Month: July 2010

Govt to discuss wakf reforms with opposing AIMPLB

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New Delhi, July 04: Determined to go ahead with wakf reforms, Minority Affairs Ministry has decided to hold consultations with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), which recently raised objections against the government decision to register wakf properties.

“A legal team of AIMPLB will visit us and explain to us why they are opposing the registration of wakf properties.

We believe that the registration will better their management but we are open to discuss any issues that the Board has with the move,” Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told PTI.

Soumya murder case: Accused alleges assault inside jail

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New Delhi, July 04: One of the accused in the sensational Soumya Vishwanathan murder case has approached a court here alleging that he was beaten up for several days inside Rohini Jail for refusing to “bribe” prison authorities.

“The jail authorities at Rohini assaulted me for days after I refused to bribe them. They take money for providing facilities such as mobile phones and dry fruits inside,” accused Amit Shukla told Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) S K Sarvaria.

Berlo invited lapdancers to entertain him

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London, July 04: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reportedly invited six lapdancers to entertain him in his hotel during an official visit to Brazil.

The lap dancers were reportedly paid around £900 and were promised jobs as showgirls and starlets on Italian television channels, owned by Berlusconi. One of the dancers, Alexandra Valenca, 28, said her performance in front of Berlusconi included an erotic lap dance. She said she and the other women were invited to attend a dinner in the presidential suite of the Hotel Tivoli Sao Paulo Mofarrej with the prime minister on Monday.

Emraan Hashmi discovers lady luck in young actresses

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New Delhi, July 04: Ever wondered why Emraan Hashmi is so often paired opposite young actresses? It’s because he’s discovered lady luck in these new heroines and, as he says, “it makes some great on-screen chemistry and works for the film”.

“Most of my successful films have been with new actresses and young girls,” Emraan told IANS in a telephonic interview from Mumbai.

Lahore bombers enemies of Islam: OIC

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Jeddah, July 03: The Organisation of the Islamic Conference on Saturday branded the attackers who blew themselves up at a Sufi shrine in Lahore, Pakistan killing 43 as “enemies of Islam.”

OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu “strongly condemned the horrendous suicide attacks” on the shrine on July 1, the pan-Islamic group said in a statement.

“Those who committed such deplorable terrorist acts are enemies of Islam and humanity and should be brought to justice,” Ihsanoglu said.

Don’t give aid to JuD: Sunni leader

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Lahore, July 04: A leading Pakistani religious leader has asked authorities to withdraw millions of rupees provided to the Jamaat-ud-Dawah as aid for its “welfare projects” as the group has links with extremists.

Expressing outrage at Friday’s suicide attack on the Data Darbar shrine in Lahore, Sunni Tehrik leader Haji Hanif Tayyab said banned groups were being allowed to work under new names.

He demanded that the government should make public details about the funding of these groups.

Two football fans killed in Kenya pub brawl

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Nairobi, July 04: Two football fans were killed in a brawl here in the Kenyan capital after Ghana’s loss in the World Cup quarterfinals, police said.

The first victim was stabbed in the stomach and died on the spot, while his attacker was lynched by the mob at a bar in the outskirts of Nairobi Friday night, police chief Anthony Kibuchi was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

One sex abuse a week in Australian taxis

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Sydney, July 04: At least one complaint of a “sexual nature” is lodged every week against a taxi driver in Australia’s southeastern state of New South Wales despite the cabs being tracked with CCTV cameras and global positioning radio devices, media reports have said.

Even though taxis are regarded as the safest form of public transport, 20 sexual complaints were made to cab companies in the first five months of this year. Six were upheld but only one was reported to police, according to the state transport department which will now make three cameras compulsory for all vehicles.

It’s not Muslim Kashmir Vs Hindu India: Mirwaiz

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Srinagar, July 04: Chairman of moderate faction of Kashmiri’s main separatist alliance Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said Kashmir was a political issue not a fight between Muslim Kashmir and Hindu India.

