Month: May 2010

No evidence to back Taliban’s New York bomb claim

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New York, May 03: New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly Sunday said there is no evidence to support the claim by a Pakistani Taliban commander that he was behind Saturday’s failed car bomb attempt on Times Square.

‘Although a Taliban bomb-maker has claimed on the Internet that the car bomb was placed on Times Square to avenge the deaths of mujahideen fighters, we have no evidence to support this claim,’ Kelly told a press conference, reported.

He was referring to a claim made by Pakistani Taliban bomb-maker Qari Hussain Mehsud in an audiotape posted on Youtube.

Maoists begin strike, cripple life in Nepal

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Kathmandu, May 03: Supporters of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M) began an indefinite political strike across the country on Sunday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Madhav Nepal and a takeover of the government by Party Chairman Prachanda. Most industries and business establishments remained closed as Maoist cadres rallied across the country.

Maoist supporters disrupted the Class 12 Board Exams at several centres. Angry examinees took matters into their own hands in western Nepal’s Salayn and Central Nepal’s Chitwan district by attacking some Maoists.

Bomb explodes at Athens bank

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Athens, May 03: A home-made bomb has gone off at a branch of the HSBC banking group in Athens, damaging the building but leaving no casualties, police say.

Police say the bomb was apparently a home-made explosive device made of gas canister and fuel.

“It appears a home-made bomb comprised of gas canisters and fuel caused small damage to the bank’s facade,” Reuters quoted a police official as saying on Sunday.

Gas canister bomb blasts are common in Athens where bombers usually target business and political buildings.

Raina’s superb performance india won

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St Lucia, May 03: India stamped their authority over a hapless South Africa, winning their second T20 World Cup match. In the end, India won by 14 runs with a display of superior prowess in the format.

Suresh Raina had pulled out a superb performance from his stables in the morning, slamming the first T20 century by an Indian to power his team to 186/5 at the end of their stipulated overs.

Over 1.5 mn Cubans vote in municipal elections

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Havana, May 03: round of municipal elections, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) said. More than 1.5 million Cubans in 166 municipalities have voted in the second NEC president Ana Maria Mari Machado said 5,900 polling stations were set up for the polls Sunday, Xinhua reported.

In Cuba, municipal elections are held every two-and-a-half-years and general elections every five years.

On April 25, about 8.5 million people voted in the first round of elections to select new representatives to the People Power Assemblies in the country’s 169 constituencies.

I will be shuttling between India and Nepal after marriage: Manisha Koirala

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Mumbai, May 02: Bollywood diva Manisha Koirala, who is all set to tie the knot with Nepali businessman Samrat Dahal on June 19, says she will definitely have a home in Nepal after marriage and looks forward to spending more time with her parents too.

“I have thought of going back to Nepal and spending more time with mom and dad. Just to be with them, give them moral and emotional support. I was planning that when I happened to meet my would-be husband,” Manisha said

Karunanidhi rules out Raja’s resignation over 2G Spectrum row

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New Delhi, May 02: On a visit here a year after UPA-II assumed office, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today backed Telecom Minister A Raja and virtually ruled out the demand of the Opposition for his resignation over the 2G spectrum controversy.

Shibu Soren to continue as CM for now: Hemant

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Ranchi, May 02: Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren will continue in his post as of now, JMMLP leader Hemant Soren claimed after a meeting with BJP leaders on Sunday.

“As of now, Shibu Soren is Chief Minister and will continue in that post,” Hemant, Soren’s son, who is playing a key role in talks between JMM and BJP to form a new government, told reporters here after his return from New Delhi.

IGNOU extends last date for submitting admission forms

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New Delhi, May 02: The last date for submitting applications for admissions to programmes in the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)’s July 2010 session has been extended till May 31.

The applications will be accepted with late fee of Rs.200 till June 15, an IGNOU media release said Sunday.

Earlier, the last date for submission of applications for admissions to IGNOU was April 30, and with late fee it was May 31, the release said.

Sparks in Rajdhani wheels, train detained

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Bhubaneswar, May 02: The New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express was detained for about an hour today after sparks were noticed under one of its coaches due to “hot axle”.

The train was stopped at Kenduapada railway station, around 65 kms from here, after sparks were noticed from the wheels of an AC 3-tier bogie along with burning smell, a senior official of the East Coast Railway said.

After thorough examination, it was found that the spark was due to friction between the wheels and axle, a phenomenon called “hot axle”, he said.

VC leaves campus, to work from Delhi

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Itanagar, May 02: The vice chancellor of the Rajiv Gandhi Central University today left the campus and decided to function from New Delhi in the face of demands by agitating students for his ouster.

In a press release issued tonight, K C Belliappa said though he was innocent, he was leaving to maintain peace on the campus.

He said he had asked the human resources development ministry to set up a fact finding committee to probe the allegations made against him by the students as well as recent incidents on the campus.

Britney Spears forays into fashion designing

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London, May 02: Pop singer Britney Spears has ventured into fashion designing.

The singer, who is currently the face of the US fashion brand Candie’s, has created her own range for the same, reports contactmusic.com.

The “Toxic” hitmaker has expanded her deal with Candie’s to include designing her own pieces for a limited edition collection.

Spears announced the news in a post on her Twitter.com page.

“At my photo shoot for the limited edition collection I designed for Candie’s! I think you guys will love it,” she wrote.

The collection hits stores July 1.

–IANS

Fire at US embassy in Pakistan: spokesman

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Islamabad, May 02: A fire broke out in the US chancery building in Islamabad today but there were no immediate reports of any casualties, a US embassy spokesman said, ruling out any terrorism in the incident.

