Month: June 2010

Two militants arrested in SA

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Zimbabwe, June 26: Zimbabwe police arrested two militants when they attempted to cross the border into South Africa.

Imran Muhammad and Chaudry Parvez Ahmed, tried to enter the country with fake passports.

The men flew from Saudi Arabia to Tanzania, where they allegedly acquired fake Kenyan passports before entering Zimbabwe overland.

Both were suspected to be linked to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

Security has been stepped up for the World Cup, as authorities fear even a small attack could create massive disruptions of the event.

—Agencies

Benchmarks flat, broader markets gain

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Mumbai, June 26: Benchmark indices for Indian equities ended flat for the week amid announcements from both Ambani brothers’ firms that they had signed a new gas supply agreement and the government freeing auto fuel prices.

The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended almost unchanged from its previous weekly close. It closed Friday at 17,574.53 points after rising a meagre 3.71 points. The Sensex the week before had closed at 17,570.82 points.

We will never give Israel such a gift as to fight them

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Gaza, June 26: Hundreds of female volunteers planning to sail to Hamas-ruled territory with diapers, milk, medical supplies and clothes says, ‘Our only weapons are faith in the Virgin Mary and in humanity’

“Be sure we will never give Israel such a gift as to fight them or to have Hezbollah with us or to have any political party with us,’ the spokeswoman for the organizers of an aid flotilla from Lebanon to Gaza told The Times in an interview published Friday.

I feel cheated, says Monica Bedi after ‘Desi Girl’

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New Delhi, June 26: Former Bollywood starlet Monica Bedi, who is the latest to be ousted from Imagine TV’s reality show “Desi Girl”, has lashed out against the producers for manipulating the footage of the show and depicting her in bad light.

“When Rohit (Roy) asked me ‘Till what extent can you go to win the show?’, I had said: ‘Till any extent, but which is dignified and justified’. But on screen, it was only shown as ’till any extent’. That gave a wrong impression about me,” Monica told IANS over the phone from Mumbai.

My disaster team now favourites: Maradona

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Pretoria, June 26: Taking a dig at his country’s media, Argentine coach Diego Maradona said Saturday his “disaster” team was now the favourites to win the World Cup.

Maradona looked relaxed Saturday on the eve of Argentina’s pre-quarterfinal match against Mexico and said his team is on the verge of creating history.

After a closed training session, Maradona hinted that he was still not happy with the fitness of defender Walter Samuels.

Three persons arrested for consuming uncle’s flesh

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Karimganj, June 26: Three persons were arrested after locals alleged that they ate flesh from their uncle’s body while it was being cremated, police said.

The deceased, Hariprasad Rakiasan(50) had allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday at Bantarapur and his three nephews buried him near his home to avoid a police case, they said.

When the neighbours complained of foul smell emanating from the place, the nephews identified as Dilbur Rikiasan (33), Sukumar Rikiasan (34) and Sanjib Rikiasan (21), exhumed the body and decided to cremate him yesterday.

Youth chops off his tongue

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Barabanki (UP), June 26: Driven by superstition, a youth chopped off his tongue at a temple in Katra area of the city, police said here today.

Kamlesh, 25, cut his tongue before the idol of a deity at Bhuinyare temple in Obari colony after offering prayers last evening, they said.

Kamlesh was admitted to a hospital and his condition was stated to be stable, police said.

–Agencies

Mossad chief faces axe over Dubai fiasco: report

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Jerusalem, June 26: Israel’s long-time super spy Meir Dagan, who heads the country’s ultra secretive Mossad, is likely to step down in three months time apparently because of an international furore over the Dubai killing of a top Hamas commander.

Dagan, the chief of Israel’s espionage agency has served as Mossad Director since 2002 and was dubbed as the man of the year two years ago by the Israeli media.

But the Dubai fiasco seems to have cast a shadow over his tenure, with the government denying him another extension, after the expiry of his term in 90 days.

