Month: July 2011

San Ramon, July 31: Everyone worked hastily to open the renovated San Ramon Valley Islamic Center in time for the holy month of Ramadan, which begins at sundown Sunday.

Workers were still laying down carpet in the prayer hall on Friday morning, hours before hundreds of local Muslims arrived for the expanded mosque’s first Friday Prayer.

Volunteers also had yet to glue all the ceramic tiles into the mihrab by the time Tahir Anwar delivered his sermon in front of the arched prayer niche.

Ahmedabad, July 31: From August 10, 2011 city roads will not tolerate helmet-less riders on two-wheelers. Either you love your helmet or lose your bike, declared cops who are on a warpatyh to ensure safety for all on city streets.

The police will show zero tolerance for traffic rules violators who don’t wear a helmet. If the commissioner of police, Ahmedabad city, Sudhir Sinha is to be believed than those days of yore when one could zoom away freely after paying a penalty of Rs50 is no longer valid.

Edinburgh, July 31: Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter Zara Phillips married fellow athlete Mike Tindall on Saturday in a private ceremony in the Scottish capital Edinburgh.

Prince William and wife Kate, who tied the knot in April in a public display of royal pomp and pageantry, and the British monarch herself were among the guests in the Canongate Kirk, where the Queen worships when staying in Edinburgh.

A few hundred fans waving Union Jack flags lined the street leading up to the church as guests sporting hats and kilts arrived for Britain’s second royal wedding of the year.

New Delhi, July 31: Ending three days of suspense, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Sunday sent his resignation to BJP president Nitin Gadkari and expressed his “full support” to the party.

Mr. Yeddyurappa, who was asked by the central leadership of the party to quit after the State Lokayukta indicted him in a mining scam, faxed the letter to Mr. Gadkari who accepted it, party sources said in New Delhi.

In the letter, the Chief Minister has given reasons for the delay in putting in his papers and cited astrological issues as the main cause, they said.

Kabul, July 31: At least six policemen were killed on Sunday morning when a powerful blast rocked Lashkar Gah city, the provincial capital of Helmand province, 555 km south of capital Kabul, an official told Xinhua.

“I do confirm so far six policemen were killed in a blast near the gate of provincial police department in Lashkar Gah that occurred at around 8:30 a.m. Sunday,” Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for provincial government said.

Mogadishu, July 31: The pictures of the hunger-stricken and homeless women and children in Somalia that are broadcast these days are reminiscent of the warning that Manuel Castells, the author of the famous book End of Millennium, The Information Age…, had sounded about the formation of a fourth world out of the dark corners of the modern one.

The conscience-pricking poverty and hunger visible in Somalia are the results of the ceremonial importance accorded to the human security in the international security discourse.

Xinjiang, July 31: Seven people died and 28 others were injured in China’s restive Xinjiang when knife-wielding attackers stabbed bystanders in a crowd, state media said on Sunday, in the region’s latest bout of unrest.

One of the attackers was later killed in the violence that erupted on Saturday night in a food street in Kasghar city, while another was detained, Tianshannet.com, a website operated by the regional government, said.

Washington, July 31: The Republican-led House on Saturday rejected a Senate Democratic Bill to raise the nation’s debt limit just three days before the deadline to avert a first-ever default on U.S. financial obligations. President Barack Obama and legislators remained at an impasse on any possible compromise.

With tensions high at a rare weekend session, the legislation failed on a 246-173 House vote that was largely symbolic. The Senate has yet to vote on the Bill.

New Delhi, July 31: It might not change the mindsets it tends to challenge, but Delhi’s own ‘Slutwalk’, which will see women take to the streets on Sunday to press for their rights to do what they like, is certain to grab eyeballs.

Delhi`s own `Slutwalk` all set to grab eyeballs
Four months after women in Toronto staged such a protest agitated by a constable’s remark that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised”, some of Delhi’s women and supporting activists will come out on the streets of the capital.

Georgetown, July 31: A packed Caribbean Airlines jet carrying 163 people crashed and broke in two on Saturday as it landed in Guyana at night, injuring dozens of passengers but killing no one.

The Boeing 737-800 overshot the runway and burst through a perimeter fence after arriving at Georgetown’s Cheddi Jagan airport just past midnight from New York. The front of the plane snapped off and it stopped meters from a jungle ravine.

No fire appears to have broken out on the jet.

Cairo, July 31: Religious authorities in most of the Middle East declared that Monday will be the start of the holy month of Ramadan, a period devoted to dawn-to-dusk fasting, prayers and spiritual introspection.

Ramadan begins around 11 days earlier each year. Its start is calculated based on the sighting of the new moon, which marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar month that varies between 29 or 30 days.

Guyana, July 31: A Caribbean Airlines plane has crashed at an airport in Guyana.

The Caribbean Airlines Boeing 737-800 has crashed upon landing at Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Timehri, Guyana, causing injuries but no deaths though it was broken in two parts.

