Month: February 2011

Somali pirates kill two Sri Lankans

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Somalia, Febuary 01: Kenya-based Ecoterra International, which monitors shipping off the Horn of Africa, said the vessel, the FV DARSHANA 06, was attacked in the Indian Ocean, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Ecoterra fears that the vessel may be used as a mother ship to launch pirate attacks on large merchant vessels.

Another Sri Lankan fishing vessel has been freed after its seizure on November 30, 2010. It is now anchored near the Indian Island of Minikoi.

Mubarak urged to heed ‘cry of people’

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Cairo, February 01: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Egypt’s embattled President Hosni Mubarak to heed the cry of people as they continue to ask for his ouster after a 30-year rule.

“Hear the cry of the people and their extremely humane demands… Meet the people’s desire for change without hesitation,” said the premier.

Erdogan sent “very sincere advice, a very sincere warning” as thousands of protesters have gathered in central Cairo for the eighth day of unprecedented protests against the Mubarak regime.

Koreas agree to hold military talks

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Seoul, February 01: North and South Koreas have agreed to hold their first working-level military talks since they exchanged deadly artillery fire in November.

The meeting will be held in the border town of Pan-munjom, on February 8, AFP reported on Tuesday.

The talks will focus on setting the date, place and agenda for a higher-level meeting between the two countries’ defense ministers, the report said.

Iran hangs man who claimed to be God

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Tehran, February 01: Iran has executed a man who claimed he was God, after he was found guilty of heresy and corruption, reported.

Abdulreza Gharabat who was hanged last Wednesday in Ahvaz, southwest Iran was the 67th person to be executed since January 1, according to a tally based on Iranian media reports.

“He had long claimed to be God and had succeeded in gathering around him young Arabs from Khuzestan province,” which has a large Arab minority, Fars reported.

Copra Alapuzha and Kozhikode surge on brisk demand

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Mumbai, February 01: Copra Alapuzha and copra Kozhikode prices rallied at the spices market here today due to strong demand from domestic as well as export market amidst higher offtake from millers.

Copra office Alapuzha shot up by Rs 150 per qintal to Rs 6,550 from Monday”s closing level of Rs 6,400 and copra office kozhikode rose by Rs 100 per quintal to Rs 6,300 as compared to Rs 6,200 previously.

Other spices closed steady owing to lack of buying activity.

Following are today”s closing rates in Rs, with the previous rates in brackets:

HC reserves judgement on petition by 5 Independent MLAs

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Bangalore, February 01: The Karnataka High Court today reserved its judgement on the writ petition filed by the five Independent MLAs who had challenged Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah”s order disqualifying them under the Anti-Defection Law.

A full bench, comprising Justices Mohan Shanthanagoudar, Abdul Nazeer and A S Bopanna, reserved its orders after concluding the hearing from both parties.

MP keen on law to prosecute corrupt officials: CM

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New Delhi, February 01: The Madhya Pradesh government is keen on enacting a legislation to try in special courts cases against corrupt government officials.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told a conference on internal security said that the MP Special Court Bill will be introduced in the next session of the state Assembly.

The measure is aimed at quick disposal of corruption cases against public servants and confiscation of property acquired through wrongful means, he said.

Iran urges talks based on common points

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Tehran, February 01: In the wake of the latest round of Iran’s talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) in Istanbul, Iran urges further round of talks based on common points.

“Doors are open to talks but (the sides) should make efforts to reach common points with the motive of cooperating,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a press briefing on Tuesday.

“In case of the other side’s readiness, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to continue holding talks with the P5+1,” he added.

Political solutions based on pragmatism must for J&K: Omar

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New Delhi, February 01: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today emphasised that “political solutions for the problems besetting” the state have to be worked out on a pragmatic basis.

“Political discussions are inescapable if a lasting and enduring solution to the problem of militancy in the state is to be achieved.

“I would, therefore, once again emphasise that political solutions for the problems besetting Jammu and Kashmir have to be worked out on a pragmatic basis,” he said while addressing the Chief Ministers” Conference on Internal Security here.

White hopes Sydney crowd gets behind Clarke

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Sydney, February 01: Cameron White hopes there will be no repeat of the booing which greeted Michael Clarke’s entry to the crease in Brisbane as the Australia stand-in captain continues his battle for form. Clarke responded with 54 at the Gabba, by which time the crowd were showing support and they cheered again when Australia wrapped up the series.

Hactivists launch cyber war on Britain

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Washington, February 01: The WikiLeaks’ “hactivist” group has warned Britain of a cyber war after police nabbed five of its members following attacks on financial institutions’ websites.

The hactivists issued a statement online, calling on their supporters to attack the websites of the British government.

They have planned to flood the government’s websites with so many requests, which would cause the websites to shut down.

The same cyber attack tactic has been used by Anonymous hacktivists to disable financial institutions’ websites during the past two months.

Team India can handle pressure at World Cup: Dhoni

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Mumbai, February 01: Weighed down by the pressure of expectations four years ago, the Indian squad crashed out of the World Cup at the preliminary stage itself but current captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is confident his team would handle the burden better in the upcoming mega-event.

“We take pressure as an added responsibility. We will stick to the basics and prepare well. We have the potential to do well in the tournament. For a change, we will not be the underdogs,” said Dhoni at a promotional event here.

Sehwag is a game changer: Pietersen

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New Delhi, February 01: Himself a game changer who pioneered the controversial switch-hit, England batsman Kevin Pietersen feels destructive Indian opener Virender Sehwag and West Indian Chris Gayle are the other two batsmen capable of turning a match on its head.

