Berlin, January 30: A head-on train crash in eastern Germany killed 10 people and injured at least 33 others, eight of them severely, local firefighters said on Sunday.
A passenger and a cargo train crashed head-on near Hordorf village, close to Saxony-Anhalt’s state capital Magdeburg, and several train cars derailed and overturned, a spokesman for the district’s firefighters said. He declined to be named in line with department policy.
Washington, January 30: US President Barack Obama has reiterated his appeal to the protesters on Egyptian streets to restrain from violence in the mass protests being staged to demand stepping down of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
“He reiterated our focus on opposing violence and calling for restraint, supporting universal rights, and supporting concrete steps that advance political reform within Egypt,” Xinhua quoted the White House saying in a statement.
The president made the remarks at a meeting of his national security team at the White House, which lasted over an hour.
Cario, January 30: Several Western countries have called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to prevent bloodshed against protesters and fulfill his pledges for reform.
“It is essential that the further political, economic and social reforms President Mubarak has promised are implemented fully and quickly, and meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people,” said a joint statement by British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday.
Baghdad, January 30: Gunmen have shot dead an Iraqi municipality official in the eastern province of Diyala as security forces continue to seize more militants across the country.
A municipal official, identified as Abdul-Rahman Juma’a, was assassinated by a group of armed men on Saturday, Aswat al-Iraq news agency quoted a security source as saying.
The gunmen opened fire on Juma’a after breaking into his house, the source said without giving further details about the exact whereabouts of the incident or the possible motive of the perpetrators.
Amman, January 30:A number of Jordanian activists staged protests in front of the Egyptian embassy in Amman to express their support for the Egyptians who have taken to the streets demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak since the last few days.
Dozens of demonstrators Saturday, including trade unionists, Islamists and members of political parties, raised slogans Saturday against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and called on him to step down, Xinhua reported Sunday.
They voiced support for the Egyptian protesters.
Hyderabad, January 30: Hundreds of citizens and youth, among them former chief election commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh, joined hands to march against corruption here Sunday as part of a nationwide anti-graft campaign by civil society groups.
The participants marched along Necklace Road on the banks of Hussain Sagar lake in the heart of Hyderabad. Led by Lyngdoh, activists of Youth for Better India carried banners and placards with anti-corruption slogans like “Bring the Lokpal Bill”.
Ahmedabad, January 30: A day after the Special Investigation Team raised doubts about genuineness of Ishrat encounter case, the Congress on Saturday said the BJP government in Gujarat is “famous worldwide for fake encounters”.
“We are not surprised. The Narendra Modi government in Gujarat is famous worldwide for fake encounters. About half-a-dozen IPS officers there are already behind bars for fake encounters,” party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said.
–PTI
Shimla, January 30: The alleged killing of a 16-year-old girl by a 17-year-old jilted lover has shocked people as he reportedly stabbed the deceased 63 times.
Claiming there appeared to be nothing wrong with the boy and he did not appear to be a psychic case, the Kumarsain police felt that the stabbing of victim 63 times was something which perhaps even hardened criminals did not do.
Ottawa, January 30: The World Sikh Organization of Canada has written a letter of protest to Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney over government plans to host an Indian politician who was implicated in the massacre of more than 1,000 Muslim citizens in 2002 and was barred from visiting the U.S. in 2005.
New Delhi, January 30: Madhya Pradesh records the highest number of crimes against children and Delhi sits on the fourth spot, reveals National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, pointing to a rise in such cases in India.
According to the NCRB, a total of 22,500 cases were reported in 2008. This rose to 24,201 in 2009, suggesting an increase of 7.6%.
Foeticide cases saw a huge increase – by 68.5%. In 2008, 73 such cases reported, which figure rose to 123 in 2009. Kidnappings and abductions saw a rise of 16.9%.
Cairo, January 30: Fear is the dictator’s traditional tool for keeping the people in check. But by cutting off Egypt’s Internet and wireless service late last week in the face of huge street protests, President Hosni Mubarak betrayed his own fear — that Facebook, Twitter, laptops and smartphones could empower his opponents, expose his weakness to the world and topple his regime.
Cairo, January 30: The Egyptian tanks, the delirious protesters sitting atop them, the flags, the 40,000 protesters weeping and crying and cheering in Freedom Square and praying around them, the Muslim Brotherhood official sitting amid the tank passengers.
Should this be compared to the liberation of Bucharest? Climbing on to an American-made battle tank myself, I could only remember those wonderful films of the liberation of Paris.
