America’s Central Intelligence Agency has been operating a secret airbase for drones in Saudi Arabia for the past two years, BBC reported.
The facility was established to hunt for members of the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
A drone flown from there was used in September 2011 to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born cleric alleged to be AQAP’s external operations chief.
Vivek Oberoi and his wife Priyanka have become proud parents of a boy.
“Today is the most special day of my life! Priyanka and I welcomed our little angel into our world, a beautiful, healthy, divine baby boy,” Vivek tweeted on Wednesday.
“I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for all the love, blessings, prayers and aashirwaad (blessings) you have sent us! Our son is truly blessed,” he added.
Vivek, son of actor Suresh Oberoi, married Priyanka Alva, daughter of late Karnataka minister Jeevaraj Alva, in 2010.
TDP senior leader Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy has appealed to all political parties to urge Centre to make Hyderabad city as second capital of the nation.
Speaking to the media here on Wednesday, Somireddy said father of the Constitution Dr B R Ambedkar had opined in 1955 that Hyderabad City has qualities of becoming as second capital of the nation. He pointed out that no party had said that it will be a loss if Hyderabad city was made second capital of the nation.
The Andhra Pradesh Government is developing a scheme to attract private sector investment in to the Cold Chain and Warehousing sector in the State. This was stated by Sabysachi Ghosh, Secretary (Food Processing), while addressing a cold chain summit organized by ASSOCHAM at Hyderabad.
India welcomes the US engagement in Asia Pacific as New Delhi’s vision is to create a web of inter-linkages for shared prosperity and security, according to Indian ambassador Nirupama Rao.
“We want the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific regions to develop into a zone of cooperation rather than one of competition and domination,” she said at Brown University, a private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island.
Actress Rani Mukherjee will be sharing screen space with Randeep Hooda for the first time in a Karan Johar movie titled `Bombay Talkies`.
`Bombay Talkies` is a landmark feature film of this year releasing on the centenary date of May 3, 2013, when the industry completes 100 years of cinema.
It is an ode to cinema by four prolific film makers – Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap and Karan Johar.
“Yes, I am doing a short film with Karan Johar and it features Rani Mukherjee,” Randeep said without divulging any details about the project and his role.
They`ve always been the best of friends and the best of rivals. The two icons of Tamil cinema – Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth – have always stood by each other. It, therefore, comes as no surprise to know that the latter would be watching the former`s controversial ‘Vishwaroopam’ on Wednesday.
Said Kamal: “I`m expressing my gratitude to all my colleagues in the Tamil film industry for standing by me. I`ve a screening at the 6 Degrees theatre in the Auro 3D format for all my friends this evening.”
Bowing to pressure from the Pataudi family, particularly his wife Sharmila Tagore, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Wednesday finally decided to institute an annual lecture after former captain late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.
“The memorial lecture will be an humble recognition of his contribution to the sport,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement.
Tagore had written a scathing letter to BCCI president N. Srinivasan over the delay in taking a decision over the Pataudi Lecture and Pataudi Trophy for last year’s India-England Test series.
Venturing into the pizza business has not distracted Abhinav Bindra from achieving more in the world of shooting. India’s only gold medallist at the Olympics plans to use 2013 as preparation for the major events lined up next year.
“Shooting has never been a career option for me. It has been my passion, my life” — that was Bindra’s reaction Wednesday when asked whether his pizza business, launched in October last year, was affecting his game.
The Congress party appears to be in a reconcialiation mode. Following widespread condemnation over the way former minister Dr P Shankar Rao was taken into custody for questioning into Green Fields issue, PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana paid a visit to Care Hospital to meet Shankar Rao.
TV actress Rupali Ganguly, who keeps her personal life away from the prying eyes of media, surprised everyone with her marriage news. She is tying the knot with businessman Ashvin Verma here Thursday.
“It is a very low key affair. The mehndi ceremony took place Tuesday night. Rupali is having a court marriage with businessman Ashvin Verma,” a source told reporters.
The actress, currently seen as Pinky in ‘Parvarrish – Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi’, has not been coming to the sets for shooting, added the source.
A multi-sector US trade mission – the first since the end of the Sri Lankan conflict – will travel to Colombo Feb 7-8 after visiting India.
The 3C Trade Mission includes companies in the education sector, design consulting services and engineering, food industries, healthcare, airline support, and infrastructure development.
A US embassy statement said the delegation earlier visited Chennai and Kochi in India.
The US is the largest single country market for Sri Lankan exports, and the US embassy is seeking increased bilateral trade.