Gold slides on selling pressure, silver shines

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New Delhi, June 26: Gold prices fell by Rs 30 to Rs 19,070 per ten gram in the national capital today as investors resorted to selling to realise profits at existing levels, while silver strengthened on industrial demand.

Gold of 99.9 purity and 99.5 purity, which had surged by Rs 200 each in yesterday’s trading, lost Rs 30 each to Rs 19,070 and Rs 18,970 per ten gram respectively. Sovereign held steady at Rs 14,675 per piece of eight gram.

Spying case: Court extends Madhuri’s JC by 14 days

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New Delhi, June 26: A Delhi court today extended by 14 days the judicial custody of diplomat Madhuri Gupta, who has been arrested for allegedly passing classified information to Pakistani intelligence officials.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja remanded Gupta, 53, to judicial custody till July nine after she was produced in the court. Her judicial remand was on May 31 extended in proceedings conducted through video-conferencing.

Sharad Pawar takes over as ICC President on July 1

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Singapore, June 26: Former BCCI chief Sharad Pawar will take over as International Cricket Council President on July 1, becoming the second Indian, after Jagmohan Dalmiya, to occupy the top post.

The ICC annual conference week beginning tomorrow will culminate with Pawar taking over as the seventh ICC President, succeeding Englishman David Morgan, who concludes his two-year term at the end of the week, the governing body said in a statement.

Dalmiya was the first Indian to be elected for the post, in 1997.

HM terms ‘minor’ Indian flag incident, Malik regrets

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Islamabad, June 26: A diplomatic faux paus by Pakistani hosts which resulted in the Indian national flag being displayed upside down caused a minor flutter during Home Minister P Chidambaram’s meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik.

An alert Chidambaram, who spotted the error, brought it to the notice of Malik, who regretted the incident and asked it to be corrected.

“I detected the mistake and he (Malik) corrected the mistake. I told Malik about it and he was extremely regretful of that,” Chidambaram told reporters here today.

Strike paralyses normal life in Kerala

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Thiruvananthapuram,June 26: The ruling LDF-sponsored dawn-to-dusk strike in Kerala to protest hike in prices of petroleum products crippled normal life today but passed off without any major untoward incident.

Shops, business establishments and schools were closed and vehicles went off the roads. Only a few private vehicles and two-wheelers plied.

Candidates, who were to appear for UPSC examinations, had a tough time reaching the centres. Examinations of Kerala Public Service Commission and Kerala University scheduled for the day have been postponed to another date.

Omar warns of strong action against disruptive elements

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Srinagar, June 26: Faced with continuing trouble on the streets, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today directed the security forces to ensure that there were no human rights violations, and at the same time warned of strong action against “instigators and disruptive elements” who were “misguiding” the youth.

Chairing a high-level meeting of senior ministers and top police officials, Omar asked security forces to exercise utmost restraint while dealing with the civilians and said those found guilty of human rights violations will be dealt with strictly as per law.

Manisha Koirala signs her first film post marriage

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New Delhi, June 26: Actress Manisha Koirala, who recently tied the knot with Nepali businessman Samrat Dahal, has signed her first project where she will be playing the role of a politician.

“It’s a women oriented film where she plays the role of a politician. The film is being made under the banner of Yograj Cinevista. Other cast and crew are under finalisation,” a statement from the producer said.

The actress, who is the grand daughter of first elected Prime Minister of Nepal B P Koirala, says she always wanted to play the role of a politician.

Govt not serious about punishing the guilty : PDP

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Srinagar, June 26: Opposition PDP today accused the state government of not being serious about bringing those responsible for the killing of innocent youths in Jammu and Kashmir to book saying instead of punishing the guilty, it was using oppressive measures to provoke further resentment.

Nalini drops demand for transfer from Vellore prison

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New Delhi, June 26: Rajiv Gandhi’s assassin Nalini Sriharan, who had sought transfer from Vellore prison alleging harassment, has decided to drop the demand, saying conditions had improved in the jail, her counsel said today.

