Red Cross aids drought-hit Philippines

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Manila, June 04: The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday it will extend its food and farm aid programme in the Philippines to the country’s drought-hit northern highlands.

The Red Cross said more than 7,000 families are to get 175 tonnes of rice, fish paste and cooking oil, while 2,400 families will get corn seeds and fertilisers to replace crops wiped out by the El Nino dry spell.

“This is an exceptional situation,” Red Cross spokeswoman Anastasya Isyuk told AFP.

Sheila taxes us as crores go unspent

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New Delhi, June 04: Centre granted Delhi Rs 6,000 cr for shoring up infrastructure but state govt used only Rs 22 cr

THE series of tax hikes effected by chief minister Sheila Dikshit to raise money for urban improvement could have been avoided had her government utilised central funds earmarked for infrastructure development.

The mid- term appraisal of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission ( JNNURM) accessed by M AIL T ODAY shows the state government spent a mere Rs 22 crore of the nearly Rs 6,000 crore committed by the Centre for the fiscal years 2005- 06 to 2009- 10.

Army Lt. General in sex scandal

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New Delhi, June 04: An Indian Army Lieutenant General has been accused of molestation by his subordinate officer’s wife. The army Thursday ordered a probe and said there were a “number of loopholes” in the complaint. However, wife of Nanda, today dismissed allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against him.

Lt. Gen. A.K. Nanda, the Army’s Engineer-in-Chief, allegedly molested his technical secretary’s wife during a trip to Israel, the victim’s complaint said.

Who wants to murder Shaktimaan?

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Mumbai, June 04: India’s ‘superman’ Mukesh Khanna gets call saying he will be killed tomorrow; police provide protection

He may be Indian television’s first superhero — Shaktimaan — who brought baddies to task, but in real life Mukesh Khanna has little choice but to turn to the police for protection. After getting a life-threatening call, the actor filed a complaint at the Samata Nagar police station last night.

On Wednesday at 7.15 pm, Khanna received a call at his office in Thakur Complex. The call was answered by his manager Ramesh Pandya.

Afghan mulls talks with Taliban

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Kabul, June 04: Delegates to an Afghan peace conference worked to overcome differences Thursday over whether the government should negotiate with top Taliban leaders to seek an end to almost nine years of war.

The deliberations involve about 1,500 religious, tribal, provincial and other leaders picked by the government to advise President Hamid Karzai about the next steps to take to end the insurgency.

Woman sold for Rs 40,000

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Rohtak, June 04: A migrant woman, who was married to a Haryanvi youth last October, has accused her brother-in-law and his wife of selling her off to a Panipat resident for Rs 40,000.

Police registered a case against the couple late Wednesday evening, after the victim managed to reach her in-laws’ house in Lalitkhera village after escaping from the clutches of her captor.

Prostitutes in Football World Cup

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Brasilia, June 04: The World Cup fever has gripped even the prostitues in Rio de Janeiro, who launched a range of green-and-gold T-shirts emblazoned with raunchy football phrases.

“Eu jogo pelada” read one of the Portuguese-language slogans, playing on a phrase that means both “I play naked” and “I play football”.

“Put it in, Selecao!” went another exhortation to the Brazil side. In a further bit of innuendo, the numbers on the backs of the shirts were all 69.

Israel using ‘pirated’ footage to defend raid: Media body

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Jerusalem, June 04: The Israeli military’s YouTube site is using ‘pirated’ footage confiscated from journalists on board a Turkish vessel in a bid to defend its botched flotilla raid, a press body charged on Thursday.

“The Foreign Press Association (FPA) strongly condemns the use of photos and video material shot by foreign journalists, now being put out by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) spokesman’s office as ‘captured material’,” a statement from the organisation said.

Israel is the angel of death

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Istanbul, June 03: Tens of thousands gathered here today for prayers for activists killed in Israel’s deadly raid on aid ships bound for Gaza, condemning the Jewish state and shouting support for Hamas.

“Damn Israel! Israel is the angel of death!” chanted the crowd which overflowed the sprawling courtyard of the Fatih Mosque, waving Turkish and Palestinian flags.

The NTV news channel put the number of the mourners at between 15,000 and 20,000.

“We are all soldiers of Hamas,” the crowd shouted, referring to the Palestinian Islamist movement, which controls the Gaza Strip.

Does Islam allow wife beating?

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Respected scholars! Does Islam allow wife beating? Some husbands are violent and they say that the Qur’an allows them to beat their wives. Is there any logical explanation given regarding men being allowed to beat their wives, as stated in surat An-Nisa’, verse 34?

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear questioner, we would like to thank you for the great confidence you place in us, and we implore Allah Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work for His Sake.

Hadrat Fatima Zahra(A.S.)

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Hadrat Fatima Zahra (A.S.) the Leader of the Women in Paradise, The Daughter of the Holy Prophet of Islam (S.A.W.), The Holy Prophet of Islam’s Beloved and the Infallible Lady of Islam, The Mother of the Leaders of Youth of Paradise: Imam Hasan(A.S.) and Imam Husain(A.S.) was born on 20th Jamadi al-Thani five years after the revelation to the Holy Prophet of Islam(S.A.W.).

Qaeda threatens to kidnap Saudi royals

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Dubai, June 04: Al Qaeda has threatened to kidnap Saudi princes and ministers in order to secure the release of a female al Qaeda operative arrested by Saudi forces, al Arabiya television said on Thursday.

In an audiotape played on al Arabiya, an al Qaeda regional commander threatened “major operations” against the kingdom following the arrest of Haylah al-Qassir.