Concerned over a survey finding that shows Punjab witnessed 34,430 deaths – nearly 19 deaths per day – due to cancer in the last five years, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has asked the health department to focus on making the state cancer-free.
“Concerned over the fact that 34,430 people in Punjab lost their lives due this disease in the last five year, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has said that sustainable efforts be made to make the state cancer-free,” a state government spokesperson said Wednesday.
At least five Indians are among 18 people who have been charged in one of the largest credit card fraud schemes spanning 28 states and eight countries, including India, by US federal prosecutors. The scamsters used over 25,000 fraudulent credit cards.
The accused wired millions of dollars to Pakistan, India, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Romania, China and Japan leading to losses of more than $200 million, prosecutors said.
Women do not feel safe in Delhi, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit admitted Wednesday.
“Women don’t feel safe in Delhi. Fears have risen. I’m shocked to learn about the Lajpat Nagar attempted rape case. It’s a big setback for us,” she said referring to the rape bid on a 19-year-old woman Tuesday.
The Class 9 student fought off the rape bid in her own house by an electricity contractor, who thrust an iron rod into her throat to quell her cries for help. The accused has been arrested.
However, the chief minister promised to do everything possible to provide safety to women.
Comparing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi with India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal Wednesday said the public demand that Modi be made prime minister reminded him of Nehru.
“There was demand from the masses in the first general elections to make Nehru prime minister… I see a similar demand for Modi now,” Singhal told reporters in Allahabad.
He, however, said that it was up to the political party (BJP) to decide who would be its prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 polls.
Half of people with atrial fibrillation (AF), a condition characterised by irregular heartbeat, say that foods and drinks exacerbate their symptoms, and caffeine is among the most common.
AF is caused by faulty electrical signals in the heart and it raises the risk of stroke five-fold and heart disease three-fold.
It`s therefore crucial that it is properly managed and treated – yet studies show there is an average delay of 2.6 years between symptoms starting and a person being diagnosed.
No prospects can be seen yet of a settlement to the Syrian crisis, a Russian minister has said.
“Unfortunately, no prospects are seen and one of the reasons is our western partners do not properly work with the (Syrian) opposition,” Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said in Rome, where he is on a visit.
“The task is to achieve political settlement of the Syrian crisis, to persuade both sides to sit down to the negotiating table and start searching for ways to solve the problems their country is facing, and ultimately start determining its future,” Gatilov said.
At least five suspected militants were killed Wednesday in a drone attack in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region, a media report said.
The pilot-less predator plane targeted a house in Spin Wam area of North Waziristan along the border with Afghanistan, Xinhua reported.
The drone fired two missiles at a house allegedly being used by militants.
The attack destroyed the compound and also damaged other houses located nearby.
Wednesday’s attack was the seventh of its kind in 2013. So far, drone strikes have killed 47 people this year.
The level of physical activities may significantly affect men`s sperm quality, a new study has suggested.
Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) found that healthy young men who were sedentary, as measured by hours of TV viewing, had lower sperm counts than those who were the most physically active.
Night temperatures dropped by several degrees across Kashmir as cold returned after two days of rains and snowfall in many parts of the Valley, with mercury in famous resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam plummeting by around eight notches.
Many areas of Kashmir valley received rainfall during the night with the summer capital Srinagar recording 9.6 mm of rainfall, a MeT Department spokesman said.
Night temperature in Srinagar dropped by over two notches to settle at a low of minus 1.3 degrees Celsius as against the previous night’s low of 1.6 degrees Celsius, he said.
A youth has allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in district Udahmpur, police said Wednesday.
Charan Das (20) allegedly hanged himself from the ceiling fan of his house in Udhampur district today, police said.
Investigations were on to ascertain the reason behind the extreme step, they said.
In another case, a couple hailing from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison at a guest house in Katra yesterday.
The Pakistani Taliban has embraced mafia-style tactics to extort money from victims in some parts of Karachi.
In 2012 alone, police said at least 115 different establishments in Karachi have been victims of what locals now dub the “terror tax”. Many more such incidents may not have been reported to authorities. While other mafia groups are also guilty of such shakedowns in Karachi, the police said the Taliban is one of the worst offenders, reports CBS News.
Estranged former minister Dr P. Shanker Rao’s daughter P. Sushmitha on Wednesday lodged a complaint with the Musheerabad police against Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy alleging that he had made the police to arrest her father by registering cases as her father had refused to withdraw case filed against the Chief Minister with regard to Red Sanders smuggling.
he Begum Bazaar Police have submitted to the High Court that they had filed a charge-sheet against TNGOs’ Union former president Swamy Goud with regard to the TNGOs’ Housing Society issue.