Month: May 2010

Jagan must be expelled from party: Cong MPs

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Hyderabad, May 31: Several Congress leaders in Andhra Pradesh want late chief minister Y. S. Rajashekhara Reddy’s son and Kadapa MP Jaganmohan Reddy dropped from the party for defying the high command and going ahead with his consolation tour in the Telangana region.

His tour triggered widespread violence in the volatile region. Given the situation, as many as nine out of the 11 Congress MPs from Telangana, most of whom were hitherto staunch supporters of Jagan, have allegedly asked the high command to expel him.

“ Jagan has clearly violated party discipline.

Second global downturn possible, says China’s Wen Jiabao

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Tokyo, May 31: Chinese premier Wen Jiabao warned on Monday that global economic growth remained vulnerable to sovereign debt risks and the possibility of a second downturn, while saying his own country’s growth remained on track.

Referring to the risk of a second dip in global economic growth rates, Wen said “I believe that we can’t say with absolute certainty, so we must undertake close observation and act to prevent it.”

He said it was too early for economies to consider exiting from their stimulus spending.

2000 investors heading to Palestine

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Gaza, May 31: Palestinians are preparing for the second Palestine Investment Conference (PIC) 2010, which kicks off in Beth Lahm (Bethlehem) on Wednesday.

The organizers say 125 projects will be presented to investors.

Of the 2,000 investors scheduled to attend the conference, 1,100 are Arabs, of which 850 are originally Palestinian, Palestinian Authority (PA) Minister of National Economy Hasan abu Libdeh said on Sunday.

He went on to say that there are big and medium size projects, giving investors an opportunity to “build relations” with businessmen.

Gaza aid flotilla attacked, 10 killed

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Gaza, May 31: Israeli forces have attacked the international aid convoy Freedom Flotilla en route to the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least 10 people and leaving more than 50 injured.

The attack came on Monday morning after one of the six ships in the convoy was hit by Israeli navy forces before being stormed by commandos descending from helicopters.

The interception reportedly took place in international waters, more than 150km (90 miles) off the coast of Gaza.

Obama gives Israel all-out support

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Washington, May 31: After the United Nations ratified a resolution calling for a nuclear weapons-free Middle East, the US president gives Israel “concrete guarantees” to prevent the decision from harming Israeli interests.

Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post quoted senior political sources in al-Quds (Jerusalem) as saying that President Barack Obama’s assurances to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came with the promise of a significant upgrade of Israel’s military capabilities.

Some players not happy with World Cup ball

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Johannesburg, May 31: Several players are going all out against the new World Cup ball, with more than one comparing it to those bought at a supermarket.

And this time it’s not only goalkeepers who are complaining. Strikers, defenders and midfielders are also lashing out at the Adidas ball just a few days before the month-long tournament is to begin in South Africa.

‘Tehran Declaration key move’

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Tehran, May 31: Iran and Brazil have described the Tehran Declaration as a great and significant move, highlighting consultations should continue until a final result is achieved.

In a phone conversation with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmdenejad said the declaration has turned into a yardstick in international relations to promote peace, friendship and brotherhood, reported IRNA.

This Swami is no sex Swami

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Bangalore, May 31: Four arrested for making a sex CD with a look-alike of Swami Raghaveshwara Bharathi in order to defame him.

Mangalore District Crime Investigation Bureau sleuths busted a fake sex CD racket, which was created to tarnish the image of godman Swami Raghaveshwara Bharathi of Ramachandrapura Mutt, Shimoga.

Four persons, including a local youth Congress leader were arrested on Friday in the case.

According to the police, the racket was engineered by opposition parties in order to harm the BJP government, which is perceived to be close to the swami.

Rupee weakens by 14 paise against dollar in early trade

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Mumbai, May 31: The Indian rupee depreciated by 14 paise to 46.49 a dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market today on month-end demand for the U.S. currency from importers.

However, higher opening on the stock markets and firming Asian currencies against the dollar, capped rupee’s losses.

The rupee had ended higher by 94 paise, or 2 per cent, at 46.35/36 a dollar in the previous session on Friday on the back of continued rally in equities and the U.S. currency weakening in overseas markets.

Not convinced India won Kargil war: Ex-IT gen

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New Delhi, May 31: Eleven years after having led troops on the ground during the Kargil war, a retired army general has claimed India had actually lost the war in strategic terms as it failed to consolidate tactical gains. Lt Gen (retd) Kishen Pal, who headed the Srinagar-based 15 Corps during the 1999 conflict, told television channel NDTV in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he had never been convinced that India had won.

Muggy day ahead for Delhiites

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New Delhi, May 31: The temperatures may have dipped a little, but the humidity level will remain high for some time and Monday is likely to be a muggy day, the weatherman said.

‘The relative humidity level is 65 percent while the minimum is 25 percent, and this will continue for a few more days,’ said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

‘Delhi will see clear skies today (Monday). No rain or thunderstorms are expected. The weather conditions are likely to remain the same for the next few days,’ the official said.

Exit polls back Mamata to win Kolkata

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Kolkata, May 31: The Trinamool Congress will wrest the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) from the ruling Left Front after five years, say the exit polls conducted by three Bengali news channels. The Mamata Banerjee-led party may win between 73 and 81 seats of the 141 KMC wards.

A party that gets 71 seats gets to control the corporation. A poll conducted by Star-Ananda, a channel from the Star stable, said Trinamool would get 78 seats and the Left Front (LF) 54, followed by Congress’s seven and the BJP’s two.

Five arrested for robbery

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Noida, May 31: Police today claimed to have busted a gang of robbers with the arrest of five persons. Interrogation of criminals revealed they were members of a gang of robbers active in Noida, Ghaziabad and Delhi, SP (City) A K Triapthi.

