Month: July 2010

Lebanese Shia cleric dies

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Beirut, July 04: Lebanese Shia cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah died Sunday at the age of 75.

Fadlallah died at Beirut’s Bahman Hospital, where he was being treated for internal bleeding since Friday, Xinhua reported.

He was a supporter of Iran’s Islamic Revolution and the spiritual leader and mentor of Lebanon’s Shia armed group Hezbollah.

He was also known for his moderate views on social affairs, especially on women. Shia Muslims account for about 30 percent of the Lebanese population.
–IANS

Hyderabad’s women champions in contrast

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Hyderabad, July 04: Twenty-year-old Saina Nehwal is as regular at title wins as 24-year-old Sania Mirza at first round exits, a recent interesting tweet brings out the sharp contrast in the careers and personalities of Hyderabad’s best sportswomen. Saina is the new badminton icon while the glamorous tennis star, having lost the winning touch, is just a shade of the champion that she was. With three back-to-back title wins, Saina has now risen to become world number three. Sania after her first round exit from Wimbledon last week slipped to 111 in the world, a harsh reality indeed.

EC has nothing to do with her arrest: CEO

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Hyderabad, July 04: Making it clear that the Election Commission would not give specific directions to the police for arresting or registering a case against any person who indulged in provocative or objectionable remarks, chief electoral officer IV Subba Rao today appealed to all political parties to respect provisions of the law and the model code of conduct, and to act accordingly in order to ensure a free and fair poll.

Woods in $100 mn divorce deal

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London, July 04: Disgraced golfer Tiger Woods is said to be close to sealing a $100 million divorce settlement with estranged wife Elin Nordegren.

According to reports, the $100 million settlement is 10 times more than Woods, 34, paid alleged mistress Rachel Uchitel to ensure she did not “reveal all” about the couple’s affair.

If confirmed, the $100 million deal would be one of the 10 most expensive celebrity divorces of all time, reports telegraph.co.uk

IT raid seizes Rs 9 crore in godman’s bedroom

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Chennai, July 04: The Income Tax Investi­gation department seized Rs 13 crore from the premises of a politically well-connected godman running educational institutions in the state.

Sixteen IT teams raided the Adhiparasakthi group of educational institutions bel­onging to Bangaru Adigalar, his four residences and trust offices in Melmaruvathur, as part of a state-wide operation. The searches that started at 11.30 am on Friday lasted till 4 am on Saturday.

Unhappy Jagan may get ministerial berth in Delhi

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Hyderabad, July 04: The Congress may have found a way to heal its uneasy relations with the defiant MP from Andhra Pradesh, Jaganmohan Reddy. He may be inducted in the union ministry.

The grapevine in the capital hasn’t stopped buzzing since the heir apparent of late chief minister Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi recently.

Jagan, as he is popularly called, met Gandhi along with his mother Vijaylaxmi and sister Sharmila to seek her permission for a controversial rally through the troubled Telangana region in memory of his late father.

New road links Sharjah with Dubai, Abu Dhabi

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Dubai, July 04: A new 70 km-long road linking the emirate of Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi has been completed that will benefit motorists.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of the UAE has completed the construction of Dubai Bypass Road.

All phases of the construction of the project, costing over one billion dirhams (about $272 million), has been completed, Mattar Al Tayer, executive director of RTA, said Saturday.
–IANS

Revolutionary songs mark Azad’s last rites

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Hyderabad, July 04: Sympathisers, former extremists and civil liberties activists Sunday sang revolutionary songs and paid their respects to top Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad, whose last rites were performed in Panjagutta here.

The body of Azad, who was killed by the police in an alleged exchange of fire in the forests of Adilabad district Friday, was brought to his brother’s house in Madhapur Sunday morning from a hospital where it was kept Saturday night.

