Month: May 2010

Prez wants China to open banks in India

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Shanghai, May 30 — President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on Sunday suggested China should consider eyeing India as a banking destination. The President broached the idea during her meeting with Shanghai (Communist) Party Secretary Yu Zheng Sheng.

It was in context of the presence of Indian banks in China. Eleven Indian banks have their offices in China, six of them in Shanghai catering to over 100 Indian companies in the city and in industrial towns Jiangsu and Zhejiang nearby.

‘Serial kisser’ now in action

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Mumbai, May 31: If you can imagine the Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi only as a ‘serial kisser’, then here is a turnover in his role; where, he’ll be portrayed as an action hero now. Emraan will be acting in the upcoming movie, Once Upon A Time In Mumbai, by Milan Luthria and will be seen doing abundance of action in it!

The actor recently escaped a grave accident in Melbourne, while he was on shoot for Mohit Suri’s Crook. It was a stunt scene, in which, Hashmi had to drive down an expressway, following a rig vehicle that had the camera escalated on a crane arm.

Shanghai Expo 2010 Turns Spotlight on Nations

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Hong Kong, May 31: Two years ago, athletes from more than 190 countries came together in Beijing, vying for international acclaim on basketball courts and balance beams at the Summer Olympics. Now, a rematch of sorts is occurring in Shanghai — but this time, the competitors carrying their national flags are the architects and designers of hundreds of pavilions at a 184-day marathon of image and commerce, Expo 2010.

Gaza aid convoy ignores Israel order to turn back

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Gaza, May 31: Pro-Palestinian activists aboard a six-ship convoy sailing for the Gaza Strip have ignored orders by the Israeli navy to turn back, an Israeli official said on Monday.

The official, who declined to be named, said Israeli naval vessels told the activists by radio that their only other option was to head for the Israeli port of Ashdod to unload the some 10,000 tonnes of aid, which Israel would then transfer to Gaza.

“We communicated with them using the radio, clarifying that they are heading towards an area that is closed to maritime traffic,” the official said.

Coward 26/11 cops will be punished

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Mumbai, May 31: Following critical remarks made by Special Court judge M.L. Tahilyani against several police officers of the Azad Maidan police station recently, Mumbai police commissioner D. Shivanandan said that “coward” policemen who are accused of fleeing their posts during the Nov. 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks would be punished and strict action would be taken against them.

173 people died in the attacks, which India blames on Pakistan-based militants. Earlier this month the lone surviving gunman, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab, was sentenced to death.

Man shot at wedding, dies in hospital

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New Delhi, May 31: A man died in hospital after he was shot while attending a marriage in west Delhi, police said Sunday.

Hemant, 40, who runs an electronic appliances shop and lived in Dilshad Garden in east Delhi, had come to Vikas Puri to attend a wedding Saturday. He was rushed to a local hospital where he died later.

According to police, someone in the wedding party had fired shots in the air to celebrate and Hemant might have been hit by one of these.

A case has been registered and investigations are on, a police official said.

–IANS–

Hamas renews offer to end fight if Israel withdraws

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Damascus, May 31: Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has stated explicitly that the Palestinian Islamist group will end its armed struggle against Israel if the Jewish state withdraws from Palestinian land it occupied in the 1967 Middle East War.

Hamas, which refuses to recognise Israel, has long maintained that it will enter into a long-term truce if Israel pulls out of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and agrees to a right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees.

Pakistan: 7 arrested over links to sect attackers

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Lahore, May 31: Seven men have been arrested over alleged links to the militants who attacked a minority sect in eastern Pakistan, killing 93 people, police said today.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik visited one of the two mosques attacked Friday in Lahore and promised to work with local officials to tackle the growing problem of militancy in Pakistan’s heartland of Punjab province.

“The terrorists, who have been hiding in southern Punjab, have now surfaced,” said Malik. “Our action will be stronger now because we cannot tolerate these killings.”

Court cracks whip on govt over tailor’s land

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New Delhi, May 31: The Delhi High court has slapped a fine of Rs 15,000 on the urban development ministry for adopting delay tactics in returning a poor tailor his ancestral plot of land.

The poor tailor, who had petitioned the government to return his ancestral plot of land, may not have got the land back but he has succeeded in getting the high court to impose a fine of Rs 15,000 on the urban development ministry for tactics, which may be construed as delaying the case.

Eleven names cleared for NAC

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New Delhi, May 31: The Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday finalised the names of 11 members of the National Advisory Council, the consultative body chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi that is intended to serve as an interface between the government and civil society and as the laboratory for inclusive economic and social legislation and policy initiatives.

Central America storm kills 86, more victims feared

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Guatemala city, May 31: The remnants of Tropical Storm Agatha dumped more rain across Central America on Sunday after killing at least 86 people in the region, sparking fears of further mudslides in three countries.

Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season, slammed into the Guatemalan coast near the border with Mexico on Saturday.

At least 74 people were confirmed dead in Guatemala and the authorities were investigating 20 other reports of fatalities, emergency services spokesman David de Leon said.

More than 74,000 people have fled their homes.

Woman held for stealing jewellery from mother-in-law

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New Delhi, May 31: A 28-year-old woman and her five relatives have been arrested for allegedly stealing jewellery worth over Rs.25 lakh from her mother-in-law’s house here, police said Sunday.

“Meetu Talwar and five others, including her mother and brother, were arrested on the charge of stealing jewellery worth Rs.24 lakh and Rs.22,000 cash, which has been recovered from them. The remaining jewellery is still to be recovered,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Sharad Aggarwal said, adding that the accused have confessed to their crime.

