Month: September 2010

Arrest Syed Geelani immediately: Ram Jethmalani

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Mumbai, September 03: Legal luminary and BJP MP Ram Jethmalani accused ‘hardline’ Hurriyat Conference (HC) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani of being on the payroll of Pakistan and demanded his immediate arrest to put an end to the violence in Kashmir.

Talking to reporters yesterday at a Meet the Press programme at the press club here, Mr Jethmalani said ”I will apologise to Mr Geelani if he swears by the Holy Quran that he has not been on the payroll of Pakistan at all relevant times….”

China jam: 120km, 10k vehicles

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Beijing, September 03: A huge traffic jam stretching at least 120kms reappeared in northern China, with thousands of cargo trucks stuck in a bottleneck, reports said.

State television broadcast images of a long line of mostly cargo trucks inching slowly through Inner Mongolia on a major highway leading toward Beijing.

“You could say the highway has become a big parking lot,” a CCTV reporter at the scene said, estimating the number of vehicles stuck in the congestion at more than 10,000. However, CCTV later said the congestion began to clear in the afternoon.

Japan imposes additional sanctions on Iran

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Tokyo, Sep 3 (Reuters) Japan slapped additional sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear programme today, following the United
States in pressuring Tehran despite Tokyo’s reliance on oil imports from the country.

The measures that go beyond requirements in a UN Security Council resolution include restrictions such as banning financial activity with 15 designated Iranian banks that could contribute to nuclear activities — a step that could affect some Japanese major banks.

Famous Nazi hunter worked for Mossad: book

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Jerusalem, September 03: Austrian-Jewish Holocaust survivor, Simon Wiesenthal, who became well-known for dedicating his life pursuing Nazi war criminals and documenting their crimes, was in fact an agent of the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, a new book released on Thursday revealed.

Documents from Wiesenthal’s estate and interviews with his Mossad supervisors break the widely-held belief of how he operated and cast doubts on the standard perception that the Israeli government had played minimal role in tracking down Nazi criminals.

Rosaiah urges PM to allocate KG basin gas for IFFCO plant

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Hyderabad, September 03: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure allocation of 6 MMSCMD gas supply from KG Basin to enable IFFCO’s 2.3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) plant in the state.

In a letter, dated August 31 to the Prime Minister, released to the media here today, Mr Rosaiah requested him to direct the authority concerned to supply 6 Million Metric Standard Cubic Meter Per Day (MMSCMD) gas supply to the IFFCO’s urea plant.

Father poisons daughter after she wants to marry mother’s brother

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Madurai, September 03: Tamil Nesan reported that a workshop owner in Madurai, poisoned his daughter after she refused to marry his sister’s son.

Mariselvi, 18, had wanted to marry her mother’s brother. This infuriated her father, Rengasamy, 48.

According to the news report, Rengasamy and three friends grabbed the girl as she returned home on Tuesday and injected her with poison. They also poured poison into her mouth and ears.

When the mother K. Lakshmi returned home, she was shocked to find the girl writhing in pain and frothing in the mouth.

UAE to adopt new foreign trade policy

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Abu Dhabi, September 03: The United Arab Emirates will rework its foreign trade policy to enhance the country’s position in global markets, a minister said Thursday.

Foreign Trade Minister Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi said the ministry is working on realistic policies and innovative models to enhance the UAE’s trade globally in tandem with government’s vision and its developmental strategy.

1.3 mn Haitians still in camps months after quake: UN

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New York, September 03: Nearly nine months after a devastating earthquake, an estimated 1.3 million Haitians are still living in temporary shelters while the country struggles with reconstruction and rebuilding a government, the United Nations said Thursday in an updated report.

The 1.3 million people displaced by the magnitude-7 earthquake Jan 12 now live in 1,300 settlement sites.

Three killed in small plane crash in California

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San Francisco, September 03: Three people were killed in a small plane crash Thursday in a lagoon in the US state of California, authorities said.

The plane, a twin-engine Beech 65 Queen Air, crashed in the Redwood Shores area at around 11:51 a.m. local time, just 30 seconds after taking off from San Carlos Airport, about 30 km south of San Francisco, Xinhua reported.

The body of a woman in her 40s was first pulled out of the water and rescuers believed more people may have been aboard the plane. Several hours later, two male bodies were found among the wreckage in the water.

Grant, Hurley’s friendship still strong

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London, September 03: It might have been a decade since they split but actor Hugh Grant and actress Elizabeth Hurley are still very good friends.

The pair, who dated for more than 13 years before splitting in 2000, proved that their friendship is still strong as they were seen enjoying at a party organised by Hurley in London with husband Arun Nayar in company.

The two men laughed together, with Hurley even jokingly raising her arm in warning to Grant as they talked to each other, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Indonesian volcano erupts again

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Jakarta, September 03: An Indonesian volcano spewed another column of hot ash Friday, a vulcanologist said.

Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province erupted for the first time in about 400 years Sunday and Monday, forcing 30,000 people to flee their homes to temporary shelters.

About 10,000 people had returned to their villages to attend crops when the latest eruption occurred, officials said.

Abducted Bihar cop’s body found

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Patna, September 03: A day after Maoists claimed to have killed Sub-Inspector Abhay Kumar Yadav, the body of the abducted Bihar policeman was found near a forest in Lakhisarai district early Friday, media reports said.

According to local news channels, Yadav’s body was found near Simratali forest under Chanan police station in Lakhisarai.

Yadav was killed at around 4 p.m. Thursday, six hours after the expiry of the Maoists’ second deadline of 10 a.m. The killing took place following a decision by a ‘jan adalat’ or kangaroo court, a Maoist spokesman had said.