Qassir was believed to be responsible for recruiting women to the global militant group as well as handling money issues, the Arab satellite television channel said.

PC visit to Pak on 25 June

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New Delhi, June 04: With no visible follow-up from Islamabad on India’s repeated requests for custody, questioning and voice samples of the 26/11
conspirators on its soil, New Delhi has now decided to shift the focus back to its earlier list of Pakistan-based fugitives — featuring Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar and 1993 Mumbai blasts accused Dawood Ibrahim — and seek their handover without any further delay.

I plan to visit India in November

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Washington, June 04: US President Barack Obama said on Thursday he was “delighted” to announce that he will make his promised trip to India in early November, for the first time specifying a date for the visit.

The president was invited to make the trip by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he visited Washington for a state visit last year.

Obama is also expected to travel to South Korea in November for the G20 summit and to Japan for the APEC summit.

Kasab has approached HC to challenge death sentence

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Mumbai, June 04: All the stoicism that convicted Pakistani gunman Ajmal Amir Kasab displayed when he was sentenced to death by hanging for the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai seems to have dissipated. Within a month of the verdict, Kasab has approached the Bombay High Court to challenge the death sentence awarded to him by a special court on May 6.

Chhattisgarh police claim three Maoists killed

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Raipur, June 04: The Chhattisgarh Police claimed to have killed three Maoist rebels in a gunfight but failed to recover the bodies, an official said Thursday.

“There was an encounter with Maoists in a forested stretch in Bastar district Wednesday night and we found bloodstains at the gun battle site that suggest three rebels were killed,” Inspector General of Police (Bastar) T.J. Longkumer told IANS over phone.

But he admitted that police found no body and only one self-loading rifle, one rifle and a 12 bore gun at the site of the gun battle.

–IANS–

3 burgers a week enough to bring on asthma

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London, June 04: Children who love junk food and eat at least three burgers in a week are inviting asthma, says a latest research.

The study which was conducted on 50,000 children across 20 countries revealed that the risk of asthma, because of improper diet, is highest of all in better-off countries, express.co.uk reports.

The findings showed that youngsters who enjoy a healthy diet rich in fruit, fish and vegetables have the lowest risk to get affected by the disease.

Suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq member captured

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Baghdad, June 04: A suspected Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) member was captured on Thursday, U.S. Forces in Iraq said.

A joint operation between Iraqi Security Forces and U.S. advisors was carried out in west Mosul, conducting a vehicle stop to apprehend the suspected AQI member, who allegedly has extensive ties to Mosul’s AQI leadership.

Information and evidence gathered at the scene led Iraqi forces to identify and arrest the warranted AQI individual.

India, US to intensify anti-terror cooperation

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Washington, June 04: India and the US have agreed to intensify their anti-terror cooperation, deepen defence and security cooperation and expand trade and investment as they set out to shape a global partnership to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

“India is an indispensable responsible partner and a trusted friend,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday as the two countries concluded their first ever strategic dialogue encompassing counter-terrorism, defence, education, energy, agriculture and climate change.

Kristen Stewart faces criticism for rape remarks

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London, June 04: Hollywood actress Kristen Stewart is facing criticism from officials at a leading US charity after she compared press intrusion to rape.

The “Twilight” star compared stardom to being raped and her dislike about photographers and said: “The photos are so… I feel like I’m looking at someone being raped. A lot of the time I can’t handle it. I never expected that this would be my life,” reports contactmusic.com.

Her comments have sparked outrage in America.

US ‘committed’ to consider India for permanent UNSC seat

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Washington, June 04: The US has said it is “definitely committed to the consideration of India” as a permanent member of the UN Security Council as and when there is a forward movement on its reform.

“We don’t have any way forward yet on Security Council reform, but we are obviously very committed to considering India,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday at a joint press conference after the first ever US-India strategic dialogue here.

‘All out war’ may start at any moment: North Korea

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Geneva, June 04: The Korean Peninsula could see a war break out at any time owing to the deteriorated situation there, a North Korean diplomat told a UN forum Thursday.

“The present situation on the Korean Peninsula is so grave that a war may break out at any moment,” said Ri Jang Gon, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s envoy to the Conference on Disarmament.

The diplomat blamed South Korea and the US for aggravating the situation over the sinking of Seoul’s warship.

Hundreds protest atrocities against minorities in Pak

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London, June 04: Hundreds of demonstrators from India, Nepal and Tibet gathered outside the European Parliament in Brussels Thursday and protested against “atrocities against minorities in Pakistan and Afghanistan”.

The protest was not against the “people of Pakistan or Islam” but it was against the “incompetence of the Pakistani government to stop ill treatment of minorities”, Sanjay Groover, one of the organisers was quoted as saying by EuAsiaNews.

UN Security Council urges Iraqis to form new Govt.

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New York, June 04: The UN Security Council Thursday urged “all political entities” in Iraq to form a new government now that the country’s constitutional court has certified results of the March 7 parliamentary elections.

The council issued a statement read by its president, Mexican Ambassador Claude Heller, which called the elections an important step in Iraq’s political process to reaffirm its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

47 Croatian school kids injured in accident

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Belgrade, June 04: At least 47 elementary school children were critically injured when their bus skidded off the highway near Karlovac in Croatia, media reports said.

Hospital officials at Karlovac general hospital said four of the injured, including a teacher were critically injured and most of them were in a state of shock, Xinhua reported Thursday citing a statement from Croatian news agency Hina.

The students from Velika Gorica town, south of the Croatian capital of Zagreb, were heading toward the Adriatic coast on a school excursion.