No Israel decision on attacking Iran: Obama

Washington: US President Barack Obama has said that Israel has not made a decision yet on attacking Iran’s nuclear installations, noting that he still prefers to use diplomacy.

“I do not think Israel has taken a decision on what they need to do,” Obama told the NBC news in an interview aired during the Super Bowl event Sunday.

Judge bans autistic woman from having sex

London, February 06: An autistic woman was banned from having sexual intercourse on the ground that she lacks the mental capacity to consent to the act, the Daily Mail reported.

Justice Hedley said he passed the order to protect the best interests of the 29-year-old.

He said she had to be protected from “potentially exploitative and damaging” relations in the future, as she had already been involved in risky behaviour with people.

The order prevents the woman from having sex and also means anyone trying to have sex with her can be charged with sexual assault or rape.

AP cabinet expansion on the cards

New Delhi, February 06: An expansion of the Andhra Pradesh cabinet with possible inclusion of legislators from Telangana region is on the cards with Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy holding consultations with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

Reddy along with Ahmed Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad met Gandhi for the second time in as many days and held discussions with her.

Sources said the discussions were mainly on expansion of Reddy cabinet with possible inclusion of MLAs from Telangana region.

Magnitude 6.8 quake shakes Philippines

Manila, February 06: Seismologists say a 6.8-magnitude earthquake has struck the central Philippines, but there are no immediate reports of damage or casualties. No tsunami warning was issued.

The head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Renato Solidum says the quake that hit around noon Monday possibly caused some damage in structurally weak buildings.

The US Geological Survey says the quake was centred 44 miles (72 kilometres) north of Dumaguete city on Negros Island in the central Philippines.

Robbers loot petrol pump

Panchmahal, February 06: One man was injured after a gang of robbers attacked a petrol pump on Godhra-Vadodara by-pass road here and looted Rs 50,000 at gun-point early this morning, police said.

The incident took place near Halol village where 10-12 persons armed with sticks and gun attacked a petrol pump owned by one M/s Venus Traders, they said.

According to police, the robbers had fired a couple of rounds from their gun, pelted stones before beating up the watchman guarding the petrol pump and fleeing with Rs 50,000 from the safe there.

Five of a family killed in road mishap in Gujarat

Ahmedabad, February 06: Five persons of a family were killed on Saturday and five others injured, when a jeep they were travelling in lost control after a tyre burst and rammed into a truck from the rear at Mahemdavad village in Kheda, police said.

The incident took place on the Vadodara-Ahmedabad Expressway this morning, when the family was returning home in Vav village of Mehsana district, after attending a wedding in Surat, they said.

The deceased have been identified as Vasant Shah (50), Ramilla Shah (47), Nikunj Shah (16), Ritabhen Shah (45) and Jinal Suthaar (15), police said.

Modi seeks country-wide protection of cow progeny

Ahmedabad, February 06: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday sought country-wide protection of cow progeny and a ban on its slaughter.

“People should press Central government for enacting a law for the protection of cow progeny and particularly for banning ferrying of cow-beef in railways,” Modi said, while speaking at an event at Rangpur in Gandhinagar.

“Gujarat is the only state which has enacted a law for the protection of cow progeny,” he stated.

Two new videos of ‘human safaris’ in Andaman

London, February 06: Two new videos have emerged that allegedly provide more proof of official involvement in “human safaris” for the benefit of tourists to see the protected Jarawa tribe of the Andaman Islands.

The videos do not indicate the date when they were shot, but The Observer newspaper said the first film, a three minutes and 19 seconds clip, shot on a mobile phone, showed half-naked girls from the tribe dancing before an Indian police officer.

A second, shorter clip again focuses on a girl’s nudity, with men allegedly in military uniform nearby, the British newspaper said.

Aishwarya out of home for Riteish-Genelia!

Mumbai, February 06: Since the birth of Beti B in mid-November last year, actress Aishwarya Bachchan has been avoiding shutterbugs and public eye. Apart from a brief outing a few days back with talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey, Ash hasn’t been seen outside at all.

Aish, Beti B celebrate papa Abhishek’s birthday

Mumbai, February 06: Abhishek Bachchan, who turned 36 yesterday apparently celebrated his birthday with wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and daughter, who is still known as Beti B in the media circle.

Papa B reportedly wanted a quite birthday celebration with wife Aishwarya and daughter. So he reportedly took a break from Rohit Shetty’s Bol Bachchan shoot and went to an unrevealed destination to avoid the paparazzi.

Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have taken every endeavour to make sure that they along with their Beti B get to spend ample time together without being noticed.

Pak cannot afford war over Kashmir: Gilani

Islamabad, February 06: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday acknowledged that the Kashmir issue would have to be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy as Pakistan “cannot afford wars” in the 21st century.

Four wars have already been fought on the Kashmir issue and the region still “was a flashpoint”, but in the 21st century “we cannot afford wars”, Gilani said.

“We want to resolve issues through dialogue, diplomacy, prudent policy and national consensus,” he said while addressing a convention at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat to mark ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’.

Baby Falak’s mother traced, to undergo DNA test

New Delhi, February 06: The mother of the two-year-old battered baby has been traced and will undergo a DNA test to ascertain whether she is the biological mother of the child.

A senior police official said they traced the mother named Munni last night and she is being brought to Delhi.