Over 110,000 firms shut down in Spain

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Madrid, September 03: The economic recession forced a total of 110,058 Spanish companies to go out of business, the ministry of labour and immigration has said.

Businesses which employed between six to 50 people have been hit hardest by the slump, with 47,835 such firms shutting down. Another 39,708 enterprises having between two and five workers had to be closed.

The number of companies with workforce of over 500, however, increased by 96 between January 2008 and the end of July 2010.

Fidel Castro to deliver first public speech since 2006

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Havana, September 03: leader Fidel Castro will deliver Friday his first public speech since 2006, during a meeting with students of the Havana University.

The speech would focus on “another war in the Middle East with unforeseeable consequences for the world”, Cuba’s Granma newspaper said.

It would be broadcast live by the country’s leading radio and TV channels.

The Cuban leader, who has rarely been seen in public since ceding power to his younger brother in 2008, has made a series of public appearances this summer.

–IANS–

Govt, CBI did deal to fix Sohrab case: Amit Shah

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New Delhi, September 03: The Supreme Court order of January 12, 2010, transferring the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the product of an “understanding” between a judge, the Central Government and the CBI, former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah has told the apex court.

Pak bomb has prevented war with India: A.Q. Khan

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Washington, September 03: Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal has prevented a conventional war with India and made the “nation walk with heads held high”, boasts notorious Pakistani scientist A Q Khan, considered the father of Islamabad’s clandestine nuclear weapons programme.

“Our nuclear programme has ensured our survival, our security, and our sovereignty … I am proud to have contributed to it together with my patriotic and able colleagues,” the man accused of running a nuclear black market said in a published interview.

Rare Quran inscribed by Aurangzeb to be auctioned

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Abu Dhabi: A 300-year-old manuscript of the Quran, parts of which were inscribed by the son of the Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal, will soon be auctioned by its Emirati owner in Germany.

The 14.5x24cm manuscript was part of the collection of the Mughal emperors of India, and was made during the rule of Emperor Aurangzeb (1658-1707), son of Emperor Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal.

It will be auctioned at the Auktionshaus Sebök (Seboek aution house) in the German city of Bamberg by its current Emirati owner, who wished to remain anonymous.

Minor accuses city cop of rape

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Hyderabad, September 03: Hyderabad police today registered a case against a police inspector for allegedly raping a minor. The case has been registered by Central Crime Station, a wing of Hyderabad police.

The father of the 16-year-old girl against N Rangaswamy, Inspector with Madannapet police station under Santoshnagar division of South Zone, alleging that the cop allegedly “sexually exploited” her, police sources said.

Gulbarga killer held in AP

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Hyderabad, September 03: Hyderabad Police today arrested a man, believed to be suffering from physiological problem, for allegedly killing six persons over a period of last one year.

The 55-year-old identified as one Rama Chandra Rathore, a native of Gulbarga in Karnataka, was yesterday picked up from here on suspicion of series of murders.

Over 13,000 embraced Islam in Dubai

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Dubai, September 03: The emirate of Dubai is seeing waves of conversion to Islam over the last 14 years, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan, according to a top official.

Huda Al Kaabi, head of the New Muslims Section at the Islamic Affairs Department, said as many as 13,946 people, from 72 nationalities, have embraced Islam in Dubai over the period from 1996 to 2010. “These include 10,450 new Muslims from 2005 to 2009.”

We cannot be Friends: Salman

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Mumbai, September 03: Salman Khan says he is still at loggerheads with Shah Rukh Khan, with whom he had his infamous public spat two years ago, and that they can never be friends again.

“Shah Rukh and I don’t talk anymore. We had misunderstanding and hence parted ways… There is no chance of Shah Rukh and Salman coming together in future,” Salman told trade analyst Komal Nahta, on the sets of “ETC Bollywood Business”.

Sajid Khan to direct Akshay only for Nadiadwala

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Mumbai, September 03: Akshay Kumar only for Sajid Nadiadwala — that’s the amicable agreement Sajid Khan has reached with his friend and producer before walking into an outside project.

“I think it’s only fair that I give my directors the freedom to work with other producers. If I showed trust in Sajid Khan by giving him a break in Heyy Babyy and then Housefull, Akshay Kumar also showed trust in Sajid Khan. So we’ve decided not to break the team. Whenever Sajid Khan will direct Akshay, I’ll produce,” said Naiadwala.

‘Ranbir Kapoor can be the next Amitabh Bachchan’

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Mumbai, September 03: After working with Ranbir Kapoor in two films, director Siddharth Anand feels the young actor has the potential to follow in the footsteps of megastar Amitabh Bachchan as the “complete Hindi film hero”.

“The day Ranbir does an action film and does it well, he has the potential to fill the void that Bachchan created,” said Anand who teamed up with Ranbir for the second time for his new romantic comedy Anjaana Anjaani releasing on 24th September.

Four Wrestlers, Two Athletes Caught For Doping

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New Delhi, September 03: Arjuna Awardee wrestler Rajiv Tomar and Commonwealth Games medal prospect shot putter Saurav Vij were among six athletes caught for doping on Thursday and they were handed provisional suspension by National Anti-doping Agency.

Wrestlers Sumit (74kg), Mausam Khatri (96kg) and Rajiv Tomar (120kg), who were named in the Commonwealth Games squad in men’s freestyle, and Gursharanpreet Kaur (women’s 72kg) tested positive for Methyl Hexaneamine, a non specified substance.

Searching of Shab-e-Qadr

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We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power: And what will explain to you what the night of power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah’s permission, on every errand: Peace!…This until the rise of morn! (97:1-5)

Laylut Al Qadr, or the Night of Power falls on the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan. We strive arduously throughout the last ten days hoping that one of the nights will coincide with the Night of Power.