“Kashmir is a political issue ripe for resolution not a fight between Muslim Kashmir and Hindu India. Resolving Kashmir is in the national interest of India,” said Farooq addressing a press conference at his residence in the outskirts of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian administered Kashmir.

FIFA takes no action against Ronaldo for spitting

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Johanesburg, July 04: FIFA will not discipline Cristiano Ronaldo for spitting as he left the field after Portugal’s second-round loss against Spain.

FIFA says its disciplinary committee found no grounds to open a case against the Portugal captain.

Ronaldo was being followed by a television cameraman filming him after the final whistle of his team’s 1-0 defeat in Cape Town on Tuesday.

The former FIFA world player of the year appeared to stare into the lens then spit near the camera operator’s feet.

Azad’s Family Allowed to See Body

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Mancherial, July 04: The autopsy on the bodies of top Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad and a journalist from Uttarkhand Hemachandra Pandey, who allegedly died in a police encounter a day earlier, was conducted on Saturday at the Government general hospital here. As per the court directive, the police allowed only the mother and brother of Azad, to see his body.

Justice Srikrishna Arrives Tomorrow

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Hyderabad, July 04: Mr Justice B. N. Srikrishna, Chairman, Committee for Consultations on Situation in
Andhra Pradesh (CCSAP) will arrive here on July 5 at 9 am. He will leave for Mumbai on July 7 at 6 pm.

Similarly, Mr V. K. Duggal, Member-Secretary, Prof. Ranbir Singh, Prof. (Ms) Ravinder Kaur of the Committee will arrive here on July 5 at 12 noon and Dr Abusaleh Shariff will arrive at 9.15 am on the same day.

On July 7, Mr Duggal and Dr Abusaleh Shariff will leave for Delhi at 4.15 pm. On July 6, Prof. (Ms) Ravinder Kaur will leave for Delhi at 7.15 pm.

T Cong Leaders To Meet Srikrishna On July 6; Sariah’s Appeal

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Hyderabad, July 04: The Congress MLA from Warangal, Mr Basawraj Saraiah, on Saturday stated that the Justice B N Srikrishna Committee of Consultations on State bifurcation has given time to Telangana Congress leaders to present their views on July 6. The proceedings will be conducted between 9 am and 5 pm at Jubilee Hall, Public Gardens, here, he added.

Maoist Couple Held In Khamman; Two Surrender In Warangal

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Hyderabad, July 04: A Maoist couple, who entered the State from the neighbouring Chattisgarh, were arrested on Sunday in Khammam district.

The extremists, M Deva alias Devanna, an area committee member of Kunta in Chattisgarh and his wife Jogi were taken into custody by the Paloncha police on district outskirts this morning when they were found moving in suspicious manner.

The Khammam police said that the duo was being interrogated.

BJP Lashes Out At Cong, TDP On T Issue

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Hyderabad, July 04: Charging the Congress party with lack of sincerity on Telangana issue, former Union minister and BJP national executive member Mr Bandaru Dattatreya exuded confidence that the PCC chief Mr D Srinivas would lose the by-election from Nizamabad urban constituency 100 percent. He said, Mr Srinivas was talking about Telangana just because of the by-elections but not because he was sincere about the cause. He said people will cast their vote against the TDP and Congress, and these by-elections would be a fitting lesson for the both the parties.

Lindsay Lohan assaulted by waitress?

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Los Angeles, July 04: Troubled star Lindsay Lohan has alleged that she was assaulted by a waitress “for no reason” while she was partying at a club. The ”Mean Girls” star, who turned 24 yesterday, said that she was enjoying a night out at an eatery when suddenly one of the staff members turned hostile.

“A waitress just hit me – punched me for no reason,” Lohan posted on micro-blogging site Twitter. Lohan was partying with friends including Paris Hilton”s ex-boyfriend Doug Reinhardt and Brit rugby player Danny Cipriani, when the incident allegedly took place, reported Access Hollywood.

