Month: February 2012

Hadi elected as Yemen’s new president

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Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was elected as Yemen’s new president with 6.6 million people voting in his favour, said the country’s Supreme Committee for Elections and Referendum Friday.

Hadi, 66, who was the sole candidate in the election, will lead Yemen’s transitional government for next two years, Xinhua reported.

The new president has pledged to carry out reforms during his transitional term and is set to launch a national dialogue with all political factions in Yemen after he takes office.

He also vowed to combat resurgent Al-Qaeda off-shoot, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Man insured wife two days before killing her

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A Briton who took out an insurance policy on his wife two days before brutally killing her has been sentenced for a minimum term of 22 years.

Mohammed Tariq Aziz was found guilty of battering to death 41-year-old Zarina Bibi by a jury at Aylesbury Crown Court, the Daily Mail reported.

Bibi was found dead at the family home in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, March 16 last year. She had suffered multiple head injuries.

Detective Chief Inspector Vince Grey, of Thames Valley Police, said: “We are pleased with the decision that the jury has reached today in the trial of Mohammed Tariq Aziz.

Women’s hockey: India beat Italy to enter final

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India defeated Italy 1-0 to enter the final of the women’s hockey Olympic qualifier at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here on Friday.

India play mighty South Africa in the final on Saturday.

India were made to toil hard by the Italian defence but their never-say-die attitude finally earned them a goal in the 55th minute when Ritu Rani scored off a rebound after the ball had ballooned up following a penalty corner.

Earlier in the day, South Africa sealed their place in the finals after beating Canada 4-1.

Gadkari rules out immediate reinstatement of Yeddyurappa

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Friday rejected scam-hit former Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa’s demand for immediate reinstatement but said he will be given an honourable position once he is cleared of the charges.

“There is no question of change (of Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda),” Gadkari told reporters after addressing ministers, legislators and MPs at a meeting at a resort on Bangalrore’s outskirts.

He, however, tried to placate the sulking Yeddyurappa: “Yeddyurappa is the popular face of our party in Karnataka.”

Saif Ali Khan’s allegation does not carry much ‘weight’: Police

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Mumbai police probing Wednesday midnight brawl involving Saif Ali Khan on Friday said his counter complaint against South African businessman Iqbal Sharma does not carry “much weight” as the Bollywood actor had not suffered any injury.

Khan, according to investigators, has also not submitted any medical report to corroborate his claim that he too got injured during the fracas while acting in self-defence after being first hit by Sharma.

Bachelor lured, forcibly sterilized in Madhya Pradesh

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Bhopal Singh, a bachelor from Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district, got forcibly sterilized after getting lured for the Indira Awas Yojana, officials said Friday.

“A few days ago, my cousin was told by some health staff that he would be eligible for the Indira Awas Yojana and would get money too if he visited the hospital. But later, he was sterilized. After the operation, they put Rs. 200 in his pocket,” Gowardhan Singh, cousin of Bhopal Singh told reporters.

Ministers behind crackdown on Ramdev: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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A day after the Supreme Court slammed the Delhi Police for its handling of Baba Ramdev’s Ramlila ground protest in June last year, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Friday squarely put the blame for the midnight crackdown on the UPA government and its ministers.

Inaugurating a two-day seminar on Indian diaspora human rights issues, Ravi Shankar said the Delhi Police were only following the orders of the political masters and called for “more work” to be done so such swoop downs are not repeated.

One million Chinese die of smoking annually

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China, which has a third of the world’s total smoking population, witnesses over one million deaths from smoking-related diseases annually.

According to Gu Xiulian, director of the Working Committee for Better Care for the Next Generation of China, the country has 300 million smokers.

About 1.2 million Chinese die due to smoke-related diseases each year.

—IAns

Three Nigerian footballers arrested for ‘sex racket’

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Three Nigerian footballers, one of whom has turned out in the first division of the I-League, were arrested Friday alongwith a woman from an apartment in Garfa of south eastern Kolkata for allegedly running a sex racket, police said.

The arrested players are Adeola Hassan of Mohammedan Sporting and Michael Tayo and Wahid Abdullah of Kalighat Milan Sangha. The woman is alleged to be a sex worker.

All four were produced before the Alipore court, which remanded them to judical custody till March 9.

Rahul: Mulayam was keen on alliance

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Star campaigner Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Samajwadi Party was keen on forging an alliance with the Congress for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll but his party had rejected it.

Mulayam Singh Yadav was eager for an electoral tie up with the Congress which was rejected by my party,” he told a rally in Moradabad.

“Our alliance is only with the people,” the Gandhi scion said.At an election rally in Aligarh, the Congress general secretary accused Mulayam of making promises to Muslims on job quota which he could not fulfil.

Mahesh Bhatt and RGV fight over Sunny Leone

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Sunny Leonethe famous Indo – Canadian porn artist, whose claim to fame in India was Big Boss 5, is now very much a part of our Bollywood fraternity. Mahesh Bhatt, known for his keen eye for fresh faces, noticed Sunny on the show, and now the sensuous artist will be making her Bollywood debut in Mahesh Bhatt’s JISM 2.

Groom stands by raped bride

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A village wedding in Madhya Pradesh stood out for one reason on Tuesday: the groom had chosen to go ahead with the marriage after learning the bride had been raped two days earlier.

The groom, a Class XII dropout and farmer, that it was his duty to stand by the bride and fight her battle for justice together.