Court official’s house burgled, furniture burnt

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New Delhi, May 31: The house of a senior court official in north Delhi was burgled and some furniture set on fire, police said Sunday.

The incident in Bharat Nagar took place late Saturday when the official and her husband were out.

According to police, the burglars had forced their way into the house.

The incident was similar to the cases committed by a gang led by a teenaged boy in south Delhi. The 17-year-old gang leader had recently escaped from a juvenile home, police said.

Mulayam’s brother, son framed me, alleges Amar Singh

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New Delhi, May 31: Expelled Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh Sunday alleged that party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s brother and son played a key role in framing him in the Rs.500-crore money laundering case Uttar Pradesh Police filed against him last year.

In the latest post on his blog, Amar Singh said he had been provided evidence about the “conspiracy” against him by some of the conspirators.

WHO says tobacco industry is enticing women to smoke

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New Delhi, May 31: The tobacco industry is slowly but steadily spreading its tentacles towards women.

On the eve of the World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization ( WHO) has expressed concern over the industry’s attempts to associate tobacco use with beauty and liberation.

“ We know tobacco advertising is increasingly targeting girls,” Dr Ala Alwan, WHO assistant director- general for non- communicable diseases and mental health, said.

15 security men killed in Manipur accidents

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Imphal, May 31: At least 15 security personnel, including 12 troopers of the Territorial Army, were killed and three injured Sunday in two separate road accidents in northeastern state of Manipur, officials said.

A police spokesperson said 12 troopers of the Territorial Army were killed late Sunday near village Kotlen, about 30 km northwest of capital Imphal.

“The soldiers were returning to their base in Imphal from duty when the truck in which they were travelling veered off the road and fell into a deep gorge,” a police official said.

Bangladesh blocks Facebook

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Dhaka, May 31: Bangladesh has blocked social networking website Facebook over caricatures of Prophet Mohammed and “obnoxious” images of the Muslim-majority country’s leaders, an official said on Sunday.

The move came after Pakistan banned access to Facebook, video website YouTube and 1,200 web pages over a row about “blasphemous” content on the Internet.

Facebook was blocked in Bangladesh late on Saturday, the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said.

Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh will be New state: Gurung

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Darjeeling, May 31: In a bid to woo tribal support, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) supremo Bimal Gurung Sunday announced that the proposed Gorkhaland state, which his party wants to be carved out of West Bengal, would be named Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh.

“The name of Gorkhaland will be changed to Gorka Adivasi Pradesh,” Gurung said while addressing his first full-fledged public meeting in Darjeeling after the killing of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL) chief Madan Tamang.

Man renounces Islam, gets attacked

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Male, May 31: A Maldivian man was assaulted Friday evening, after he declared his atheist status to the public during the Q&A session of a lecture given by visiting Indian scholar Dr Zakir Naik.

Mohamed Nazim, 37, said although he was born to a practicing Muslim family and his parents taught him Islam, he was “struggling to believe in religions,” and asked Naik about his “verdict in Islam.”

Train derail toll 148 but no lead yet on who did it

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Kolkata, May 31: The toll in the West Bengal train tragedy rose to 148 on Sunday as more bodies were pulled out from the wreckage of the mangled coaches.

“ All bodies from the spot have been recovered. Train services along the route resumed at 2.50 am this ( Sunday) morning,” South Eastern Railway’s Kharagpur divisional manager Anil Handa said.

District magistrate N. S. Nigam and hospital sources have put the toll at 148.

UPdate Tropical storm kills 96 in Central America

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Guatemala City, May 31: The remnants of Tropical Storm Agatha dumped more rain across Central America on Sunday after killing at least 96 people in the region, sparking fears of further mudslides in three countries.

Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season, slammed into the Guatemalan coast near the border with Mexico on Saturday.

At least 83 people died in Guatemala, President Alvaro Colom told a news conference on Sunday night.

Woman who robbed mom- in- law nabbed

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New Delhi, May 31: The Delhi Police have arrested a woman who had drugged her mother- in- law and made away with cash and jewellery worth over Rs 50 lakh earlier this month.

Meetu Talwar, 28, who had served mango shake laced with sedatives to her mother- in- law in the Tilak Nagar area of west Delhi, was arrested along with five of her relatives.

Those arrested are her mother Parvinder Kaur ( 45), brother Kamal Nan Singh ( 24), maternal aunt Jagminder Kaur ( 42), maternal uncle Sukhbir Singh ( 55) and another relative Maher Singh.

Karnataka bus mishap claims 30

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Karnataka, May 31: A bus carrying labourers and their families plunged from a bridge after hitting a concrete block and burst into flames at Challakere in Karnataka, 200 km north of Bangalore, early on Sunday.

The horrific accident charred to death 20 unemployed daily wage- earners and 10 of their children. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus, on its way from Shorapur to Bangalore, had 64 passengers on board. As many as 28 were injured in the accident.

Bus overturns, bursts into flames, 30 killed

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Bangalore, May 31: More than 30 passengers were charred to death when a state-run bus fell into a ditch and exploded after hitting a barricade in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district on Sunday, police said.

The victims included 15 women and 10 children. Twenty-eight others were injured as the fire spread quickly, trapping passengers and hindering rescue efforts.

The injured have been admitted to nearby hospitals.

The bus, carrying 64 passengers, was on its way to Bangalore from Surapur in Gulbarga district when the accident took place at Challakeri, 210 km from here.

The femme fatales of Bollywood!

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Mumbai, May 31: All female actors in Bollywood boast of having three things — great faces, hot bodies and raw sexuality. But there has been constant debate on who the best among them is. So, we asked fashion designers to rate them.

Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra took home the award of having the best face, best body and sex appeal, respectively.