Month: June 2012

NATO air strike kills 17 Afghans

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An air strike by NATO-led forces at a Taliban hideout late Tuesday killed 17 people in Afghanistan, including a militant commander named Qari Sardar, officials said Wednesday.

The air raids took place in Sajawand village of Baraki Barak district in Logar province, 60 km south of Kabul, Xinhua reported.

District governor Sayed Wakil Agha said NATO aircraft pounded the house of a tribal elder named Sayed Bashir Akhundzada, killing 17 people inside, including Akhundzada.

PM pushes for infrastructure-led growth

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday said his government will remove all bottlenecks in the infrastructure sector and create an environment for investment to revive the India growth story.

“In these difficult times, we must do everything possible to revive business and investor sentiment,” Singh said, reviewing core infrastructure sectors like aviation, power, transport, shipping and coal with cabinet colleagues in charge of these portfolios.

Ties with China priority of India’s foreign policy: SM Krishna

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India on Wednesday told China that it sees improving bilateral ties as a priority of its foreign policy and expressed desire to expand strategic cooperation, setting aside concerns here over future direction of the relations in the backdrop of the big US push into the Asia-Pacific region.

Conveying a strong message about India’s intention to firm up ties with China, visiting External Affairs Minister SM Krishna told Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang that it is important for both the countries to build trust and understanding to maintain strong and healthy relationship.

Israeli embassy car bombing: Kazmi opposes court order

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Journalist Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, arrested for his alleged role the Feb 13 Israeli embassy car bombing attack, Wednesday challenged the order of a Delhi magistrate granting Delhi Police three months to complete the probe.

Kazmi’s counsel Mehmood Pracha told Additional Sessions Judge Surinder S. Rathi that it was a malafide order.

He said the grant of 90 more days for further probe was made to Delhi Police without hearing him.

The additional sessions judge after hearing the defence counsel asked police to file a reply by June 8 and present the case diary.

Pope greets Queen Elizabeth

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Pope Benedict XVI has sent a message to Queen Elizabeth II, congratulating the British monarch on the Diamond Jubilee of her coronation, the Vatican said Wednesday.

“I write to offer my warmest congratulations to your majesty on the happy occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of your reign,” the Pope said in his message.

Indian military role in Afghanistan confined to training: Leon Panetta

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Setting at rest speculation that the US wants India to play a greater military role in Afghanistan, visiting US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Wednesday said this would be confined to training the country’s security forces.

“What I have asked for is for India to continue to provide. I understand the training takes place in India. I have asked, if possible, to expand this training. Beyond this, nothing in terms of additional military efforts,” Panetta said during an interactive session after delivering a lecture on India-US relations at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).

US calls for tougher sanctions on Syria

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US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Wednesday called for tougher sanctions against Syria to hasten political change in that Middle East country.

Addressing the second meeting of the Friends of the Syrian People International Working Group on Sanctions, which drew representatives from 55 nations, the US official said sanctions alone could not bring about the change sought by Washington and its allies, “but sanctions can play an important role”.

Labourer held for killing wife

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A 35-year-old labourer here has been arrested on charges of murdering his wife who had allegedly developed illicit relations, police said Wednesday.

Jaleshwar Majhi of Bihar was caught from west Delhi’s Dwarka area Tuesday for the May 30 killing.

Majhi, who absconded after the murder, was trapped when he came to his employer to collect his money, Additional Commissioner of Police Anil Kumar Ojha said.

Majhi married the victim in 1997 but ended the relationship five years ago. In 2010, he married her a second time, and they had a baby girl last year, Ojha said.

Court reserves order on Tejinder Singh’s plea

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A Delhi court Wednesday reserved its order on Lt. Gen. (Retd) Tejinder Singh’s plea seeking the issuance of summons to former army chief Gen. V.K. Singh in a defamation case.

Metropolitan Magistrate Jay Thareja fixed June 8 for order on the retired army officer’s plea. ‘Put up for orders regarding summoning on June 8,’ said the court.

13 injured in Delhi fire

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As many as 13 people, including a five-year-old girl, suffered burn injuries after a cooking cylinder caught fire in a residential building here Wednesday morning, police said.

The incident took place in a rented accommodation at Jhilmil Colony in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar around 7.10 a.m.

“All of the victims were rushed to Dr. Hedgewar Hospital where they are recuperating with their burn injuries,” said a police official.

The official informed that only a five-year-old girl who received 70 percent burn injuries is stated to be critical while the others received minor burns.

Zafar Pahelwan released from jail

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The infamous pahelwan of Old city Hamza Bin Omer aka Zafar Pahelwan and his kin Moosa Bin Abdullah allegedly involved in the sensational murder case of rowdy sheeter in a Gym were released from Chanchalguda jail this evening.

Yesterday the Metropolitan Sessions Judge at Nampally granted conditional bail to them and directed the accused to furnish two sureties of ten thousand each and also to sign the attendance register at Kanchanbagh police station on alternate day. The Kanchanbagh police are planning to approach the High Court seeking the cancellation of Zafar’s bail.

Jagan seek HC’s permission to campaign in by-polls

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YSR Congress president and Kadapa MP Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking permission to campaign in the by-elections through electronic media and print media.

In his petition, Jagan appealed to the court to provide him an opportunity to speak to the people through electronic and print media. Jagan’s counsel said that Jagan filed the petition under the Right to Expression’ enshrined in the Article 19 (1) of the Indian constitution.

