Month: June 2010

Minimum temperature in Delhi at five year high

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New Delhi, June 02: The national capital woke up on Wednesday to an unusually hot and sweaty day. The minimum temperature recorded early this morning was six degrees above average and has broken a five year record.

“The minimum temperature recorded this (Wednesday) morning was 34 degrees Celsius. This is six degrees above average and the highest minimum temperature recorded on June 2 in the last five years,” an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) told IANS.

New buildings will soon come with solar power in Mumbai

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Mumbai, June 02: The city is taking green initiatives seriously, and in about a month, it may become mandatory for new buildings to have solar panels on their roofs. Even the hoardings will have to run on solar energy.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) improvements committee has taken keen interest in a proposal tabled before it on Monday demanding solar energy for new buildings and a push button for flushes in public toilets.

RCom surges 10 pc on Etisalat stake sale buy report

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Mumbai, June 02: Shares of ADAG firm Reliance Communications today surged 10 per cent on the BSE after a newspaper report said the UAE-based telecom major Etisalat was in talks to buy 25 per cent stake in the company.

Shares of Reliance Communications climbed 10 per cent to a high of Rs 153.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange in the morning trade.

According to a media report, Etisalat is in talks to acquire 25 per cent stake in Anil-Ambani Group firm Reliance Communications and is in advance stages for the deal.

CBI to grill former domestic help for leads

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New Delhi, June 02: The CBI is trying to ascertain the ‘ home atmosphere’ of Aarushi Talwar’s household, two years after failing to track down the murderer of the teenager as well as the family domestic help, Hemraj.

It is looking to interrogate Vishnu Thapa, who had served in the household for eight years before Hemraj replaced him in September 2007.

The CBI on Tuesday questioned Jeevan Pant Sharma, Hemraj’s brotherin- law, and also asked him about the whereabouts of Vishnu.

AIADMK announces candidates for RS polls

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Chennai, June 02: AIADMK today decided to field Manoj Pandian and K V Ramalingam as its candidates for the June 17 Rajya Sabja polls from Tamil Nadu.

Manoj Pandian, son of former Assembly Speaker P H Pandian, is a former MLA while Ramalingam is the AIADMK Erode district secretary.

AIADMK has received the support of its allies, the Vaiko-led MDMK and the two Left parties for its candidates.

Al Qaeda No 3 al-Yazid ‘killed’ with family

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Washington, June 02: Al Qaeda announced on Monday that its No 3 official, Mustafa al-Yazid, had been killed along with members of his family — perhaps one of the most severe blows to the terror movement since the US campaign against al Qaeda began.

A US official said al-Yazid was believed to have died in a US missile strike.

A statement posted on an al Qaeda Website said al-Yazid, which it described as the organisation’s top commander in Afghanistan, was killed along with his wife, three daughters, a grandchild and other men, women and children but did not say how or where.

Thailand PM survives no-confidence vote

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Bangkok, June 02: Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva survived a no-confidence vote in the lower house Wednesday.

A total of 246 members of parliament voted for him to continue serving as the premier and 186 voted against him reported.

The vote came after a two-day debate, which focused on the measures taken by the government against the red-shirts protest that was called off May 19 after at least 88 people died and over 2,000 were injured during clashes between protesters and security forces.

—-IANS

Mamata remarks fuel row

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New Delhi, June 02: Railway minister Mamata Bannerjee has landed herself in the middle of multiple controversies — be it skipping the cabinet meeting yet again or making unguarded remarks over the Gnaneshwari Express tragedy and the Kolkata municipal polls.

She did not attend the cabinet meeting that decided imposing President’s Rule in Jharkhand, despite being in New Delhi on Tuesday.

And her remark justifying her absence was that the meeting was “ only for Jharkhand” and she had a “ better job” to do.

This provoked an outrage from the Opposition.

66-year-old fails in Class 10 boards for 45th time

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Lucknow, June 02: It was 45th time unlucky for 66-year-old Jabbar Husen from an Uttar Pradesh village who has failed his Class 10 exams again this year — but the never-say-die grocer is determined try and try again till he succeeds in clearing the exam.

Husen, who owns a grocery store in Fatehpur district’s Bindki village, about 200 km from here, could not clear three of the six papers in Class 10. Results of the Class 10 Uttar Pradesh board were announced Tuesday.

Israel, Egypt ease Gaza blockade after deadly raid

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Jerusalem, June 02: Israel and Egypt signaled a temporary easing of the Gaza Strip blockade following harsh international condemnation of the deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla en route to the sealed-off Palestinian territory.

Egypt said it was freely opening its border with Gaza for the first time in more than a year to allow in humanitarian aid, setting off a mad rush to the crossing by thousands of residents, while an Israeli official said there is an “ongoing dialogue” with the international community on how to expand the amount of goods entering the area.

US out to ease India concerns

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Washington, June 02: The United States will try to reassure India that it remains at the top of its priority list as the two countries hold talks Wednesday on stepping up cooperation around the world.

President Barack Obama has voiced support for warming ties between the world’s two largest democracies but focused on fighting extremism in Pakistan, raising alarm in India about the flow of US resources to its historic rival.

At least 14 killed in Bangladesh building collapse

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Dhaka, June 02: At least 14 people were killed and 25 injured when a four-storey building collapsed onto tin-roofed shanties in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, police and officials said Wednesday.

The structure, built on columns, toppled over late Tuesday, flattening houses where scores of low-paid garment workers and labourers lived.

