Month: May 2011

AMU campus peaceful, students leaving for home

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Aligarh, May 01:A day after the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) administration announced the varsity’s sine die closure following violence among students, the campus was peaceful and students were slowly returning home, an official said Sunday.

Of the eight students hurt in the free-for-all Friday night, five were discharged Saturday while two – Adil and Obaidullah – were still undergoing treatment at the Medical College hospital. Their condition was stable, the official said.

AIEEE exam held after three hour delay

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New Delhi, May 01: Over 12 lakh students across the country were finally able to appear for the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) Sunday, after a question paper leak delayed the exam by three hours, an official said.

The paper is conducted in two halves over the day. While the first paper is for bachelor of engineering (B.E.) aspirants, the second paper is for students wanting to pursue a bachelor of architecture (B.Arch) course.

As per the original schedule, the first paper was to begin at 9.30 a.m. and the second at 2 p.m.

PCB to raise Sutherland issue at ICC annual meeting

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Karachi, May 01:Irked by a lack of response from the International Cricket Council (ICC) over its complaint against Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive James Sutherland, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to raise the issue at the apex body’s annual meeting in Singapore next month.

Shame no Indian was found competent for coach’s job: Sangakkara

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Shame no Indian was found competent for coach’s job: Sangakkara
(15:35)
New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) Former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara Sunday said it is a “shame” that no Indian was found competent to coach the World champions.

Sangakkara was surprised that despite so many exceptional Indian cricketers around, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) found no one competent for the job.

“Having produced some many good cricketers in the region…it is a shame that no suitable candidate was found competent to take over the national side,” he said.

MIM leader Akbar Owaisi’s condition still critical

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Hyderabad, May 01:Andhra Pradesh legislator and Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi was out of danger but his condition remained critical Sunday, a day after he was stabbed and shot at by his rivals, doctors attending on him said.

After the second intra-abdominal surgery to treat his injuries, the doctors at Care Hospital said his overall condition continued to be critical.

Earlier, the medical bulletin issued by the hospital said the legislator suffered kidney failure and is on ventilator support.

B.Com graduate can now apply for teaching

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New Delhi, May 01: In order to pursue more young blood towards teaching, Government has decided to allow B.Com graduates to appear for the mandatory test for appointment as teachers from standard six to eight.

As per qualification norms for teachers issued last year under the Right to Education Act, BA and B.Sc graduates were only eligible for appointment of teachers.

Man in Malay sex video not my husband: Anwar’s wife

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Butterworth, May 01: Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah has said that she is 100 percent sure that the man in the sex video is not her husband.

She said she had not seen the second video released on the Internet because it was illicit.

“But I am sure the man in the video is not my husband,” she said during a press conference organised by the state PKR Youth.

When asked if she and her husband, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had considered taking legal action against Datuk T, Dr Wan Azizah said such actions must be thought over carefully.

It’s difficult to please dad: Nasser’s son

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Mumbai, May 01: Actor-musician Imaad Shah shares a friendly relationship with his father Naseeruddin Shah, a veteran actor, but says as a professional it’s an uphill task to please him as he is the most critical person he has ever come across.

“He (Naseeruddin) is quite a harsh critic with everybody and applies the same with me too. He will be the last person to praise anyone wholeheartedly. He is the most critical person. So, I always feel I have to meet the standards that he has set,” Imaad told IANS.

Yemen power transition deal postponed

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Yemen, May 01: After Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh backtracked on an earlier pledge to sign a power transition deal, some [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council sources say the deal has been postponed.

Saleh said on Saturday that he would not sign the deal mediated by the (P)GCC, Arab media reported on Sunday.

The deal had been scheduled to be signed in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, on Sunday.

Meira Kumar worried about safety of Arunachal Pradesh CM

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New Delhi, May 01: Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who had met missing Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu only a couple of days back, was worried about his safety and whereabouts, sources close to her said.

The Speaker was monitoring the development and was keeping herself updated about the search and rescue operations, they said.

Kumar had met Khandu on April 28 during her visit to Itanagar to attend the 13th annual conference of the North East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (NERCPA).

Child abuse victim conveys his trauma through Onir’s ‘I AM’

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Hyderabad, May 01 Hyderabad-based designer Ganesh Nallari’s personal life has inspired a segment in gay filmmaker Onir’s film “I Am” and he praises the director for conveying the message with sensitivity.

“Yes, ‘Abhimanyu’ is based on my experiences I shared with Onir; the emotion behind my self-acceptance and forgiveness. My abuser passed away early last year, that was when I poured my heart to Onir,” said Nallari.

Sanjay Suri plays the abused child who grows up to be a sexually and emotionally confused character, while filmmaker Anurag Kashyap plays the abusive uncle.

Slain youth was an excellent cricket player

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Hyderabad, May 1: Ibraheem bin Omer Yagai who was killed in a firing by the gunman at Barkas was said to be an excellent cricket player while the other two youth Abdullah bin Omer Yafai and Aud bin Omer Yafai are said to be own brothers and have proved their mettle in the field of wrestling and cricket. Both are struggling for life in a corporate hospital at Malakpet.

I am not cut out for song and dance: Nana Patekar

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New Delhi, May 01: From intense characters to song and dance, Nana Patekar has done it all. But the actor has realised that dancing around trees is “just not me”.

The versatile star plays a tough Delhi Police cop in his upcoming film ”Shagird”, which is finally releasing after a two month old delay because of the cricket season.

“I loved working in the movie because it is very realistic. I prefer doing such roles rather than dancing around trees. That is just not me,” Patekar who plays ACP Hanumant Singh in the film directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, told PTI-Bhasha.

