Novi Sad, March 05: India’s No.1 Somdev Devvarman pulled off a sensational 7-5, 7-5, 7-6 (3) victory over World No. 45 Janko Tipsarevic in the second singles to split the opening day’s honours 1-1 against defending champions Serbia in the Davis Cup World Group first round here Friday.In the first singles, Rohan Bopanna went down fighting 3-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 3-6 to World No.18 Viktor Troicki.
—-IANS
New Delhi, March 05: Arvind Ray, Secretary and Commissioner in the General Administration Department of the city government, will be the new Home Secretary of Delhi.
Ray, an IAS officer of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram- Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre of 1984 batch, succeeds G S Patnaik. The post of the Home Secretary in the Delhi government was lying vacant since Patnaik joined the Delhi Development Authority as its vice-chairman in January.
London, March 05: Designer John Galliano’s Paris Fashion Week show has been cancelled following the alleged anti-Semitic remarks.
The designer had been due to showcase the latest collection for his eponymous label in the French capital Sunday but it has now been axed after it was announced he is to stand trial for alleged anti-Semitic remarks made last week.
The editors and buyers will be invited to view the new collection at a smaller scale presentation and he will not be in attendance, contactmusic.com reports.
Los Angeles, March 05: Ailing actress Zsa Zsa Gabor has refused to undergo second leg amputation after she was rushed to hospital for blood flow problem.
The star has been in and out of hospital for months and was once again re-admitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles Wednesday after her personal physician detected the blood flow to her left leg had suddenly stopped.
Manama, March 05: Tens of thousands marched in the Bahraini capital Manama Friday afternoon renewing calls for the cabinet resignation and demanding the drafting of a new constitution.
Over 50,000 people filled the capital’s diplomatic and financial district chanting their demands and emphasizing Sunni-Shia unity.
They marched from the old cabinet seat, past the strategic Bahrain Financial Harbor, onward to Lulu Square, which has become the focal point of anti-government protests since Feb 14th.
Ahmedabad, March 05: The chance questioning of a man driving an auto-rickshaw has led to the arrest of a serial killer who has murdered four people in Ahmedabad for paltry sums of money, police said Friday.
“Yasin Khan alias Sando alias Lambu Ibrahim Khan, 30 was driving an auto-rickshaw when he was stopped by a constable for a routine check on Tuesday. The policeman got suspicious when he found a driving licence in the name of Jaswant Singh in Khan’s possession,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Himanshu Shukla.
Hyderabad, March 05: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday said the Centre would take a decision on the contentious statehood issue only after the eight recognised political parties in the state expressed their views on it. “It is a procedure….We have to follow it. The Centre will take a decision
Abu Dhabi, March 05: The aviation industry is concerned over rising fuel prices triggered by the political turmoil in some oil-rich countries in the Middle East.
Several oil-producing countries, including Bahrain, Jordan and Oman, have been witnessing anti-regime protests in the past couple of months.
A wave of mass uprisings swept through the Middle East soon after weeks of unrest toppled the long-serving regime in Tunisia Jan 14.
New Delhi, March 05: After the stupendous success of comedy caper “Yamla Pagla Deewana”, actor Bobby Deol has revealed that work on the sequel to the film has started.
“We are definitely coming out with a sequel to the film, it’s a dream for us to make a sequel but the work is still on so I can’t say much about it. Meanwhile, I am just enjoying the success of the film,” Bobby said at the launch of model-turned-actors Milind Soman and Rahul Dev’s fitness and spa centre “Breathe” at South Extension here Friday.
New York, March 05: Wall Street stocks fell slightly Friday despite the government figures showing the US jobless rate dropped to its lowest level in nearly two years.
Markets instead reacted to the price of oil rising to its highest level in 29 months. Crude oil in New York trading rose 2.5 percent to $104.42 per barrel amid ongoing clashes between rebels and government forces in Libya.
Ludhiana, March 04: Host Ludhiana topped the men’s athletics medalls tally by pocketing 26 points in the inaugural Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh Punjab Games in progress here at Guru Nanak Stadium today.
Gurdaspur was at the second spot with 22 points whereas Jalandhar got 21 points and remained third.
Ludhiana got four gold, one silver and one bronze, Gurdaspur bagged one gold, two silver and five bronze medals whereas Jalandhar pocketed two gold, two silver and one bronze.
Jammu, March 04: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he was waiting for the report of Interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir to decide if something fresh needs to be done in addition to the ongoing peace efforts in the state.
“I am looking forward to the report (of interlocutors).
We will be able to conclude whether something fresh needs to be done in Jammu and Kashmir only after receiving it,” Singh told reporters at the airport here before winding up his day-long visit to the city.