“So far, we have recovered 14 dead bodies from the rubble,” deputy fire chief Abdus Salam told AFP, adding that rescuers had not yet managed to access the crushed shanty houses.

Congress high command’s green signal to Jagan

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Hyderabad, June 02: (Siasat News) According to Mr. Jagan congress high command has given him green signal to continue his consoling tour. As per schedule he will start his yatra from srikakulam district on June 3. after the by election this yartra will be initiated in the Telangana regio also Mr. Jagan called on Sonia Gandhi’s political advisor Mr. Ahmed Patel and he met with union law minister and party incharge of A.P. Veerappa Moily later talking media persons Jagan said Mr. Moily having sondulted with the high command gave him green signal and his blessings too.

Pune blast case: ATS big catch turns out to be a damp squib

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Mumbai, June 02: After the hoopla, the anti-climax: Just over a week after the state’s anti-terrorism squad (ATS) gave the impression that it had landed a big catch in the Pune German Bakery blast case by nabbing Abdul Samad, the elite police outfit declined to take him into custody.

The arrest had created a sensation as it was the first concrete development in the case. Even Union home minister P Chidambaram congratulated the ATS.

US asks Pakistan to act against LeT, other anti-India groups

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Washington, June 02: Expressing its appreciation for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s willingness to take political risks in resuming a dialogue with Pakistan, the US has again asked Islamabad to take effective action against anti-India terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), blamed for the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

Black boxes in Polish crash reveal pilots warned

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Warsaw, June 02 : Poland has published cockpit conversations of the final minutes before the April plane crash that killed President Lech Kaczynski, revealing that pilots decided to land in heavy fog despite warnings from air traffic controllers about poor visibility.

A transcript of the last 39 minutes of the flight also shows that a Foreign Ministry official, Mariusz Kazana, entered the cockpit and made remarks indicating that the president was involved in deciding whether or not to make the difficult landing.

Shahzad – a ‘hybrid terrorist’

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New York, June 02: Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American Times Square bombing suspect, is being labelled as a “hybrid terrorist”, someone who acted alone in the US but drew inspiration from outside extremist forces like the Taliban.

There may be other such radicalised Americans who are waiting for a chance to attack the country, CBS News reported.

“In one sense, Shahzad was a lone wolf, with evidence suggesting that he alone bought, assembled and delivered his botched IED,” it said.

UN demands impartial inquiry into Gaza flotilla deaths

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New York, June 02: The UN Security Council called today for an impartial inquiry into the Israeli commando raid on a flotilla of aid ships for Gaza, which left nine activists dead. The statement – after a night of talks and wrangles – called for the investigation to be “prompt, impartial, credible and transparent”.

Attack was handiwork of outsider, says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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Bangalore, June 02: “I am saddened that a twist is being given to the incident,” said Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, reacting to media reports that appeared on Tuesday.

Two days after a bullet injured a devotee at the Art of Living ashram located off Kanakapura Road, he said that he was disappointed by the versions of the story being circulated. He reiterated that it was not the handiwork of people within the ashram but of outsiders and that it necessitated a thorough investigation. Activities at the ashram were going on as usual, he said.

Facing political fallout, Cuba moves political prisoners

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Havana, June 02: Cuba’s communist government started relocating political prisoners closer to their families after church-government talks aimed at ending politically embarrassing hunger strikes, dissident and family sources said.

The action came after church-government talks launched May 19 aimed at ending hunger strikes in support of the political prisoners, which have become a major political embarrassment for President Raul Castro.

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Trinamool Congress leads over Left Front in Kolkata civic body polls

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Kolkata, June 02: The Trinamool Congress was leading over the ruling Left Front in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Wednesday as authorities counted votes polled in Sunday’s civic elections.

The Trinamool Congress candidates were ahead in 53 seats, and the Left Front in 31 seats, while the Congress and the BJP led in three and one seat respectively in trends available for 88 seats in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The Left Front was running it since 2005.

Ruchika’s lawyer evading arrest in land scam case, say cops

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Chandigarh, June 02: The lawyer who played an instrumental role in the conviction of former Haryana police chief S.P.S. Rathore in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case has been absconding and evading arrest in connection with a multi-crore land scam, police here said Wednesday.

Pankaj Bhardwaj escaped from his home here before a special team of Amritsar police reached to arrest him late Tuesday.

PM says inflation a problem, needs firm action

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New Delhi, June 02: Inflation in India remains a problem and will require firm action, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Tuesday, adding that the country will keep pushing for higher growth.

High inflation has put political pressure on Singh’s government, threatening to undermine its support among millions of poor who helped the coalition return to power for a second straight term a year ago.

US opens criminal investigation into oil spill

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New Orleans, June 02: US officials said Tuesday they launched a criminal probe into the nation’s worst ever oil spill as BP voiced hopes of capping the six-week-old Gulf of Mexico leak soon.

“We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who has violated the law,” Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters in New Orleans. “We will not rest until justice is done.”

As shares in the British energy giant plunged Tuesday, losing 13 percent and wiping off 12 billion pounds (17.6 billion dollars) off its market value, Holder said the criminal probe began “some weeks ago.”

Activists send new boat to challenge Gaza blockade

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Jerusalem, June 02: Pro-Palestinian activists sent another boat to challenge Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and Egypt declared it was temporarily opening a crossing into the Palestinian territory after a raid on an aid flotilla that ended with Israeli soldiers killing nine activists.

The raid provoked ferocious international condemnation of Israel, raised questions at home, and appeared likely to increase pressure to end the blockade that has deepened the poverty of the 1.5 million Palestinians in the strip.