The plane, carrying 157 passengers and six crew members, was destined for the capital Georgetown en route from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport when it overshot at the end of the runway at 1:32 a.m. local time on Saturday, the state-run BBC reported.

New Delhi, July 31: A 35-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped by two brothers in the Timarpur area of north Delhi on Wednesday night. The accused, who have been identified as Arif, 29, and Tariq, 25, were business partners of the victim and had recently decided to sever all ties.

The accused abducted the woman from her sister’s house and took her to a secluded place near Yamuna Bridge in Wazirabad area on their motorcycle where they raped her. The police have arrested both the accused.

Vijayawada, July 31: A special task force will be constituted to protect the wakf land in the state, minority welfare minister Mohammed Ahmadulla Syed said here on Saturday. The special task force will be appointed soon after completion of the enumeration of properties and assets owned by the wakf board in the state. According to the minister, the enumeration of the wakf land has already been taken up and that the details of the land available in each district will be posted online.

Hyderabad, July 31: The Telangana groups and JACs along with the public would observe the day of inspiration on August 6 to mark the birth anniversary of Telangana protagonist Prof.K.Jayashankar.

The Telanganites would take out a bike rally from Akkampet village of warangal district on that day. Akkampet is the birth place of late Telangana ideologue and from there the bike rally would proceed to the districts to spread the message of Telangana statehood movement.

Hyderabad, July 31: For Hyderabadis Ramzan has traditionally been the month of iftaar parties and haleem. But what many do not know is that it is also the month of migration and a chance to make decent earnings for thousands of poor labourers. Come Ramzan and nearly one lakh workers from different parts of the country, particularly the Northeast, arrive at the city in search of work.

Hyderabad, July 31: The Osmania University Joint Action Committee (OUJAC) announced a four-day agitation programme from August 1 demanding deletion of 14(f) clause from the Presidential Order.

Mumbai, July 31: Bhramarlal JoshiAHMEDABAD: Age is just a number for Dr Bhramarlal Joshi. This 81 year old is all set to re-marry next week with his new bride. Dr Joshi could be the oldest man in the state to give his bio-data at a local marriage bureau two months ago looking for a bride. His wife had died of an illness when she was 75 and Joshi decided to marry again. “I am fit, absolutely healthy in all departments. I earn a handsome pension of Rs 30,000 per month and am financially stable, own a bungalow and a car.

Hyderabad, July 31: For the average Bangalorean, engaging an autorickshaw is not an automatic choice. Rather, the three-wheelers are hired for want of a reliable alternative.

The public are tired of complaining about auto drivers refusing to go to their destinations, their demand for extra fare, defective meters, absence of silencers, and much more.
Therefore, the Government’s decision to issue permits for 40,000 autorickshaws does not really amuse many of them. Why should it?

Mumbai, July 31: Disappointed with the way her career was shaping, Srilankan hotty Jacqueline had one point of time decided to quit the industry, pack her bags and go home.

One doesn’t see as many iftaar parties during the holy month these days as the city’s Muslim elite prefer charity over hosting lavish parties to break their Ramzan fasts.

Till a few years ago Hyderabad was the epicentre of lavish iftar parties in the country with the rich vying with one another to exhibit their financial status.

Thanks to the intervention of religious leaders, most of them now prefer to distribute the money, which they earlier would have spent on iftar parties, among the poor and the needy.

Abu Dhabi, July 31: An Arab woman lost Dh700,000 after being allegedly conned by her lover, according to Abu Dhabi Police.

According to an Al Bayan report, the 27-year-old woman identified as MH started a relationship with a 34- year old Arab man over the phone. The man allegedly promised to marry her.

The victim told the police that the man, who was working as a personnel manager at a private company, allegedly told her that he’s facing a financial problem and he needs her help.

Hyderabad, July 31: If Karnataka chief minister BSYeddyurappa keeps his word and resigns on Sunday, a collective sigh of relief will rise from the BJP’s 11, Ashoka Road headquarters in Delhi.

Cornered yet unrepentant, Yeddyurappa has refused to follow the party diktat to quit even two days after the BJP’s parliamentary board issued the fiat. The Karnataka CM’s defiance has exposed the party’s Achilles heel-a weak leadership unable to tame egotistical regional strongmen.

Washington, July 31: Senior officials at the White House have said that the Obama administration is planning to resume talks with Saudi Arabia about a potential nuclear cooperation.

A team of US diplomats are expected to visit the Saudi capital of Riyadh to “discuss the possibility of moving forward on a nuclear cooperation agreement,” a congressional aide said on the condition of anonymity, AFP reported.

Tripoli, July 31: An ex-commander of the Libyan dictator says Muammar Gaddafi would have no ammunition to use against revolutionaries if NATO were to target military supply routes from Algeria and Chad.

“The main disadvantage to the NATO air campaign is that they (NATO) are not paying attention to the Algerian border which is supplying Gaddafi forces [with arms],” colonel Hamed Al-Hassi, the first commander to defect from Gaddafi’s military, told Press TV in an exclusive interview.