Over 100 injured celebrating Diwali in Chandigarh

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Chandigarh, October 18: Nearly 100 cases of burns and other injuries, sustained during Diwali celebrations Saturday evening, were reported in Chandigarh hospitals, officials said Sunday.

“Around 35 cases were reported in the eye department here. Of these, 12 had sustained complete damage to their eyes,” said an official of the eye department of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here.

Over 50 cases of burns and other injuries were reported in the Government Hospital here in Sector 16, whereas over 20 patients came to Government Hospital in Sector 32.

Widow, two minor sons commit suicide in Haryana

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Jhajjar, October 18: A widow and her two minor sons committed suicide in a village in this Haryana district here Sunday, police said.

According to the police, Suman, who was in her mid-30s, and her two sons Yogesh and Parveen consumed some poisonous substance at their home and later died in the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science (PGIMS) in Rohtak. The family were residents of Nona-Majra village of this district.

RIL bonus, SBI’s gain push 10 wealthiest cos kitty

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Mumbai, October 18: It was possibly the Reliance effect that fired up stock markets last week, helping the top 10 listed companies post a net gain of Rs 55,000 crore, with more than a third of the addition coming from banking leader SBI.

The 10 most valued companies with a market capitalisation of over Rs 17.7 lakh crore accounted for about 30 per cent of the wealth created by over 4,000 listed entities at the Bombay Stock Exchange, information available with the bourses show.

PM briefs President Patil on internal security

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New Delhi, October 18: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called on President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan and discussed several issues with her, including internal security and food security, the President’s secretariat said on Sunday.

The meeting took place on Diwali Saturday. Both the leaders greeted each other on the occasion.

“They also discussed various issues of national and international importance, particularly internal security issues, agricultural production and food security,” the President’s secretariat said in a statement.

Abbas’s popularity dips over Gaza war report

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Gaza, October 18: Anger among Palestinians over Abbas’s original position on a Gaza war report critical of Israel has cost him public support in a rivalry with Hamas, a poll showed on Sunday.

The survey by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre (JMCC) indicated Abbas would receive 16.8 percent of the vote, with Hamas Islamist leader Ismail Haniyeh running neck-and-neck with 16 percent, if a presidential election was held now.

Autonomous body to look into broadcasting sector: Soni

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New Delhi, October 18: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni on Sunday categorically said the government is mandated to set up an independent mechanism, which would look at all aspects of the broadcasting sector.

Speaking on a programme, Soni specifically said the intention of the government was not to regulate television news channels.

Tata Daewoo ordered to recall 3,000 trucks in SKorea

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Seoul, October 18: South Korean authorities have ordered Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle, an Indian-controlled joint venture in Seoul, to recall around 3,000 trucks for safety reasons, officials said on Sunday.

The recall was due to a problem discovered in the auxiliary part of the steering system in Tata Daewoo trucks made from August 16, 2004 to the end of 2007, the transportation ministry said in a statement.

The recall affects 3,276 vehicles, the ministry said.

India not competing with China in Africa: Tharoor

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New York, October 18: India’s relationship with African countries is independent of China’s activities in the continent and competition with Beijing does not determine its policies for Africa, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has said.

“As far as we’re concerned, our relationship with the very many countries of Africa is independent of what China is doing there,” Tharoor said during his first official visit to New York.

Oral care should get priority in health policy: Vohra

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Srinagar, October 18: Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra has said the oral care needs to be accorded “high priority” in the state health policy and stressed that hospitals should be fully equipped with equipment and manpower to deal with dental cases.

“Oral health is a very important element of the overall health of an individual and whatever health policy is adopted by the State, oral health would need to be accorded high priority,” Vohra said inaugurating three-day 10th Jammu and Kashmir State and Inter-State Dental Conference here, yesterday.

One bad game costs us semifinal berth: Kumble

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Bangalore, October 18: Bangalore Royal Challengers captain Anil Kumble has rued that one bad game, against Victoria Bushrangers, did his side in as they crashed out of the Champions League Twenty20 in Bangalore.

Bangalore lost to Victoria in their first League B Super Eight match on Thursday and despite last night’s eight-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils, Kumble’s side were out of semifinal contention.

ISI trying to revive militancy in Punjab: DGP

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Patiala, October 18: Pakistani intelligence agency ISI is actively engaged in reviving militancy in Punjab by providing arms and money to extremists, a top police officer said today.

“The ISI has been providing arms and ammunition besides giving money and drugs to militants to revive militancy in the state,” Director General of Punjab Police Paramdeep Singh Gill told reporters here.

However, “we are self-equipped to defeat the malicious designs of ISI to spread unrest in the border state,” Gill said.

India to send evidence in 26/11 case to Pak

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Mumbai, October 18: Statements of key witnesses in the 26/11 case in an anti-terror court in Mumbai will be forwarded by India to Pakistan to be used as evidence in the trial there, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said in Mumbai on Sunday.

The court has allowed the prosecution’s plea for certified copies of the statements and within a day or two they will be forwarded to Pakistan through diplomatic channels, Nikam told PTI.

Arrest of cricketers in Bangalore shocks valley

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Srinagar, October 18:The arrest of two Kashmiri cricketers on suspicion of carrying explosives and their subsequent release has shocked cricket lovers here who say the players were harassed as they belonged to the valley.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) has demanded an apology from the Karnataka police and lodged a strong protest against the arrest of the two players in Bangalore where they had gone to participate in a national championship.