Riyadh, January 30: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah condemned the violence in Egypt in a telephone call Saturday morning to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Mumbai, January 30: For a long time, if you spotted a disabled character in a Bollywood film the chances were they were there as a figure of fun.
Their disability, be it a speech impediment or a mental illness, was something to be mocked, either by the other characters or else the sniggering audience.
But something has changed. In the last couple of years, a flurry of Hindi-language films starring some of the industry’s biggest names have featured differently-abled characters in positive roles. Not only that, many of the films have been box-office hits in India and beyond.
New York, January 30: Half of men would forgive their female partner’s infidelity, as long as it was with another woman, according to a new study on cheating.
Women, however, were less likely to forgive and forget if their boyfriend had been with another man, the University of Texas at Austin study showed.
Researchers asked 718 college students to imagine being in a long-term relationship and what their reactions would be to several different cheating scenarios.
Mumbai, January 30: The Manmad police are planning to take all the 10 persons, who allegedly set additional collector Yeshwant Sonawane ablaze on January 25, to Panewadi to re-create the crime scene. Investigators said that this would help them to understand the role played by each of the accused.
Tehran, January 30: An Iranian-Dutch woman, arrested after taking part in anti-government protests in Iran in 2009, has been hanged for drug smuggling, the semi-official Mehr news agency said.
“A woman smuggler named Zahra Bahrami, daughter of Ali, has been hanged for the possession and selling of narcotics,” Mehr reported, quoting the court.
The 45-year-old woman’s daughter was quoted by the New York-based rights group International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran as saying the drug charges were fabricated.
Jeddah, January 30: Another Indonesian maid has been admitted to Madinah’s King Fahd Hospital to recover from injuries suffered due to abuse from her sponsor’s family.
This is the second maid abuse case in the city in recent months. A source said the maid’s sponsor has been trying to convince her not to file a complaint with the authorities.
Naseer Dandani, a legal adviser to the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh, confirmed the case, adding that the embassy is following developments closely. The maid was named as Armaye Sayuri.
Washington, January 30: The US authorities have opened a helpline for the Indian students of a ’sham’ university in California, while asking some of them to wear radio trackers around their ankles as the case proceeds.Some 1,555 students of Tri-Valley University, 95 percent of them from India, mostly Andhra Pradesh face the prospect of deportation following the closure of Tri Valley University in Pleasanton on charges of selling student visas.
Abu Dhabi, January 30: A charity organisation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) paid school fees for around 2,800 needy students in 2010.The Zakat Fund offered a sum of 10 million dirhams ($2.7 million) through its “Read Project”.
This initiative lifted the financial burden off nearly 1,000 families, said Abdullah Bin Oqeidah Al Muheiry, secretary general of the fund.
The annual education assistance to each student was raised to 6,000 dirhams ($1,600) from the earlier 3,700 dirhams, he said.
–IANS–
Dubai, January 30: The Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities in Dubai has issued over 58,000 fatwas during last year. Fatwa is a ruling on a point of Islamic law that is given by a recognised authority.
Dr Hamed Al Shaibani, Director-General of the department, said all the fatwas given are derived from the Holy Quran and authentic sayings of Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him).
Abu Dhabi, January 30: The wedding season is in full swing and for brides-to-be with a cut above taste and pocket for fashion the Bride Show Abu Dhabi is about to sparkle some inspirations. Once again, the annual show is returning to the Capital on February 2-5, featuring some of the top designers of the Middle East with their latest wedding and haute couture collection.
Dubai, January 30: Economic crimes have increased in Dubai due to advanced technologies being put to use by criminals to forge credit cards, currencies and official documents and in dealing with counterfeit products according to Major Salah Juma Nassir, Director Anti Economic Crimes of the Dubai Police.
He said that the anti economic crimes department recorded 461 economic crimes during the year 2010 compared to 322 crimes in 2009. He said that six suspects were charged with magic and fraud crimes.
Abu Dhabi, January 30: The Centre for Waste Management – Abu Dhabi has set up a new centre in the Western Region of the emirate which will officially be opened soon.
Talking to Khaleej Times, Ghadeer El Kheshenan, spokesperson of the centre, said the centre is already operational with a bunch of staff members but it would be officially opened later.
Al Gharbia, January 30: Al Gharbia Municipality and etisalat jointly removed the unused telephone booths in the Mizeraa locality.
The action was taken to keep in line with the digital and telecommunications revolution that has swept the world.