Mumbai, March 04: Eluding investigating agencies for last six months over allegations of foreign exchange violations, sacked IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi found his passport revoked today by the government in its bid to bring him back here from London.
The Enforcement Directorate-driven action is aimed at probing Modi in the allegation of violations of foreign exchange laws in the conduct of T20 cricket tournaments.
New Delhi, March 04: President Pratibha Patil today condoled the death of veteran Congress leader Arjun Singh and said in his demise the country has lost a “towering personality”.
In her condolence message, Patil said Singh was a veteran public personality and the important responsibilities given to him during his long career showed the acumen and ability he possessed.
“He was therefore the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for three times and also the Governor of Punjab during a period when the state was going through difficult times,” she said.
New Delhi, March 04: Congress president Sonia Gandhi Friday expressed “deep sorrow” on the death of veteran party leader Arjun Singh here.
“I express deep sorrow on his death,” said Gandhi.
Singh, a former union minister, chief minister and governor, who made a strong bid to become prime minister in the mid-1990s, died of cardiac arrest in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here Friday evening. He was 80.
He is survived by two sons and a daughter.
——IANS
New Delhi, March 04: Home Secretary G K Pillai today said that saffron terror was a cause of “great concern” though its spread across the country was very limited at the moment.
Interacting with reporters at the Indian Women’s Press Corps here, he said at the moment “it is something very limited, but if it spreads, it is a matter of great concern”.
He said that investigations were on in the Samjhauta Express blast case, in which right-wing Hindu group ‘Abhinav Bharat’ activist Aseemanand is linked. Aseemanand is also an accused in the Ajmer dargah blasts.
Tehran, March 04: A senior cleric says Iran has inspired the recent revolutions in the Arab world by standing out as the “safest, calmest and most sovereign” country in the region.
“Whether arrogant [powers] like it or not, this is a reality that the recent uprisings in the region are modeled after the Islamic Revolution in Iran,” Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami said on Friday.
New Delhi, March 04: A 45-year-old man was arrested along with his young relative for beating to death a youth after he created nuisance during his daughter’s marriage, police said today.
The deceased Mohan Lal (35) was from the groom’s side and he was beaten up on the night of February 28 in Moti Nagar at the house of Uma Shankar where the marriage of his daughter was taking place.
Washington, March 04: Rapid growth of emerging economies like India, China and Brazil is boosting American exports and raising incomes and jobs across the US, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said.
“Emerging economies like China, Brazil and India are growing very rapidly. That growth is helping to support rapid growth in US exports which in turn is raising income and employment across the United States in manufacturing and high tech and agriculture,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday.
New Delhi, March 04: A 50-year-old priest was arrested in the national capital for kidnapping five children in the last one year, police said Friday. The children have been rescued.
Prem Dass, a priest at a temple at Fatehpur Beri in south Delhi, was apprehended Thursday.
His latest crime, kidnapping a 13-year-old boy from Uttar Pradesh, led to his arrest.
Deepak was kidnapped from outside his school in Parasrampur area in Ayodhya March 1.
Bangalore, March 04: Those looking for employment in Karnataka’s rural areas would soon be using their cell phones to hunt for jobs.
The cell phone turning into a job hunting platform will be a reality in two districts of Karnataka first and, depending on the success, the facility would be extended to other parts of the state, an official statement said.
Job providers could also share information on openings available and skills needed.
Bhilwara, March 04: Robbers killed an elderly couple and decamped with jewellery from their house here, police said today.
Bhagwati Prasad, 76, and his wife Hemlata, 65, were stabbed to death in their house last night and the valuables taken away by the gang, they said.
The matter is being investigated.
——PTI
Cooch Behar(WB), March 04: BJP today release names of 100 candidates for the West Bengal Assembly polls and said it was in talks with several political parties including GJM and GCDP to build an alliance.
“The names of first batch of candidates will be released on 20 March. Already names of 50 candidates have been selected and the campaigning for the same have started,” party state president Rahul Sinha said.
He said the party has been in talks with several political parties including GJM and GCDP to build an alliance.
New Delhi, March 04: The Central Vigilance Commission is enquiring into irregularities in alloting state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd’s WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) franchises, parliament was told Friday.
The Department of Telecom has also constituted a committee under the chairmanship of member (finance), telecom commission for detailed examination of the course of action taken by BSNL while floating a tender for short listing bidders for WiMAX franchises, Minister of State for Communications and IT Gurdas Kamat told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
Tripoli, March 04: Protesters are set to stage a massive march in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi continue to lose their grip on more cities.
The opponents of the embattled Libyan ruler have called for a massive demonstration after the Friday Prayers in Tripoli.
Snipers and foreign mercenaries loyal to Colonel Gaddafi have set up checkpoints in a flashpoint area of the capital.
Reports say several foreign journalists were barred from leaving their hotels.