Rosaiah turns 78, wishes AP all-round progress

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Hydrerabad, July 04: “The state has a bright future. I hope all parties will help the government develop it on all fronts and make it prosperous,” is the birthday message of chief minister K Rosaiah.

Professor’s hand cut off by a group

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Muvattupuzha, (Kerala) July 04: A college professor, currently on bail for preparing a inflammatory question paper, had his right palm chopped off by a group of eight unidentified people Sunday morning, police said.

T.J. Joseph was returning home with his family after attending morning prayers when a group of people in a van pulled him out of his car. Joseph’s right palm was chopped off and thrown some 200 meters away, police said.

He also suffered deep cuts on the body and was rushed to a specialty hospital at Kochi for a surgery to reattach the severed palm.

Smart cars with black boxes

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London, July 04: Computer scientists in the US are developing technology that will transform cars into intelligent vehicles fitted with aircraft-style black boxes that can record information about driving behaviour during accidents.

The car, which is being developed by researchers at computer chip giant Intel, will record information about the vehicle speed, steering and braking along with video footage from inside and outside the vehicle, The Telegraph reported.

Lisa Ray to host the Queen

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New Delhi, July 04: Life has never been better for actress Lisa Ray, who after successfully beating cancer will now play host to none other than Queen Elizabeth II, during an event to celebrate the creation of Canada.

The model-actress born to a Bengali father and a Polish mother in Canada, will host the monarch and her consort Prince Philip at a informal lunch on Monday.

“I will be hosting the informal lunch for Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Toronto this Monday. It’s a huge honour especially on the heels of my recovery,” the 38-year-old actress told PTI.

Maoists call 48-hour ‘Bharat Bandh’ from July 7

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Kolkata, July 04: Maoists called for a 48-hour ‘Bharat Bandh’ from July 7 to protest against the killing of their senior politburo member Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad at Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh by the police, top Maoist leader Kishenji said today.

Railways, milk, ambulance and fire services have been exempted from the shutdown.

Kishenji claimed that Azad, the Maoist spokesman, was arrested from Nagpur along with another Maoist Sukdeb and taken 150 kms away to Adilabad where both were shot dead.

Indians in US, other countries to get tax concession

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New Delhi, July 04: It is what you may call charity with benefit.

Indians, staying in the US, could in next three months avail tax concession on the money they will spend on social welfare projects at their native places in India.

Under the ‘India Development Foundation for Overseas Indians’, an initiative of Ministry of Overseas Indians, they will get tax exemption if they want to build schools, primary health centres and other infrastructure in their villages and places of origin in India.

Anti-Nehru remarks, Modi booked

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Bundi (Raj) July 04: A defamation case has been filed by a Congress worker at a court here against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the country’s first prime minister Jahawarlal Nehru.

The case was filed yesterday by Youth Congress state Secretary Charmesh Sharma at the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, which has decided to hear the matter on July 6.

Sharma alleged that at a public meeting of the BJP at Gandhinagar in Gujarat on June 5, Modi had said that Nehru had “done nothing for children”.

Iran warns against US dual-track policy

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Tehran, July 04: Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani has slammed the US for its policies of occupation and unilateralism as well as double standards towards its so-called war on terror.

“US policies have intensified insecurity in the region and caused pain for the Afghan people,” Larijani said, referring to incidents after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Larijani made the remarks in a meeting with First Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of the Afghan Parliament Mirwais Yasini in Tehran on Saturday.

Evidence sought on Gitmo detainee

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Cuba, July 04: A US federal appeals court has demanded more evidence that a Guantanamo Bay detainee, held captive for over eight years, truly belongs to al-Qaeda.

Algerian Belkacem Bensayah was arrested in Bosnia with five other Bosnian-Algerian nationals in 2001.

He was accused of helping people who wanted to travel to Afghanistan to fight US forces.

A panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that if US government prosecutors cannot present the proof, Bensayah must be released, Associated Press reported on Sunday.