“She said that she will no more seek transfer to another prison as things have improved after Deputy Inspector General of Police Govindarajan conducted an inquiry in the prison,” said P Pugalenthi who met her today.

J-K Govt orders judicial inquiry into Sopore killings

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Srinagar, June 26: Jammu and Kashmir Government today ordered a judicial inquiry into the killings of two civilians allegedly by CRPF personnel in Sopore in North Kashmir and directed it to submit a report within a month.

The decision to set up the one-man commission of state Human Rights Commission Chairman Justice (retd) Syed Bashir-ud-din was taken by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah after a meeting with his cabinet ministers.

Yasin Malik detained on way to Sopore

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Srinagar, June 26: Separatist Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Mohammad Yaseen Malik was today detained by police at Highgam village en route to curfew-bound Sopore town of north Kashmir where two persons were killed in fire allegedly by CRPF.

Malik, who was released from Srinagar central jail last night, was detained when he was leading a delegation of the party to Sopore, official said.

A JKLF spokesman termed the police action as “undemocratic”.

–Agencies

MJ was murdered for money: Sister

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Washington, June 26: Earlier this week music trade magazine Billboard reported that the royalties accumulated since the star’s death had earned the Jackson estate $1 billion (£677 million).

In an interview with GMTV she said: “Personally I think it is a slap in the face, not just to Michael but to the entire family. It’s totally unfair, it’s wrong and it was not an accident.”

Asked whether she believed the star was murdered, she added: “I never had a doubt.
LaToya Jackson LaToya Jackson claims her brother’s death was “not an accident”

Four swine flu deaths, 23 infections in Andhra

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Hyderabad, June 26: Four people died of swine flu in Andhra Pradesh while 23 were found infected by H1N1 virus this year, officials said Saturday.

Three deaths and a majority of the cases were reported during last 10 days. The monsoon is believed to be the main cause for the virus becoming virulent.

Officials have advised people not to use preventive medicines without advice from the doctors.

“People should take the medicines only under the supervision of doctors,” said P.V. Ramesh, principal secretary, health and family welfare.

Rape is a military strategy in War

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Washington, June 26: Since the Second World War, the use of rape as a weapon of war has assumed strategic importance and is now a deliberate military strategy, argue researchers.

A study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo found that 16,000 rapes occurred in 2008 alone and in South Kivu province, health centres estimate that 40 women were raped in the region daily.

In the UK, 50-70 percent of female asylum applicants were raped, witnessed rape, or have a credible fear of rape.

More people behind Mumbai attacks: Chidambaram

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Islamabad, June 26: Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram Saturday said there were more people behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and “more people” should be prosecuted besides the seven suspects who are currently being tried in Pakistan.

“We believe more people were behind the Mumbai attack and more people should be prosecuted,” Chidambaram told reporters here, a day after Friday night’s talks with his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik.
–IANS

Supposed Maoist outfit warns Mayawati

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Lucknow, June 26: A supposed Maoist group has threatened violence in Uttar Pradesh, but police say it is a fake threat.

The editorial department of a known Hindi daily Friday received a letter bearing the signature of Maoist leader Munna Vishwakarma, who carries a reward of Rs.2 lakh on his head.

The handwritten letter, addressed to Chief Minister Mayawati, asks her to start holding a daily morning ‘janata durbar’ that was discontinued by her and her predecessor Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Bullying powers no longer effective: Iran

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Tehran, June 26: The Opposition by a number of countries to the UN Security Council’s sanctions against Iran indicate that the “bullying powers” are no longer effective, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Saturday.

“In the past, no country dared to say ‘No’ to the bullying powers. But thanks to emergence of new diplomacy and Iran’s righteous stance, the countries do not bow to force any longer,” IRNA news agency quoted Mottaki as saying.