“There are a few players I admire as game changers today. Virender Sehwag is one of them, he opens the batting and you know as an opposing player that within 10-15 overs of a Test match or 10-15 overs of a one-day international, the man can change the game,” Pietersen said.

Misbah guides Pakistan to tight win

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Napier, February 01: Misbah-ul-haq overcame the loss of late wickets to keep his cool and guide Pakistan to a two-wicket victory over New Zealand in their fourth one-day international match in Napier on Tuesday.

Misbah, who has anchored Pakistan’s batting throughout the tour of New Zealand, proved once again a thorn in the side of Daniel Vettori’s team, scoring 93 not out as Pakistan finished on 264 for eight in 49 overs having chased down the host’s 262 for seven.

Batting form, luck at toss important: Kapil

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New Delhi, February 01: Batting would be India’s strength in the upcoming World Cup but Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s wretched luck with the toss will also have to turn for the better if India are to break a 28-year-old jinx at the mega-event, feels 1983 World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev.

IIT prof shown the door for sexual misconduct

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Mumbai,February 01: An Indian Institute of Technology professor has been sent out following allegations that he sexually harassed two students.

S K Gupta, the senior academic, is considered an expert in waste management. He will now lose his pension and gratuity by a third, The Times of India reports. A PhD student and a project staff assistant had complained that Gupta sexually harassed them. An MTech student also faced problems, but did not complain, the paper quoted a PhD student as saying.

Redundancies mount across the UK

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London, February 01: British union authorities are mulling offers for huge job cuts at a council which would increase the number of threatened redundancies to 150,000 across the UK.

The Conservative-controlled Surrey County Council will lose at least 650 posts as part of the government’s spending review program and funding cuts plan, the daily Mirror reported.

This is while that Britain’s general trade union (GMB) said in its earlier estimates that the number of cuts could reach 1,000 at the council.

Shweta Tiwari and Abhinav Kolhi are now husband and wife….

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Mumbai, February 01: The latest buzz doing the rounds is that Shweta Tiwari, the winner of Bigg Boss 4 is married to Abhinav Kolhi.

Reports suggest that Shweta tied the knot with Abhinav before she entered the Bigg Boss house last year, in a private ceremony. But the reports are not yet confirmed.

Buzz also has it that Shweta’s ex-hubby Raja Chaudhary is getting very possessive about Palak, his daughter with Shweta, thus leading to his reckless behavior. He’s afraid of losing his daughter Palak.

Iran Majlis removes transport minister

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Tehran, February 01: Iran’s Majlis gives a vote of no confidence to Minister of Roads and Transportation Hamid Behbahani on February 1.The Iranian Parliament (Majlis) has given a vote of no confidence to the country’s Minister of Roads and Transportation Hamid Behbahani.

Out of 242 lawmakers who attended the Majlis open session on Tuesday, a total of 234 deputies cast their votes.

Behbahani failed to obtain a vote of confidence as 147 Iranian lawmakers voted in favor of his dismissal while 78 were against and nine abstained.

——–Agencies

Deepika Padukone act in Sajid Khan’s ‘Housefull’

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Mumbai, February 01: South Indian actress Asin has replaced dimpled hottie Deepika Padukone in Sajid Khan’s comedy film ‘Housefull 2’. The ‘Ghajini’ star will play Akshay Kumar’s love interest in the film.

Apparently, after a number of failed attempts, Khan successfully managed to get Asin onboard. Buzz has it that Dips had opted out of the film to team up with Sajid Nadiadwala for ‘Heer Aur Ranjha’. Reportedly, Deepika had certain issues about her dates and was not in a position to commit to Khan.

Four day international Quran-e-Majeed seminar

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Hyderabad, February 1: A four day International Quran-e-Majeed seminar will be conducted by Al Mahad al Aali al Islami from February 5 to 8 in Hyderabad.

The inaugural session will be held on February 6 at Omer Gulshan function hall near fly over bridge Chandrayangutta presided by Hazrat Mualana Mohammed Rabe Husni Nadwi Nazim Nadwatul Ulama Lucknow and president All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

Prominent Arab speakers will participate in the seminar.

Not splitting from John, asserts Bipasha

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Mumbai, February 01: Bong beauty Bipasha Basu has cleared all airs. She has put an end to all the rumors related to her parting ways with her beau John Abraham.She posted a blog on Twitter stating “Hi all! Speculation is a part of r business! I knw d warmth n love tht i get frm u al!Everything is fine wth John n me:) Thank u! (sic).”

Man sentenced to death for raping nine in China

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Beijing, February 01: A man was sentenced to death for keeping two girls in a dungeon as sex slaves for one year and raping nine other women in China.

Zeng Qiangbao, a 40-year-old worker in a steel factory in Wuhan, was convicted of rape, illegally imprisoning, robbery and forcible seizure by a court in central China’s Hubei province.

The court heard that Zeng had caged two teenage girls in a dungeon for 590 days and 317 days as sex slaves until they were rescued by police May 14 last year, the China Daily reported Tuesday.

Modi tragets CBI in CMs’ meet

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Ahmedabad, February 01: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi accused the CBI of “castigating” the state’s law and order situation and “despising” elected members and the state government on Tuesday.

Modi said reduction in incidence of crime as well as better law and order and communal situation in the state suggested overall peaceful and congenial atmosphere. He said such facts could be ascertained from the National Crime Record Bureau reports.