US asks women to quit smoking on independence day

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Los Angeles, July 04: The US National Cancer Institute has asked all American women to quit smoking on the occasion of the nation’s Independence Day Sunday.

The institute will encourage American women to take a “Smoke-free Pledge” to kick the habit and has also started a website to help them out, Xinhua reported.

The health risks associated with smoking can be greater for women than men, the institute said, adding that women face a bigger risk for smoking-related diseases such as heart attack, stroke, and lung cancer.

LIC to recruit 10,000 employees this year

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New Delhi, July 04: The country’s largest insurance company, LIC, plans to recruit around 10,000 employees in the current fiscal to give a push to its growth plans.

“We are planning to hire a good number of people this year as well. We intend to hire 10,000 people this year across the various cadre,” LIC Managing Director A K Dasgupta told PTI.

Last year, LIC hired same number of people across various cadre including some lateral recruitment for the first time.

Of the total, about 5,000 development officers would be recruited in line with the growth plan, he said.

Saddam spy receives Kuwaiti citizenship

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Dubai, July 04: An Iraqi resident, who is believed to have worked as a spy for Saddam Hussain, was recently awarded Kuwaiti citizenship, along with his family.

It is believed that the man, whose identity has not been revealed, also played a large role in assisting Iraqi troops during the 1990 Invasion, documents recently obtained have said.

The man is assumed to have been the head of the Saddam Martyrs Brigades during the invasion and was employed by the Iraq regime’s office in Basra at the time, an Arabic ‘Al-Watan Daily’ report has said.

Child survives five-storey fall

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Belgrade, July 04: A four-year-old boy miraculously survived a five-storey fall from a balcony in Croatia, a media report said.

The child followed his mother onto the balcony and then fell over in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, Saturday. He only sustained a broken leg. He apparently landed on a bush, which cushioned his fall, Xinhua reported.
–IANS

Howard deplores bloc voting for cricket’s top job

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Sydney, July 04: Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard Sunday took a swipe at the African and Asian nations that teamed up to overturn his bid to head the International Cricket Council (ICC) when the post is vacated by India’s Sharad Pawar in 2012.

At a meeting in Singapore last week, the ICC rejected Howard’s candidacy without explanation.

“No one part of the world, no one country, should dominate cricket,” Howard said. “People in the past criticised the fact it was dominated by England and Australia, and now we don’t want to replace one perceived domination by another.”

India won’t send Kasab to Pakistan

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Islamabad, Juy 04: Pakistan government yesterday informed an anti-terror court hearing the Mumbai attack case involving LeT’s Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects that the latest Indian dossier on the 26/11 strikes said Ajmal Kasab could not be sent to Pakistan to testify against the accused.

A government lawyer appeared before Judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan, who is conducting the trial in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for security reasons, and said India’s latest dossier had said that it would not be possible to send Kasab to Pakistan to join the court’s proceedings.

Jaswant’s Jinnah book issue a closed chapter: Gadkari

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New Delhi, July 04: BJP President Nitin Gadkari has termed as “closed” the issue of Jaswant Singh’s book praising Pakistan founder M A Jinnah and said return of leaders like him will strengthen the party.

“To add people to the party is going to strengthen it…

It is a good thing for the party,” Gadkari said when asked about return of leaders like Jaswant Singh and Ram Jethmalani to BJP.

On the former defence minister not apologising for writing the book praising Jinnah which had led to his expulsion ten months ago, Gadkari said, “These are old issues.

Recites Quran before World Cup matches

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Berlin, July 04: Germany’s new star midfielder Mesut Ozil who is of Turkish-origin, recites the Holy Quran before the World Cup matches in a bid to help him focus.

Talking to the Berlin-based daily Der Tagesspiegel on Saturday, Ozil said, “I always do that before I go out (on the pitch). I pray and my team-mates know that they cannot talk to me during this brief period.”

A third generation Turkish-German, Ozil has become one of the superstars at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.