Thailand’s explosion wounds at least 24

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Bangkok, October 19: A bomb attack Monday on a crowded market in Thailand’s troubled south wounded 24 people.
At least 24 people have been wounded after a bomb exploded on a crowded market in Thailand, according to authorities.

The attack on Monday morning was in front of the market in Yala town in troubled south. The bomb was hidden in a motorcycle.

The southern region, comprised of the three provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwas, and some parts of Songkla, was an autonomous Malay Muslim sultanate before predominantly Buddhist Thailand annexed it in 1902.

Westwood ends two-year title with Portugal Masters win

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Vilamoura, October 19: England’s Ryder Cup star Lee Westwood shot a six under par final round 66 to win the Portugal Masters on Sunday, claiming his first European Tour title for over two years.

Westwood, the world number 11, finished 23 under for the tournament, two ahead of Italy’s Francesco Molinari.

Triple Major winner Padraig Harrington was third on 19 under following a 67, while overnight leader Retief Goosen of South Africa slumped with a 75.

US officials in Pakistan to discuss clampdown on militants

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Washington, October 19: Head of the US Central Command, Gen David Petraeus, has arrived in Islamabad for talks with Pakistani commanders about an ongoing offensive against militants in Waziristan.

Furthermore US Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday on a two-day visit to the country where a wave of militant attacks has killed more than 175 people during two weeks.

Yemeni govt. claims: 44 Houthi fighters killed

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Sanaa, October 19: At least 44 Houthi fighters have been killed near the Yemen-Saudi border in a series of air strikes by the Yemen Army, a senior government official says.

The Houthi fighters, however, claimed that the Yemeni army has killed civilians and not the fighters during Sunday’s attacks.

According to Yemen’s deputy interior minister, Mohammed Abdelallah al-Qawsi, 27 of the 44 Houthi fighters had been killed by an air strike on a hideout of fighters in an abandoned hospital in the small town of Razeh.

Obama ‘beginning’ war in Afghanistan from ‘scratch’

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Washington, October 19: An adviser to US president Barack Obama says Washington is “beginning” from “scratch” the war in Afghanistan, which he says the Bush administration had set “adrift.”

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said on Sunday that former US president George W. Bush had failed to ask key questions regarding the war in Afghanistan.

“The president [Obama] is asking the questions that have never been asked on the civilian side, the political side, the military side and the strategic side,” Emanuel told CNN’s State of the Union.

Report: US upgrading military bases in Afghanistan

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Washington, October 19: While Washington is weighing its options on sending more troops to Afghanistan, the US army is spending billions of dollars on upgrading its bases in the war-torn country.

The Washington Post said on Sunday that the US military has wanted to spend 1.3 billion dollars on more than one-hundred military projects across Afghanistan.

Based on the report, 30 million dollars of the money will be spent on the main US base located near the northern Afghan city of Bagram.

Ronaldinho double lifts Milan

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Rome, October 19: Ronaldinho inspired AC Milan to only their third win of the season with a come-from-behind 2-1 success against AS Roma at the San Siro on Sunday.

While the first half in Milan belonged to Roma’s French winger Jeremy Menez, it was Ronaldinho who starred after the break, scoring one and creating the other – and quite possibly saving countryman Leonardo’s job as coach.

The result moved Milan up to eighth in the Serie A table with Roma dropping to 11th.

And yet Roma, and Menez in particular, tore Milan apart in the first half.

Another package to stimulate US job market?

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Washington, October 19: Despite being in an almost-12-trillion-dollar debt, US President Barack Obama may propose another stimulus package to create jobs and whether the recession-hit economy.

Senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett said on Sunday that Obama was considering all options available to him to tackle unemployment, which currently stands at 9.8%.

LEAVE THEM ALONE!

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WAJID kHAN

Of late, it has become a fashion to follow the western culture indiscriminately without giving it a second thought that what are the merits (if any) and demerits of it. Our Indian society is divided in two sections. One is where all the sins and misdeeds are forgotten and forgiven whether either a man or woman commits it.

Real’s Kaka poised to remind Milan what they lost

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Milan, October 19: AC Milan will be given a stark reminder of their current plight when they come face to face with former talisman Kaka in Wednesday’s Champions League game at Real Madrid (1845 GMT).

The clash between nine-times winners Real and seven-times champions Milan is a highlight of the third set of group games in which holders Barcelona also hosting Russia’s Rubin Kazan.

Liverpool’s home encounter with Olympique Lyon is another standout given the English side’s recent poor form.

CL flop: IPL teams had ‘no time to prepare and bond’

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New Delhi, October 19: With the three IPL teams – Deccan Chargers, RCB and Delhi Daredevils – getting knocked out in the Champions League, the event has lost a lot of zing and popularity stakes.

Critics are now also questioning the standard of the lucrative IPL which is part of the Indian domestic calendar. Has the Champions League exposed IPL in some ways?

Masakadza hits 178 as Zimbabwe beats Kenya 4-1

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Harare, October 19 : Hamilton Masakadza hit a career-best 178 not out while pace bowler Chris Mpofu took 3-44 to lead Zimbabwe to a 142-run victory over Kenya on Sunday to complete a 4-1 win in their one day series.

Man-of-the-series Masakadza’s previous best was 156 when the two African sides met in the first match last Monday.

Opener Masakadza faced 167 balls and struck 17 boundaries and five sixes at the Harare Sports Club, putting on 127 for the first wicket with Forster Mutizwa (55) as Zimbabwe posted a challenging 329-3.