BJP slams UDF for fielding Selvaraj in bypoll

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Senior BJP Leader O Rajagopal today expressed confidence of winning the Neyyatinkara by-election while slamming the UDF ‘for indulging in horse trading’ by fielding Former CPM Leader Selvaraj as its candidate. Addressing the press, he said the BJP is fighting the byelection alone even as UDF and the LDF were taking the help of its allies against his party. Claiming the BJP was neither an anti-Communist or anti- Congress Party, he said the party had its own mission.

‘India, Pak Foreign Secretaries’ meet on June 29’

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Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan would meet on June 29 in New Delhi to prepare the ground for the crucial meeting of the Foreign Ministers planned for the middle of July in Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani said here on Wednesday.

The Foreign Secretaries would prepare the ground for the Foreign Ministers meeting, Jilani who is here to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, (SCO) summit told Indian media here in an informal chat on the sidelines of the meeting.

CBI grills Jagan for fourth day

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The CBI on Wednesday grilled jailed YSR Congress party leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy for the fourth day in an illegal assets case.

With his five-day custody coming to an end Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned the member of parliament from Kadapa about various aspects of his illegal assets case.

The CBI sleuths took custody of Jagan, as he is popularly known, in the morning from Chanchalguda Central Jail and questioned him at the CBI office in Koti in the presence of his lawyers.

Planned conspiracy to transform Ziaguda into Jiyaguda

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Some venomous minds with planned conspiracy have distorted the name of Ziaguda area and changed it into Jiyaguda. This name has become common and also written like that. But as all the fingers are not alike, we can see Ziaguda written on the boards of many shops owned by non- Muslims.

There is a grave of a Muslim saint in a graveyard near Ziaguda Kamela. The graveyard has its record in the Waqf gazette but nearly all the graves have been demolished; only a big ‘mazar’ remains whose existence is also in risk.

Gold sets new record of Rs. 30,400 on strong global cues

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Gold on Wednesday hit a fresh all-time high by adding Rs. 100 to Rs. 30,400 per 10 grams on brisk buying by stockists triggered by a firming global trend.

The precious metal had hit an all time high of Rs. 30,300 on Saturday. Silver followed suit, and shot up by Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 55,500 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Free summer classes conclude at Shamsabad, 300 students benefited

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Free summer classes were jointly organised by Muslim Welfare Association Shamsabad, Siasat daily and Jamia Nizamia from May 1 to June 1, in which religious education, computers and English classes were conducted. 300 students attended the classes. Certificates were distributed among students on June 5.

Mohammad Mushtaq Mohiuddin president Muslim Welfare Association told that free classes were conducted keeping in view the importance of education. Students attended the classes with much enthusiasm.

Filmmaking more challenging now: Sonu Sood

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Sonu Sood, who has been an active part of Hindi and southern language films in his over decade-long career, feels filmmaking has become a greater challenge, given the audience’s awareness of international cinema.

“Audience has grown as they have been exposed to international films. The benchmark for good films has shot to different level,” Sonu told IANS in an interview.

Is there any hope for the Yamuna?

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The present state of the Yamuna river from Delhi to Agra, a distance of roughly 250 km, is alarming. Described now as a huge sewage canal, Yamuna water is unfit for human consumption. It cannot even support bacteria or aquatic life.

Yamuna finds mention in the Rig Veda. The founder of the Mughal dynasty, Babar, was lyrical about the quality of Yamuna water. It was Yamuna water that compelled Shah Jahan to build his dream monument the Taj Mahal along the river bank.

But what of today? How do we describe Yamuna today? A sewer canal, a drain, a big gutter, a civilisational sink?

French Open: Paes-Vesnina beat top seeds to enter semis

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Leander Paes and Elena Vesnina defeated top seeded duo of Max Mirnyi and Liezel Huber 4-6, 7-5, 10-5 to reach the mixed doubles semi-finals at the French Open tennis tournament here Tuesday.

India`s Paes and his Russian partner Vesnina came back from a set down to dispatch the Belarusian-American combine of Mirnyi and Huber in a quarter-final lasting 91 minutes.

The fifth seeds face Poland`s Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Mexican Santiago Gonzalez for a place in the final.

Klaudia-Gonzalez too won their match in the super tie-breaker with a 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 scoreline.

Musharraf wants elections to be held under army supervision

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Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf wants the country’s next general election to be held under the supervision of the army and not a caretaker government.

“The next general election should be held under the supervision of the army to ensure transparency and fairness,” said the former army chief, currently living in self-exile outside Pakistan.

South Africa dump Boxing Day Test for T20s

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South Africa for the first time in two decades have dumped the traditional Boxing Day Test, played in Durban since Proteas re-entered international sport in 1992, in favour of Twenty20 internationals.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced Tuesday that the Boxing Day Test would be replaced with three Twenty20 internationals against New Zealand over the Christmas period. The first Test will now be played in Cape Town in the New Year.

Brazil in bid for athletics Diamond League stage

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Brazil’s athletics confederation is in talks with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to host a stage of the elite Diamond League in 2014.

Brazil’s athletics confederation’s new chief Jose Antonio Martins Fernandes revealed he spoke with organisers of the competition during last weekend’s stage in the US city of Eugene, Xinhua reports.

“It would be too soon to try for 2013 but we are going to make a bid to bring a round of the Diamond League to Brazil in 2014,” Fernandes told Globoesporte.

A simple blood test can detect breast cancer early: Study

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Scientists have developed a simple blood test which they say could lead to early diagnosis of breast cancer and predict whether a patient faces high risk of relapse or death following treatment.

The study carried out by a team from the University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Centre builds on previous work that identified tumour cells circulating in the blood of patients suffering from spreading (metastatic) breast cancer.