Honour killings dent our country’s image: Om Puri

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Mumbai, July 04: Om Puri plays a village head who is against same-clan marriages in his next film ‘Khap…A Story of Honour Killing’ and the acclaimed actor says it is reprehensible that young people are being killed in the name of family honour for marrying out of caste, a practice he says would give the rest of the world the impression that India was living in the ‘medieval era’.

Winner of two National Awards, Puri wants to reach out to more people with the movie.

‘Iran will protect its citizens’

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Tehran, July 04: The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman says Tehran will use all its capabilities to protect its citizens, especially academic Sharam Amiri, who was abducted last year by the US.

The documents related to the abduction of Shahram Amiri by the CIA have been handed over to the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, since the Swiss Embassy hosts the US interests section, Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters on Saturday.

Mike Tyson to perform Haj

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Riyadh, July 04: No Muslim will question the fact that it is Allah (SWAT) who has created the universe and who has set all the rules of nature in operation. On the basis of this common acceptability, everyone agrees that weather conditions, birth and death as well as effects of natural forces and conditions on man happen by Allah’s will.

This is Allah’s will that Former boxing champion Malik Abdul Aziz (Mike Tyson), who converted to Islam while in jail in the 1990s, is visiting the Muslim holy cities of Makkah and Madina on pilgrimage, a Saudi daily reported on Saturday.

Biden sees Iraq parties agreeing

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Baghdad, July 04: US Vice-President Joe Biden has said he is confident Iraqi politicians will resolve a political crisis that has left Iraq without a government.

He said after arriving in Baghdad that Iraq’s politics was “not a lot different” from other countries’.

Politicians were talking and he was “optimistic” they would form a coalition government soon, he said.

Mr Biden is due to meet Iraqi leaders, as well as US troops celebrating the 4 July holiday away from home.

Mr Biden’s visit comes four months after Iraq’s inconclusive election, in which no clear winner emerged.

Hundreds die in a tanker in DR Congo

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Congo, July 04: The bodies of some of the scores of people killed in a fuel truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been buried in mass graves.

At least 230 people were killed when the overturned oil tanker exploded and sparked a fire in Sange village.

Some of those who died were trying to collect leaking fuel but others were trapped inside buildings, including a cinema, by the blaze.

This video contains images that some may find distressing

——–Agencies

Caning under fire in Indian schools after child suicide

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Kolkata, July 04: Illegal but often tolerated, caning is rife in India’s school system, but the recent suicide of a 12-year-old pupil after a beating has brought the practice out of the shadows.

Rouvanjit Rawla, a pupil at the prestigious La Martiniere for Boys school in the eastern city of Kolkata, hanged himself in his room earlier this year after being caned for bringing stink bombs into class.

IB probes Pakistan pilot’s stay in Kerala hotel

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New Delhi, July 04: Intelligence Bureau officials are investigating how Khan Khalid Rashid, a Pakistani pilot working for Ethihad Airlines, was allowed to leave Thiruvananthapuram airport after his flight landed on May 6, said sources.

Rashid had stayed at a five-star hotel in the city and left on the morning of May 7, said sources.

However, the IB refused to confirm whether such an investigation had been initiated.

Celebrity marriages are doomed: Megan Fox

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London, July 04: Newly-wed actress Megan Fox believes that celebrity marriages are mostly doomed because temptation to cheat is way too much in it.

“Everything is so easily accessed. Whatever you want, you have at your fingertips. There is always that temptation of cheating and it is way too much,” dailystar.co.uk quoted Fox as saying.

The 24-year-old “Transformers” beauty married Brian Austin Green last week in Hawaii.

——IANS

Ghost chase: Haunted palace

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Dubai, July 04: The Al Qasimi Palace in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) has a reputation for being a spooky old place.

And with good reason.

The mansion was reportedly abandoned more than 20 years ago by its inhabitants after being tormented by mysterious occurrences such as furniture being thrown around and faces appearing at windows.