NSW seal semifinal berth with crushing win

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Hyderabad, October 19: Stuart Clark did the spadework and David Warner then set the tone of the chase as New South Wales crushed Somerset by six wickets with 8.1 overs to spare to book a semifinal berth in the Champions League Twenty20 here on Saturday.

Clark (3/15) and his bowling colleagues first restricted Somerset to an unflattering 111 for seven and Warner (40 off 16 balls) then came down hard on the English side as NSW cruised to 112 in 11.5 overs, losing four wickets and recording a thumping victory that earned them a semifinal berth.

Trinidad & Tobago in semis after another solid show

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Hyderabad, October 19: Adrian Barath (63) led a stunning power-hitting show as Trinindad & Tobago breezed into the semifinals of the Champions League after pipping Diamond Eagles by 24 runs in a high scoring League A match here on Sunday.

The unbeaten Caribbean side rattled up 213 for four, highest score of the tournament, and left Diamond Eagles with an almost impossible task of achieving the target in 14.2 overs to qualify for the next stage.

Unlike Bebo, no Yoga for Karisma

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Mumbai, October 19: Her younger sister Kareena is known for her obsession with yoga, but actress Karisma Kapur, who is a mother of one and is expecting a second, says she prefers the “gym and a walk”, unlike her sibling.

“Kareena is the yoga endorser of our family. She gets after us to do yoga. But I am not so much into it as she is. She has really taken to it and it’s a great form of exercise, but I prefer the gym,” said Karisma .

Bipasha, sans limelight

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Mumbai, October 19: Bipasha Basu doesn’t believe in being in the limelight all the time. The actress says, “I always keep a low profile when I don’t have a film up for release. I talk to the media when a movie is about to release because I don’t really know what can I talk about otherwise. You are either working or travelling. Then you also have your personal life. I don’t go for parties, so I am not really visible on the social scene either. We actors can’t be available 24X7 when we are working. I can’t be multitasking at work because I am already doing that at home.

Kat didn’t like Sallu’s dress

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Mumbai, October 19: Here’s one man who knows how to win the hearts of women, be it by taking off his shirt or by going the extra mile to make them feel special! And this time, when Salman Khan came to the city, he held a screening of his forthcoming movie, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna, exclusively for women.

“I respect women and the screening was a different experience altogether. It was a lot of fun,” he said. Watching the movie along with him were Sohail Khan, Sajid-Wajid, Sanjana Jon and Prem Soni, the director of the flick.

Four killed in south Russia attacks

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Moscow, October 19: Four militants were killed in two separate gun battles in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus while bombs went off in both the capital of a third region and under a gas pipeline, Russian news agencies reported on Monday.

Violence has surged in the South Russian regions with the latest violence in three of the most volatile, Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia, raising questions about the Kremlin’s ability to keep control of the mainly Muslim area.

Pakistan denies Iran bomb link

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Islamabad, October 19: Pakistan has condemned a suicide bomb attack in Iran and denied suggestions from the Iranian president that “some security agents” in Pakistan were cooperating with the bombers.

Iranian state television said 42 people were killed in Sunday’s attack on the elite Revolutionary Guards in the country’s volatile southeast.

“Pakistan is not involved in terrorist activities … we are striving to eradicate this menace,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told the Daily Times newspaper on Sunday.

Basit was not available for comment on Monday.

Al Qaeda recruiting from Europe, US

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Washington, October 19: Taliban and al-Qaida seem to have quietly expanded their recruiting base from South and Central Asia to European nations like Germany, UK and France and even to the US, with many of the new recruits travelling to Pakistan and Afghanistan for terror training.

The Washington Post in a major article on Monday said the new target countries are now struggling to stop their nationals from being recruited by al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and have not been able to much headway.

Maoists regrouping in Andhra Pradesh!

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Hyderabad, October 19: The CPI (Maoist) documents found by the Special Intelligence Branch reveals that the top Maoist leadership is concentrating on reviving the movement in Andhra Pradesh. Maoists have decided to set up more guerrilla zones and transfer guerrilla zones in the base areas and red resistance zones. The SIB of the state police which was involved in anti-naxal operations in several states is among the top targets of the Maoists, officials said.

Iran blames Pak for bombing, promises action

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Iran, October 19: Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday evening blamed elements in Pakistan for the bombing that killed five senior commanders of the powerful Revolutionary Guard and at least 37 others near the Pakistani border in the heartland of a potentially escalating Sunni insurgency.

Ahmadinejad called on Pakistan to apprehend those responsible for the attack. Iranian officials said the Sunni resistance group, Jundullah was responsible for the attack and its leadership was based in Pakistan. Pakistan however rejected the claim.

In Hyderabad, traffic starts flowing on India’s longest flyover

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Hyderabad, October 19: Access to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, about 30 km from the city, is set to become smoother and faster with India’s longest flyover being thrown open to traffic Monday.

The 11.633 km long PVNR Expressway, named after former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, connects the Mehdipatnam area in the city to the Hyderabad-Bangalore national highway (NH 7) en route to the international airport.

No change in Pakistan’s attitude to terror: Tharoor

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Washington, October 19: India sees no change in Pakistan’s attitude towards jihadists, noting that Islamabad was yet to take credible action either to bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks to justice or to dismantle the “infrastructure of terror”.

“Now, this sort of thing does worry us. We want to see some really clear and firm action,” said India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor Sunday on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” programme.

Situation in Pak very serious: Antony

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New Delhi, October 19: Warning that the situation in Pakistan is “very serious”, Defence Minister A K Antony today said terrorism is “spreading” in that country and asserted that India is prepared to meet any challenge from Taliban militants.

“The situation in Pakistan is very serious and terrorism is spreading,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Territorial Army Day parade here.