5 Revolutionary Guard commanders killed in Iran bomb

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Tehran,October 18: A suicide bomber killed five senior commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guard and at least 26 others in an area of southeastern Iran that has been at the center of a simmering Sunni insurgency, state media reported.

The official IRNA news agency said the dead included the deputy commander of the Guard’s ground force, Gen. Noor Ali Shooshtari, as well as a chief provincial Guard commander for the area, Rajab Ali Mohammadzadeh. The other dead were Guard members or local tribal leaders. More than two dozen others were wounded, state radio reported.

60 held from areas near Pakistani military HQ

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Rawalpindi, October 18:More than 60 suspicious people, among them numerous Afghans, were arrested Sunday during a search operation in areas near the Pakistani military headquarters, which was the scene of a hostage drama eight days ago.

Police sources told Online news agency on Sunday that more than 60 suspicious people have been arrested during search operation in the areas located near the headquarters.

Sniffer dogs were also used during the operation.

While a larger number of people were initially rounded, police released all those who had identity cards and other documents.

Blues beat Somerset, make it to semi-final

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Hyderabad, October 18:New South Wales Blues stormed into the semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 with a thumping six-wicket victory over Somerset here Sunday.

Somerset, put in to bat, could make only 111 for seven in 20 overs, thanks largely to vital contributions from the lower order after the top five caved in for 44 runs.

In reply, New South Wales got an explosive start through David Warner, who smashed 40 off just 16 balls that included six fours and two sixes.

Farooq seeks probe into detention of cricketers

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Jammu, October 18: A day after two cricketers from Jammu and Kashmir were detained and questioned in Bangalore, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy and president of the state cricket body Farooq Abdullah called for a probe in the matter.

Talking to mediapersons in Jammu on Sunday afternoon, Abdullah, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), said: “The entire blame cannot be laid on the Karnataka Police, for they were fed with wrong information by some people from here.”

Bollywood star Manisha Koirala set to join Nepal politics?

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Kathmandu: Bollywood’s actress Manisha Koirala has made a high-profile visit to the memorial of her grandfather B P Koirala, the first elected Prime Minister of Nepal, fuelling speculation that the Nepali beauty was set to join politics.

Manisha visited BP Memorial Museum in eastern Kathmandu accompanied by her mother Sushma and father Prakash Koirala, who is in political wilderness after serving in the dethroned king Gyanendra’s last cabinet.

Singareni Collieries to set up 600 MW plant in Telangana

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Hyderabad, October 18 : The state-owned Singareni Collieries will set up a 600 MW power plant at a cost of Rs.2,700 crore (Rs.27 billion) in Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh.

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah, who will shortly lay the foundation stone
for the project to come up in the backward Telangana region, Sunday said the plant was expected to be completed by December 2012.

According to him, the project would not only give an impetus to the growth of Telangana, but also help the state bridge its power deficit to a large extent.

Azad asks rich nations to help more in health sector

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New Delhi, October 18: Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Sunday urged the developed countries to invest more in areas of population control and family planning in the developing countries despite global financial crisis.

“The global economic downturn….in most developed countries, has had a significant impact on the availability of resources with international aid agencies in the health sector, such as the Global Fund, the World Bank, etc.,” Azad said at the ongoing 5th Asia Pacific Conference on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Beijing.

At least one civilian killed, nine injured in Iraq bomb blast

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Baghdad, October 18:At least one civilian was killed and nine were injured when a bomb blast tore through a parking lot in the central Iraqi city of Iskandariya Sunday, police said.

The blast in the city roughly 100 km south of Baghdad destroyed many surrounding shops and cars, police told DPA.

The region had mostly been quiet in recent months, though the area remains the site of sporadic, deadly attacks.

A bomb planted in a cemetery in the town Sep 20 killed one person and injured four family members.

30 people fall ill after eating ‘prasad’

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Ara (Bihar), October 18: Thirty people were taken ill, 12 of them seriously, after eating ‘prasad’ at a Lakshmi Puja at Banauli village in Bihar’s Bhojpur district in Bihar today, police said.

The 12 people seriously ill were rushed to Ara sadar hospital.

Police said that a team of doctors had been sent to the affected village to ascertain the cause of the food poisoning.

–Agencies

One surrenders in murder case; MLA absconding

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Tikamgarh (MP), October 18: Following a court order, the chief of a civic body today surrendered before the police at Prithvipur here in connection with a BJP leader’s murder case, in which a Congress MLA is one of the accused.

Prithvipur Nagar panchayat president, Sanjay Kashgar, was arrested after he surrendered before police in connection with the murder of BJP leader and Chandrapura village Sarpanch, Ambika Prasad Babele, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) S K Pandey told PTI.

Cleared by India, but US military plane may leave only Monday

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Mumbai, October 18:The chartered US military aircraft which was detained for over six hours Sunday and finally cleared to leave around 3 p.m., may only leave Monday owing to certain procedural issues, airport sources revealed.

The aircraft, which was ordered to land by the Indian Air Force (IAF) after a discrepancy in its call sign (identification), was cleared by all the relevant Indian departments and security agencies Sunday afternoon.

India may release Rs 5 bn to Sri Lanka if needed: PC

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Chennai, OCtober 18: The Indian government is ready to release Rs.500 crore (Rs.5 billion) to Sri Lanka if needed for the rehabilitation of Tamils affected by the internal strife there, union Home Minister P Chidambaram said here on Sunday.

“The Indian government has already announced financial assistance of Rs.500 crore for the rehabilitation of the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees. We are ready to sanction a similar amount if needed,” he told reporters.