Giving details about their modus operandi, police said, they used to offer lift to people in their car and then rob them, he said. Ten mobile phones, gold chain and country-made pistols were recovered from them, he added.

—-PTI

Sensex volatile in early trade

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Mumbai, May 31: A benchmark index for Indian equities Monday was trading in a zig-zag manner in morning trade.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,872.17 points, was ruling at 16,875.98 points, 12.92 points or 0.08 percent up from its previous close at 16,863.06 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,061.45 points, down 0.1 percent from its previous close.

Mukesh Ambani in talks to buy JM Financial – source

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Mumbai, May 31: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who controls energy major Reliance Industries, is in talks to buy a majority stake in JM Financial Asset Management, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said on Monday.

The talks are in early stages and the terms of the deal have not been finalised yet, said the source, who could not be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The source said the deal value could be 8 percent of the assets under management at JM Financial, backing a report.

—-Agencies

Capital shame: 185 women raped this year

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New Delhi, May 31: A total of 185 women were raped in the national capital in the first five months of this year.

However, police say that the rate of such incidents has come down in the city compared to 2004.

According to Delhi Police statistics, the city recorded 185 rape cases till May 15 this year, up from 170 such incidents reported during the corresponding period last year.

However, this year’s figure was less than that in the corresponding period in the past seven years, from 2004, except for 2009.

British Queen to skip Games

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New Delhi, May 31: The British Queen will not attend the Commonwealth Games to be held in India from October 3-14, breaking a more than 40-year-old tradition.

Prince Charles will be representing the royal family instead, an official said.

Queen Elizabeth won’t be able to attend the event due to heavy workload. It is perhaps for the first time since 1966 that the Queen will not be attending.

Fish oil helps kids concentrate

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London, May 31: Children can learn better at school by taking omega-3 fish oil supplements which boost concentration, scientists say. Boys aged eight to 11 who were given doses once or twice a day of docosahexaenoic acid, an essential fatty acid known as DHA, showed big improvements in their performance during tasks involving attention.

Mithun to replace Vinay Kumar

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Bangalore, May 31: Abhimanyu Mithun was in for a pleasant surprise while coping with jet-lag and the rigours of a hard training schedule.

The Karnataka speedster had just returned from Australia after finishing his stint at the Centre of Excellence at Brisbane as part of the Border-Gavaskar Scholarship when news of his inclusion with the Indian team currently touring Zimbabwe trickled in.

Mithun will replace his senior State-mate R. Vinay Kumar, who suffered a knee injury ahead of the game against Sri Lanka.

Gaza flotilla reports 2 casualties

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Gaza City, May 31: Dozens injured in navy’s boarding of ships, Turkish media report. At least two dead and dozens wounded in clashes as the Israeli navy boards the protest flotilla, according to Turkish media.

Hundreds of Israelis commandos boarded the ships at once, firing guns and employing gas, according to an Al-Jazeera report.

Prime Minister Haniyeh of Hamas came on Al-Jazeera to condemn the “brutal attack” and call on the UN to intervene on the activists behalf.

Cop shoots self for delay in promotion

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Hyderabad, May 31: Anguished over the higher authorities denying him promotion, a sub-inspector of police in Karimnagar district committed suicide by shooting himself.

The incident occurred late on Saturday night when Ramadugu SI V Pulla Rao, 52, shot himself with his service revolver at his residence in the mandal headquarters of Choppadandi assembly constituency. “He was depressed as his batchmates were being promoted. The inordinate delay in getting promotion might have spurred him to kill himself,” sources said.

Parties in talks with Maoists for new govt as Nepal PM steps down

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Khatmandu, May 31: Nepal’s ruling alliance and the main Opposition Maoists held talks on Sunday to set up a new coalition government after Prime Minister Madhav Nepal agreed to step down following a last- minute deal to avert a political crisis in the country last week.

Leaders of the three major political parties — the main Opposition CPN- Maoist, the Nepali Congress and the Prime Minister’s Communist Party of Nepal ( United Marxist Leninist) — met but failed to reach an agreement to put into practice the May 28 deal.

Anil Ambani treks to Tirumala

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Trimula, May 31: The Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani Group chairman Anil Ambani prayed at the famous temple town of Lord Venkateswara in the wee hours of Sunday.

Anil who arrived in Tirupati on Saturday night, reached Tirumala by foot while his wife Tina Ambani and other family members motored to the temple along the ghat road.

Mr. Anil Ambani who reached the temple town at 1.30 a.m in the morning avoided talking to the waiting media persons.

I was extremely focused from the beginning, says topper

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New Delhi, May 31: Eighteen-year-old Vipul Singh from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, who is this year’s IIT-JEE topper from the Kharagpur region, has also topped the ninth All-India Engineering/Architecture Entrance Examination, the results for which were declared on Sunday.

Vipul who is in the capital to receive his award for topping the International Mathematics Olympiad and also for securing an overall rank-2 in the National Science Olympiad, secured an impressive all India 5th rank in the IIT-JEE. He scored 96.2 per cent in the Class XII examinations.

ESPN aims to bag Rs. 150 crore from FIFA

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New York, May 31: As the hunt for the golden boot is just around the corner when the FIFA World Cup will kick on the 11th of June next month, the broadcaster is aiming to bag a whopping amount of Rs. 150 crore from the sports tournament.

While the much-awaited sports event will hit the idiot box after four years of long wait, it is believed that ESPN will be able to make a 3/4th jump in its revenues as compared to the level it attained in the 2006 edition of the tournament.