Month: May 2013

78 abandoned buildings demolished in Abu Dhabi

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The Municipality of Abu Dhabi City (ADM) has demolished 78 abandoned buildings as part of its campaign to rid the city of old and abandoned houses which distort its look.

The buildings demolished include 10 commercial ones, 33 residential villas, eight government buildings, and 27 porta-cabins all of which had been abandoned for lengthy periods of time.

Officials said the buildings “distorted the outlook of residential districts and streets, and became incompatible with the urbanization drive and high-class tourist facilities in the city”.

Things will go well for Pathan and team: Shahrukh Khan

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Having roped in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player Yusuf Pathan’s wife to cheer the knights to victory, Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan asserted that things for the burly allrounder will fall in place post his man-of-the-match performance at the Eden Gardens here Friday.

“He is a marvellous player, marvellous person and great guy to have in the team,” said Khan after his team grabbed an eight-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals.

“I think all of us go through patches where things don’t fall right for you. So I think from now on it will all fall right and go well for the team too.”

Boeing 747-8 freighter to join Etihad Airways fleet

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Etihad Airways has signed a multi-year agreement with Atlas Air Worldwide to provide the UAE flag carrier with its first Boeing 747-8 Freighter.

The full liveried Etihad Cargo Boeing 747-8 Freighter will be the largest in the carrier’s growing freighter fleet. The aircraft has a payload capacity of 138 tonnes and a range of more than 8,000 km.

This is the second such Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) agreement between Atlas Air and Etihad Airways, complementing an existing lease agreement signed for a Boeing 747-400 Freighter in May 2012.

Fortunate to have Gambhir as my captain: Yusuf Pathan

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Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Yusuf Pathan Friday credited skipper Gautam Gambhir for supporting him during his struggling days, after the big hitter scored an unbeaten 49 to help his side thrash Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets at the Eden Gardens here.

“I am fortunate to have a skipper like Gambhir. He has been a constant source of support for me and continuously backed me when I was not performing well. He has handled me well,” said Pathan whose highest score for his franchise earned him the man of the match award in Friday’s match.

Won’t let down KKR fans: Shahrukh Khan

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Acknowledging the “backing” and strong support of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fans, Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan has assured his loyal followers that he would “ensure” their faith in the team remained intact.

“I feel extremely responsible that I don’t let the fans down. So we will try harder.

Moscow ready to talk to Syrian rebels

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Moscow is ready to hold talks with all representatives of the Syrian opposition, including Salim Idriss, leader of the Free Syrian Army, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Lavrov made his comment after Idriss said he would be ready to meet the Russian authorities to discuss paths to a resolution of the Syrian civil war.

“We are ready for talks with all of the Syrian opposition,” Lavrov said, adding he had not heard any statement from Idriss.

Armed “non-state players are against international laws”, Lavrov added.

Indian Americans welcome USCIRF’s recommendation to continue the ban on Modi’s US visa

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Thursday May 2nd, 2013

The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC -www.iamc.com ), an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos lauded the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), for calling on the Obama administration to maintain a visa ban on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his role in the pogrom of 2002, that claimed over 2,000 lives and displaced over 150,000.

Tihar inmates clash in jail, one dead

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A violent clash between inmates of the high-security Tihar Jail here Friday left one dead and eight injured, police said.

Javed, 27, died in the scuffle, reported to be result of an ego clash among the inmates. However, jail authorities said they are verifying what caused the fight.

The clash occurred on a day when security in prisons across India, including in Tihar Jail, was beefed up for Pakistani inmates after the death of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh in a Pakistani jail.

Abbas eyes China’s role in peace process with Israel

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Friday said he will let the Chinese leaders know the barriers currently rooted in Palestinians’ talks with Israel, as he expects Beijing’s contribution to the stalled peace process, reported Xinhua.

Abbas told Xinhua at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah that he will update China’s new leadership about “where we are” in the political track in the Middle East, and “what are the obstacles that block this track and what is the role that some countries like the US is to be matched.”

Railway minister’s ‘kin’, three others booked for bribery

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A man, said to be the nephew of Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and three others, including a railway official, were Friday night booked by the CBI in a bribery case, agency officials said.

“Mahesh Kumar, a railway official, and three others identified as Vijay Singla, Sandeep Goel and Manjunath were booked for bribery. Mahesh Kumar had given Rs.90 lakh to the three to ensure his promotion. The money has been seized,” a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official said here.

According to informed sources, Singla is Bansal’s nephew but agency officials declined to confirm it.

Knights hand Rajasthan a royal defeat at Eden

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Backed by superlative bowling and decent batting, Kolkata Knight Riders handed Rajasthan Royals a crushing eight-wicket defeat to keep alive their feeble chances of making it to the play-off in their Indian Premier League here Friday.

After restricting the Royals to 132/6, the Kinghts overhauled their rivals’ score with 16 balls to spare. Jacques Kallis (33 not out; 30b, 2×4, 1×6) hit Brad Hogg for a boundary over the bowler’s head to carry his side to 133/2, and finish the Eden Gardens game.

Priyanka and I not close buddies: Meera Chopra

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Actress Priyanka Chopra’s cousin Meera has clarified that there is no tiff between them but they are not the best of friends either.

“There is no tiff as such. In fact, our families are very close. My parents are very close to Priyanka’s parents. It’s just that we are not close buddies. So there is no tiff between us,” Meera said at the muhurat of her film “Gang of Ghosts” here Thursday.
Not new to showbiz, Meera made her debut in films with hit Tamil movie “Anbe Aaruyire” and went to do several southern movies like “Vaana” and “Maaro”.