“It is a testing time for her for no fault of hers. I have married her and will fight for justice,” Achchhe Lal said.

Malaysians protest Quran burning in Afghanistan

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A group of Malaysian Muslims marched from a mosque to the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur after Friday prayers to protest against the burning of Qurans at a NATO base in Afghanistan.

The protesters, who were members of Malaysia’s Islamist political party Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS), chanted “Down with the US”, carried banners reading: “Damn You, US” and “Respect our Quran”, Xinhua reported.

They submitted a protest note to a representative of the embassy.

Quran burning: Appeals for calm after anti-US bloodshed

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Heavily armed troops and police patrolled tense Kabul streets today in a nervous wait for the main Muslim prayers, after a deadly week of anti-US unrest over the burning of Qurans at a military base.

The government called for calm to prevent Taliban insurgents from capitalising on fury over the desecration of Islam’s holy book, but the response may hinge on how the mullahs treat the issue in their Friday sermons.

Salman supports Saif, attack media

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Salman Khan, who is back here after the shooting of “Ek Tha Tiger” in Cuba, Friday came out in support of his fellow actor Saif Ali Khan, saying that media should have waited for his version and dug out the facts before running what was carried on television.

“Even the press yesterday was all for the other guy. They didn’t even bother to ask what happened to Saif. Did Saif get wacked first or not? We should have waited for Saif to come out and say what he had to say,” Salman told reporters after he was asked to comment on the incident.

Gujarat appointee for shootout probe monitoring rejected

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The Supreme court Friday refused to accept the Gujarat government’s appointee to head the monitoring authority which would have overseen a probe into 22 alleged staged shootouts that took place in the state between 2002 and 2006.

The Gujarat government Thursday appointed Justice (retd.) K.R. Vyas to head the monitoring authority after Justice M.B. Shah (former judge of the apex court) declined the state government’s offer of the post.

SC raps Centre for red tapism, bureaucratic delays

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The union government was on Friday rapped by the Supreme Court for its bureaucratic delays and red-tapism even in challenging lower courts’ adverse orders against it.

Dismissing an appeal by the Department of Posts, a bench of justices P Sathasivam and J Chelameshwar asserted that it would not brook any such delays as the government departments have obligation to discharge their duties with diligence and commitments.

2G : Balwa, Goenka allowed exemption for 3 days

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Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, accused in the 2G case, were on Friday granted three days exemption from personal appearance by a Delhi court as they have to consult lawyers in Mumbai for a cheating case filed against them by foreign partner Etisalat.

Special CBI judge O P Saini exempted Balwa and Goenka from appearing in the court for three days on February 27 after they said that Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat has filed a cheating and forgery case against them in Bombay High Court and they have to engage counsel for the case.

Terror has to be dealt jointly: PC to CMs on NCTC

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Breaking his silence over stiff opposition to his pet project NCTC, Home Minister P Chidambaram today wrote to 10 non-Congress Chief Ministers, saying countering terrorism is a shared responsibility and Centre will continue to work with states to fight the menace.

In identical letters to the Chief Ministers, including West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, Chidambaram said the Union Home Secretary would convene a meeting of the police chiefs of all states to discuss in detail the scope and functions of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, whose setting up was strongly opposed by them.

Pregnant girl threatens to jump for love

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A pregnant unmarried woman here on Friday morning caused sensation at the Kachiguda Railway station by climbing a water tank and threatening to jump to death if she was not married off to her lover. However, she relented when the police brought her lover to the spot and sent him up to bring her down.

Cruel stepfather: 3yr old kid burnt with cigarettes

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A three-year-old boy is struggling for life at a government hospital in Rajasthan after his alcoholic stepfather put burning cigarettes on his face, beat him up and clawed him in a drunken condition, police said Friday.

Sanyam Jain, a resident of Vishala village near Sanchore in Jalore district, was Thursday admitted to the intensive care unit of Ummed Hospital in Jodhpur, some 400 km from state capital Jaipur.

He has fractures in his hands and legs, burn injuries on his face and private parts. Doctors said that he has also developed the ‘battered baby syndrome’.

PM, other leaders greet Jayalalithaa on birthday

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday greeted Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa on her 64th birthday.

According to a statement issued by the AIADMK, the prime minister called up Jayalalithaa and wished her.

Tamil Nadu Governer K.Rosaiah, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia, many MPs, industrialists and others also wished Jayalalithaa.

AIADMK leaders and cadres across Tamil Nadu celebrated the 64th birthday of their leader.

Vidya calls police after stalker reaches home

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Vidya Balan, who has become a sex siren post her bold avatar in The Dirty Picture, has certainly doubled her fan base. So much so that the admiration has turned into obsession for one of her fans.

A man in his late 20s used to follow Vidya to her film sets and eventually, he reached her

“He used to be there on her sets. He used to be there in her building. Once unknowingly, Vidya even nodded to him and said namaste,” a friend of Balan told Mumbai Mirror.

“He was obsessed with Vidya,” a resident of the same apartment as Vidya told the tabloid.

FBI latest trick: Enlists Muslims to Fight Radicalization

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The FBI is reaching out to the Muslim minority to help combat radicalization and extremism, despite recent controversies about surveillance on American Muslims.

“The FBI understands the importance of having strong relationships with all communities,” Lindsay Godwin of the FBI’s Washington Field Office told WTOP radio.

“We gain a better understanding of their perspectives on radicalization and recruitment and are able to enlist their support in deterring recruitment and the spread of radicalization messages.”