8 Air India flights cancelled from Kolkata

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Kolkata, May 01: Altogether eight Air India flights were cancelled today from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here on the fifth day of the strike of the airline”s pilots, sources said.

The destinations of the cancelled flights were Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Guwahati, Dimapur and Imphal.

Air India sources here said 11 flights from Kolkata to Silchar, Shillong, Port Blair, Aizawl, Agartala, Dimapur, Guwahati and Imphal operated as per schedule.

Japan PM on defensive over disaster leadership

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Tokyo, May 01: Japan’s unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan pleaded for public “understanding” Sunday after a poll showed three-quarters of people questioned his leadership and handling of the post-disaster crisis.

In a weekend telephone survey by Kyodo news agency, 76 percent of 1,010 respondents believed Kan was “not exercising leadership” in dealing with the March 11 quake and tsunami and the ensuing crisis at a nuclear power plant.

NATO airstrikes on Libya “a form of new colonialism”: S. African expert

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Pretoria, May 01: A South African expert on international affairs has said ongoing NATO airstrikes on Libya represent a ‘form of new colonialism’, and added there is a risk that the Libya crisis could evolve into a prolonged conflict.

“NATO’s operations in Libya could not continue forever. The world’s nations knew this well and they must be careful in not pushing it too far,” Xinhua quoted Anna Alwes, a research fellow at the South African Institute of International Affairs, as saying.

Four labourers killed mishap

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Alwar, May 01: Four labourers were killed and three others injured, when a compressor machine bursted during a drilling work, in Seerawas village of the district, police said today.

Mittu Gujjar, Moti Gujjar, Sukhram Gujjar and Radhabishan Gujjar were killed on the spot last night when a compressor suddenly bursted during a drilling work, they said.

The other three injured were admitted to a hospital where their condition is stated to be out of danger, the police said.

—-PTI—-

‘Bahrain rights situation frightening’

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Bahrain, May 01: The Bahraini government continues its Saudi-backed crackdown on protesters amid worsening humanitarian situation in the Persian Gulf kingdom.

Interviews Nabeel Rajab of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights in Manama who describes the fearful living conditions in Bahrain.

With this six-year-old boy that has been killed – We hear every day different excuses by the Saudi-backed regime forces saying why they have killed or detained demonstrators, etc. What excuse, if any, has been given for the killing of this six-year-old child?

Punjab Youth Cong activists start indefinite hunger strike

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Ludhiana, May 01: Punjab Youth Congress activists today launched an indefinite hunger strike here against the growing menace of drugs in the state.

The State Youth Congress President Ravneet Singh Bittu is leading the group of youth activists who started the hunger strike.

Bittu, who is Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib constituency, said they were demanding that Punjab Government formulate a policy to help make the state drug-free.

17 insurgents killed in Afghanistan

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Kabul, May 01: Seventeen insurgents, including a local Taliban commander, have been killed by Afghan soldiers during a four-day operation in the country’s Badghis province, Xinhua reported.

Badghis is about 555 km northwest of Kabul.

“Acting upon intelligence reports on insurgents’ activities, the joint forces launched a cleanup operation Wednesday in a number of villages which ended Saturday during which 17 insurgents were killed,” provincial police chief Mohammad Jabar Salah said Sunday.

Taliban local commander Mullah Mohammad Gul was among those killed.

Air India to operate nine-wide bodied aircraft from Mumbai

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Mumbai, May 01: With the strike by Air India pilots entering the fifth day today, the national carrier has decided to put into operation nine wide-bodied aircraft, besides a few domestic operations to transport stranded passengers from the city airports.

The airline will be operating four Boeing 777”s between Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Delhi-Mumbai (two services), Mumbai-Delhi-Mumbai, and Mumbai-Jeddah-Mumbai, an Air India spokesperson said.It will also operate a Boeing 747 Jumbo between Mumbai-Dubai-Delhi-Mumbai.

MM Joshi reappointed PAC chairperson

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New Delhi, May 01: Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi was on Monday reappointed as chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), notwithstanding controversy surrounding him with regard to the draft report on the 2G spectrum scam.

Joshi was nominated by his party following which Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has reappointed him as chairman of PAC which is responsible for conducting the financial audit of various departments and ministries.

Egyptians demand prisoners’ release

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Cairo, May 01: Thousands of Egyptian protesters have once again called on the ruling military council to release all political prisoners jailed by the ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

The demonstrators on Saturday marched from Al-Nour Mosque in the Ramses area to the headquarters of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), calling for the release of all the political detainees, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The protesters also demanded that the interim military government intervene to stop the torture and abuse of political detainees in the North African country.

Coal mine accident kills nine in China

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Beijing, May 01: At least nine people were killed in a coal mine accident that had been covered up for five days in China’s northeast Heilongjiang Province.

The mine owner has confessed that nine miners have been killed in the accident in Didao District of coal-rich Jixi City on April 26, an official was quoted as saying by the state run Xinhua news agency today.

The finding came after a joint provincial investigation team arrived in Jixi yesterday, in response to rumours of a coal mine gas explosion that killed about 10 people.

Thai, Cambodian troops clash again at border

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Bangkok, May 01: Troops from Thailand and Cambodia have exchanged fire again at the countries’ disputed border.

Thai regional army spokesman Col. Prawit Hukaew says the two sides exchanged automatic weapons fire overnight and before dawn Sunday as the conflict entered its 10th day.

Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan says the fighting took place around the Ta Krabey and Ta Moan temples, which are in a disputed zone between the two nations.

No casualties were reported. At least 16 people have been killed and nearly 100,000 displaced since fighting began April 22.