Now, Indian-origin family wedding gets racism slur

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A wedding in an influential Indian origin family in South Africa got further mired in controversy after allegations of racism at the event.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has levelled allegations of racism against guests in the Gupta family wedding at Palace of the Lost City five-star hotel in Sun City.

“Buy 969” boycott Muslim-owned stores: Buddhists campaign terrifying Muslims in Burma

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“969” denotes the anti-Islam campaign led by hardliner Buddhist monks.  The monster monks are sticking these brightly-coloured posters and stickers bearing the number “969” in cities all over Burma.

According to Burmese Muslims, this campaign has stirred up hatred, resulting in a string of bloody anti-Muslim riots across the country over the past weeks.

‘969’ originally refer to the Buddha’s “three jewels”, but it is now being used as a brand name for a nationalist, anti-Muslim campaign led by a prominent monk based in Mandalay.

What did NDA do for Sarabjit’s release? asks Congress

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The Congress Friday asked the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government what did it do, while it was in power, to ensure the release of Sarabjit Singh and added that the focus should now be on other Indians in Pakistani jails.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cornered the government over Sarabjit’s death Thursday, demanding that diplomatic ties with Pakistan be scaled down until an assurance is offered for the security of Indians in Pakistani jails.

Why Muslims should negotiate with BJP

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Indian Muslims’ antipathy towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is known. The party hasn’t thought much about Muslims in term of being equal citizens. Instead it has worked tirelessly to antagonise a community that comprises more than 15 percent of the Indian population.

It has raised demands for Muslims to abandon their places of worship, tried to provoke riots and in many cases failed to act while a state burned and burned. But Muslims too have to share the blame for antagonising the BJP, by never showing an inclination towards thinking it as an option.

Annapurna joins global campus network

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Hyderabad, May 3 (IANS) Annapurna International School of Film and Media (AISFM) Friday announced today that it represented Indian media industry in Ryerson University’s Global City Project, a live TV show that was streamed online to film students around the world.

Under the project by Toronto-based university, schools produce a live television show, with studios in four countries, without the use of satellites, said a statement from Annapurna school owned by the family of veteran Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao.

Rs.100 crore found in Saradha Group chief’s 254 accounts

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Kolkata, May 3 (IANS) West Bengal Police have found Rs.100 crore in 254 bank accounts of Sudipta Sen, the arrested promoter of the chit fund aided Saradha Group, and were also looking into why the agencies which monitor such companies “did not” do their job.

“We have unearthed 254 bank accounts. We have so far seized approximately Rs.100 crore,” Bidhannagar Deputy Commissioner of Police Arnab Ghosh told media persons here Friday.

The commissionerate, now probing the Saradha case, has taken Sen into custody to subject him to intense grilling.

A broader ‘Shariah’ index for compliant Indian stocks

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Mumbai, May 3 (IANS) The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has become the first in the country to launch a unique index for equities that follow the tenets of Islam – the S&P BSE 500 Shariah Index – comprising 500 largest compliant stocks that trade on the bourse.

The first such broad-based index has come about thanks to a strategic pact between the BSE and S&P Dow Jones Indices in February. The Shariah Index will represent all compliant stocks of the broad-based S&P BSE 500 Index.

1984 riots: Sikhs protest against Sajjan Kumar”s acquittal, target UPA Govt.

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New Delhi, May 3 (ANI): Outraged at the acquittal of Sajjan Kumar in one of the cases relating to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a large number of people staged a protest in the national capital on Friday and lashed out at the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre.

Delhi state unit leader of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Pradeep Singh, said that the Sikhs are disappointed with the decision that has given undue advantage to Kumar.

Anbumani Ramadoss takes on Jayalalithaa Govt., says ”arrest a political vendetta”

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Chennai, May 3 (ANI): Former Union Minister and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday termed his arrest by the Chennai Police as an act of political vendetta by the AIADMK Government in Tamil Nadu.

Anbumani said that the arrest showed the vindictive attitude of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.

“The political vendetta carried out by the Jayalalithaa Government continues. All our party leaders, legislators and thousands of party workers have already been arrested and now it”s me. We will face the cases legally,” he said.

Karnataka polls: Ananth Kumar lauds Modi, takes on Rahul Gandhi

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Bangalore, May 3 (ANI): As the speculation of a Rahul Gandhi versus Narendra Modi fight for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections gathers steam, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ananth Kumar on Friday said the Gujarat Chief Minister has carved a niche for himself through three hat-trick victories in his state, while the nation doesn”t know the merits and demerits of the Congress vice-president “who sounds hollow and empty”.

Do stylish women attract men?

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New York, May 3 (ANI): Fashion-loving ladies have often thought that having a good sense in fashion is an asset.

But are there men who truly appreciate a woman for her good fashion sense?

Huffington Post took an informal poll of straight men and asked them – Does a girl’s fashion sense factor into your attraction to her? Is being “stylish” as much of an attractive asset as being smart, funny, pretty or witty?

As per the results of the survey men have varied opinions on fashion:

Just as clothes can make the man, they can help make the woman.

”Weakened” al-Qaeda still poses potential threat to US

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Washington, May 3 (ANI): Two years after the killing of former al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the terror network has become so decentralized that its affiliates in Yemen and elsewhere now pose a greater direct threat to the US. Bin Laden”s death was undoubtedly a severe blow to al Qaeda, but counterterrorism analysts continue to see the group as a potential threat to the U.S., though its role has evolved, reports ABC News.

4 insurgents killed in N. Afghan province: ISAF

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Kabul, May 3 (Xinhua-ANI): Four militants, including a senior insurgent leader, were killed Friday when Afghan forces and the NATO-led coalition troops launched an operation in northern province of Baghlan, according to coalition statement issued here. “An Afghan and coalition security force killed a senior insurgent leader, Jamal, who had ties to both the Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.