Munni has allegedly left her daughter, Falak with one Laxmi in September last year.

Falak has been battling for life at the AIIMS hospital, were she was brought on January 18 with severe head injury, both her arms broken, bite marks all over her body and her cheeks branded with hot iron.

Sreesanth eyeing World Twenty20 return

Kolkata, February 06: Recovering from a toe injury, Kerala speedstar Sreesanth is eyeing a successful comeback to competitive cricket with his new IPL team Rajasthan Royals.

“I`m really excited about the challenge and eagerly looking forward to it,” Sreesanth who was bought by the Rajasthan outfit at his base price of USD 400,000, said on the sidelines of a promotional event here.

No place for terrorism in Islam

Islamabad, February 06: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani laid emphasis on following the teachings of Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH).

In his message on Eid Miladun Nabi, President Zardari urged Muslims to follow Sunnah to improve their lives. The President said, “The day reminds us to continue with efforts to brighten our days and nights in the light of teachings of Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH).”

Acid attack and rape, all for just Dh2,000

Dubai, February 06: In an incident that could well be a plot for a Bollywood potboiler an Indian expat in Ajman allegedly hired contract killers to terminate his neighbour because the latter owed him money – a mere Dh2,000.

The goons attacked women of the house and raped one of them. When the noise and scuffle turned ugly the suspect entered the melee with an acid bottle to settle scores, severely burning people gathered as well as two of the attackers.

Mild tension at Amberpet

Hyderabad, February 06: Mild tension prevailed in Amberpet on Sunday afternoon when people belonging to a particular community took out a rally with an intention to claim ownership of a government land in Venkat Reddy Nagar by putting up religious flags. At around 1.45 pm, according to the Uppal police, about 200 people belonging to the community from Patel Nagar and other surrounding colonies in Amberpet took out a bike rally carrying religious flags.

Iran warns to hit any country used to attack its soil

Tehran, February 06: Iran will target any country used as a launchpad for attacks against its soil, the deputy Revolutionary Guards commander said, expanding Tehran’s range of threats in an increasingly volatile stand-off with world powers over its nuclear ambitions.

Last week, Iran’s supreme clerical leader threatened reprisals for the West’s new ban on Iranian oil exports and the US defence secretary was quoted as saying Israel was likely to bomb Iran within months to stop it assembling nuclear weapons.

Pak cannot afford war over Kashmir: Gilani

Islamabad, February 06: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today acknowledged that the Kashmir issue would have to be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy as Pakistan “cannot afford wars” in the 21st century.

Four wars have already been fought on the Kashmir issue and the region still “was a flashpoint”, but in the 21st century “we cannot afford wars”, Gilani said.

“We want to resolve issues through dialogue, diplomacy, prudent policy and national consensus,” he said while addressing a convention at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat to mark ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’.

Should I join politics, Priyanka asks rival parties

Rae Bareli, February 06: Combining wit with sarcasm, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday dared her party’s political rivals in Uttar Pradesh to state if she should join politics and said she took no offence to allusions of her election-eve visits to a Hindi proverb about the frog that appears only during the monsoon.

“I am the barsati maindak (frog who appears in rainy season), not Rahul Gandhi. Everyone knows I come to (Rae Bareli and Amethi) to coordinate elections. There is nothing to hide in this,” she said, answering queries from media persons here.

Will be glad to help Yuvraj Singh: Ramdev

Allahabad, February 06: Yoga guru Ramdev on Sunday said he would be “glad” to offer his expertise to ailing cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment in the US.

“I would be glad to offer my knowledge of Yoga and Ayurveda to Yuvraj Singh. We have had some success in treating many dreaded diseases, including cancer, and there is no reason why we cannot replicate our success in the case of the promising cricketer”, Ramdev told.

Iran preparing for worst scenario: Salehi

Tehran, February 06: Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says Tehran is preparing itself to counter all Western plans aimed at mounting pressure on the Islamic Republic.

“Tehran is examining even the worst-case scenarios and preparing itself to counteract them,” said Salehi in a Saturday interview.

The Iranian foreign minister made the remarks in reference to the fresh round of western-imposed sanctions against Iran over its peaceful nuclear program.

Israel approves key rail link of ‘interest’ to India

Jerusalem, February 06: Israel on Sunday approved the construction of the first rail link between its Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, offering a new Asia-Europe trade route to compete with the Suez Canal, a project in which India is also said to have evinced interest.

The so called proposal for Red-Med train link was unanimously approved by the Israeli cabinet and its construction is likely to take about 5 years from the time of start at a cost of approximately $2.3 billion.

I don’t know about Yuvi’s illness: Dhoni

Melbourne, February 06: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday said that he was unaware about the extent of Yuvraj Singh’s illness, when asked by the media-persons at the post-match media conference.

Yuvraj has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy in the United States.

“I don’t know about his illness because I haven’t been in touch. He is a pleasure to have in the side. He is one among a few players who has been good at number six and then climbed to do well at number four.

“He is someone who could change the momentum of the game.

Rallies held in America against Iran war

Washington, February 06: Anti-war activists across the United States and Canada have held rallies to protest at US and Israeli warmongering policies against Iran.

The demonstrations were staged on Saturday in 60 cities across the US, including Washington DC, New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco. In Canada, protests were held in Calgary and Vancouver.

The protests were organized by a coalition of about 60 pacifist and human rights groups.