 verdict, asks Jamaat-ud-Dawa

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Lahore, May 04: India has “unjustifiably” named Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leaders Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in the Mumbai terror attack case, a Jamaat-ud-Dawa spokesperson said after an Indian court held Pakistani national Ajmal Amir Kasab guilty of the 26/11 mayhem.

FIFA allows caps for Iranian girls at Youth Olympic

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Paris, May 04: The Iranian girls’ football team will be allowed to take part in the Youth Olympics if players wear caps for covering hair instead of headscarves.

World football governing body FIFA said that the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) had agreed to the decision, Press TV reported.

Google expands venture group, wants more deals

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New Delhi, May 04: Google Inc’s corporate venture arm plans to pick up the pace in 2010, as the $100-million-a year-fund marks its first anniversary with a bigger team and the intention to look for deals outside of North America.

One year after launching Google Ventures with two partners, Google said on Monday its in-house investment group now counts 11 partners and has invested in a total of 10 companies, including an investment in mobile payment technology company Corduro Inc, which Google announced on Monday.

HSBC China April PMI falls to 55.4 vs 57.0 in March

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New Delhi, May 04: HSBC’s China Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped in April to a six-month low of 55.4 from 57.0 in March as output, new orders and employment all slowed.

But the survey reading was well within the range tracked since late last year, suggesting that the Chinese manufacturing sector was still growing briskly, if not overheating as some economists have warned.

It was the 13th straight month that the HSBC index, designed to provide a timely snapshot of business conditions, stood above the watershed mark of 50 that indicates an expansion of factory activity.

NPT regime under great pressure: President Obama

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Washington, May 04: Noting that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is under tremendous pressure, US President Barack Obama has said that the United States is committed to strengthen every aspect of the agreement to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.