“There was a small fire in the main chancery building,” embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said. It had now been extinguished, he added.

“We have no report of any injuries or any casualties,” he told AFP.

The spokesman ruled out any act of terrorism in the incident.

“We don’t have any reason to believe it was terrorist related,” he said.

Fear grips AP village as smoke comes out of ground

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Hyderabad, May 02: Fear gripped the residents of a village in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh today with smoke coming out of ground on the outskirts of the hamlet.

The smoke that billowed out of the earth at Gangannapalli village turned the soil black in the area and a boy complained of burning sensation after he set his foot there, police said.

The smoke did not stop though fire brigade personnel poured water on the ground.

Officials reached the spot and policemen searched for any explosive material in the area which showed nothing untoward.

Four Maoists held, explosives seized

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Bhubaneswar, May 02: Four hardcore Maoists were arrested and substantial amount of explosives and arms seized from them by security forces in separate operations in two districts of Orissa today.

While two ultras were picked up from Pallapadu forest of Gajapati district, two others were nabbed from Tekguda jungles in Malkangiri during joint combing operations by CRPF and the state’s elite anti-naxal Special Operation Group, official sources said.

Kashmiri youth detained for Delhi terror threat calls

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Srinagar, May 02: The Jammu and Kashmir police today claimed to have made a breakthrough in the Delhi terror threat case with the detention of a suspected LeT operative hailing from Srinagar.

Umar Zargar, the Kashmiri youth, made the telephone calls at the behest of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba warning that blasts will be carried out in crowded markets of Delhi, police said.

Highly-placed sources in the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department said that the man was detained in the wee hours after a massive manhunt was launched to nab him.

Mamata claims her phone was being tapped for 4 years

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Kolkata, May 02: Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today alleged that her phone was being tapped for the past four years.

Asked whether her phone was being tapped, Banerjee told reporters that it was “nothing new. My phone is being tapped and I am saying this has been happening for the past four years”.

She claimed though she had been saying this for a long time, no one paid heed to it. “But when someone complains from Delhi (about phone tapping), there is an uproar.”

Lebanon kicks off local elections

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Beirut, May 02: Lebanese municipal elections, due to be held in weekly stages up to the end of May, kicked off on Sunday in the Mount Lebanon area overlooking the capital.

With clan and family bonds the main focus rather than political loyalties, a registered electorate of 3.33 million is being called to the polls every Sunday apart from on May 16.

In Mount Lebanon, almost 800,000 Lebanese were electing municipal councils and mukhtars, or mayors.

Mamata announces candidates for all 141 KMC seats

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Kolkata, May 02: Ruling out any seat adjustment with the Congress in the coming civic polls in West Bengal, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee today announced candidates for all 141 seats in the KMC elections, saying in war, there can be no friendly fight.

“Those who are giving oxygen to the CPI(M) here, we will not leave an inch to them,” Banerjee told a news conference releasing the list of candidates for Kolkata Municipal Corporation polls, to be held on May 30 along with 81 other municipal bodies in the state.

Mideast peace talks to resume next week: US

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Washington, May 02: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that the Mideast peace process will get back on track next week, though not the U.S.-brokered direct talks involving Israeli and Palestinians that the Obama administration wants to see.

George Mitchell, the special U.S. envoy to the Mideast, will mediate the discussions when he travels to the region. His visit will follow a weekend meeting of Arab League diplomats. Mitchell is expected to leave on Sunday and spend the week holding discussions with Israelis and Palestinians, U.S. officials said.

‘Clear all mid-day meal bills’

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Hyderabad, May 02: Chief minister K Rosaiah has directed the secondary education department to clear the bills of mid-day meal programme every month punctually so that the caterers can be held responsible for any lapses.

Rosaiah today held a review meeting with minister D Manikya Varaprasad and officials of the department.

The chief minister categorically stated that bills should not be kept in pending so that the caterers might take it as an excuse for their errors.

CBI gets valuable leads in Mecca masjid blast

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Hyderabad, May 02: A team from the Central Bureau of Investigation, New Delhi reached Ajmer in Rajasthan to interrogate Devendra Gupta, a member of the right-wing outfit Abhinav Bharat, arrested for the 2007 bomb blast at the Ajmer Shareef, in connection with the Mecca masjid blasts which took place here on May 18, 2007.

PM’s ‘impropriety’ irks Opposition

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Hyderabad, May 02: Senior CPI Leader and party Floor Leader in the Lok Sabha Gurudas Dasgupta has announced that the entire Opposition was committed to a breach of privilege motion against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Rajya Sabha for making a statement on the IPL scam outside Parliament when it was in session.

“The Opposition will continue its fight in the House till a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is appointed to take up a comprehensive inquiry on the IPL scam,’’ the CPI leader declared.

Help rid Hussainsagar of plastic, citizens urged

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Hyderabad, May 02: Hyderabad is should extend wholehearted support to the Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) to make Hussainsagar a plastic-free zone, appealed Metropolitan Commissioner B P Acharya.

Launching the campaign at the People’s Plaza on Necklace Road here today, Acharya said plastic bags and other materials had badly damaged the environs of the lake. “We should put an end to the menace completely,’’ he emphasised.

‘Welfare Board to cover NREGP labourers ‘

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Hyderabad, May 02: The state government has decided to bring those working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme under the jurisdiction of the Workers’ Welfare Board to help them avail benefits like insurance, medical and other facilities.

Besides, a special Lok Adalat will be set up shortly to redress the grievances and solve cases of the working community.