Nepal police arrest ‘mastermind’ of 2001 royal massacre

by

Kathmandu, August 07: A 65-year-old man, who claimed to have plotted the 2001 royal massacre that left the then Nepalese King Birendra Shah and nine members of his family dead, has been arrested by police.

Tul Prasad Sherchan was arrested from a guest house at Sundhara in the Nepalese capital last night, Superintendent of Police, Nawaraj Silwal, said.

Sherchan, who called himself the former “chief of the Royal Bureau of Intelligence”, had claimed at a press conference on Wednesday that he was the mastermind behind the palace massacre.

Zaheer to miss intl cricket till end of this year

by

New Delhi, August 07: Indian cricket team today suffered a major jolt as injured pace spearhead Zaheer Khan was ruled out of international cricket till the end of this year during which he will miss four major tournaments, including the Champions Trophy.

BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan announced today that Zaheer, who suffered a shoulder injury while playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL-II in South Africa earlier this year, will be able to resume cricket only by the end of this year as he underwent a surgery last month and is rehabilitating in the African nation.

Murali: A fine actor leaves the arena

by

Thiruvananthapuram, August 07: National award winning actor Murali, who died last night leaving a void in the Malayalam filmdom and theatre, can be best described as an “aggressive” personality, both on and off the screen.

Murali, known for his belligerence in matters concerning art, had immortalised several characters on the stage and screen.

“I am a person with vigorous hates and more vigorous love,” Murali once said.

‘Israel policies harming Israel-US ties’

by

Jerusalem, August 07: A senior Israeli diplomat in the United States has said Israel’s policies toward Washington are causing damage to strategic ties with its closes ally.

The blistering attack was launched by Israel’s consul-general in Boston Nadav Tamir who sent a blunt and extremely critical letter about Israel’s policies toward the US to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

Tamir’s three-page letter was entitled “Sad passing thoughts on Israeli-US relations”, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 10 television on Thursday.

Bangladesh recalls Army officers sacked by BNP: Report

by

Dhaka, August 07: The Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina has started recalling armed forces officers who were sacked by the previous government on “political considerations”, a report has said.

The private Bdnews24 news agency quoting parliamentary standing committee member on defence ministry, Idris Ali MP said a list of “victimised” officers was sent to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last month as she ordered their reinstatement “after thorough investigation”.

Baghdad bomb attacks claim 5, injure 18

by

Iraq, August 07: A series of bomb attacks aimed at Shia pilgrims have claimed the lives of four people and left 18 others wounded in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

According to an Iraqi interior ministry official, a roadside bomb at the entrance to Baghdad’s sprawling Sadr City ripped through a bus, killing three and injuring eight pilgrims returning from the shrine city of Karbala in central Iraq, AFP reported on Friday.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, further added that the incident took place around 9:00 am (0600 GMT).

UK hunts for hundreds of ‘bogus’ foreign students

by

London, August 07: : The government is trying to locate hundreds of foreign students who are living in Britain after coming to the UK to study at bogus colleges, a news report said on Friday.

Amid stepped up pressure from the opposition Conservative Party, the authorities are trying to hunt for nearly 4,000 foreign students who are living in the country after arriving to study at bogus colleges, whose licences have been revoked by the government, The Independent newspaper reported.

I am not solely answerable: Younis

by

Karachi, August 07: The frustration of defeats in Sri Lanka and the subsequent allegations of match-fixing and discord in the team are telling on Pakistan captain Younis Khan, who feels all the players should take responsibility for the current turmoil.

“I am not solely answerable for the team’s poor performance. Every player must take responsibility for the team and I can’t tolerate losing without a proper fight,” Younis said in an interview to the ‘Express’.

Pathmanathan — Man who controlled LTTE’s global network

by

Colombo, August 07: From his secret hideouts in South East Asia, Selvarasa Pathmanathan better known as ‘KP’ controlled a global network that supplied weapons to the now vanquished LTTE which doggedly fought for a Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka till recently.

Kumaran Pathmanathan, a close confidant of slain LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, is wanted by Interpol in connection with several cases, including the assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Egypt extends operation of Rafah border

by

Cairo, August 07: : Egypt has extended the operation of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip which opened on Monday in view of the growing number of Palestinians wishing to leave or enter the Hamas-controlled enclave.

The crossing remained open today as large numbers of people were seeking passage to Egypt.

Egyptian officials say additional employees have been sent to Rafah to deal with the large numbers of Palestinians seeking entry to Egypt, while more ambulance and doctors were made available to examine patients wishing to travel to hospitals.

CA picks nominees for ICC Umpires Panel

by

London, August 07: Rodney Tucker, Bruce Oxenford and Paul Reiffel were today retained as Cricket Australia’s nominees for the ICC International Umpires Panel for 2009-10.

Steve Davis, Daryl Harper and Simon Taufel remain on the ICC Elite Panel, contracted directly to the governing body.

Apart from this, the CA Umpire High Performance Panel has appointed two new faces to the 12-member National Umpires Panel, with Gerard Abood and Geoff Joshua replacing Peter Parker (retired) and Andrew Craig).

Satyam, Raju owe government Rs 541 cr in income tax dues

by

New Delhi, August 07: The government on Friday said IT firm Satyam Computer Services, its founder B Ramalinga Raju and his family-promoted firm Maytas Group along with its other group companies owe Rs 541 crore in income-tax dues.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance SS Palanimanickam said, “As of now, the outstanding demand pending for recovery in the entire group is Rs 541 crore.”

Out of the total dues, Satyam Computer, which has now been re-branded as Mahindra Satyam, alone owes a hefty Rs 532 crore to the income-tax department.

Tata Power lines up Rs 23,600-cr capex over next 3 yrs

by

Mumbai, August 07: Private utility Tata Power on Thursday said it has planned a capital expenditure of Rs 23,600 crore for the next three years to expand its generation capacity.

The company, which has so far installed 2,875 MW of capacity, currently has projects to the tune of 10,000 MW in different stages of development, Chairman Ratan Tata said.

“Our capex over (next) three years is 23,600 crore, both debt and equity,” Tata told shareholders at the company’s Annual General Meeting here. This includes Rs 1,500 crore raised through a GDR issue last month, he said.

Smoking linked to dementia

by

London, August 07: Middle-aged smokers are 70 percent more likely to develop dementia than those who don’t smoke, a new study has warned, prompting experts to advise regular physical and mental exercises.

The study published in Britain’s Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry says people who smoke, have high blood pressure or diabetes massively increase their risk of developing dementia.

Under-55s who smoke increase their risk five-fold, and smokers aged between 46 and 70 have a 70 percent higher risk of developing chronic memory loss, according to the study.

Ponting looks forward to Aussie friendly Headingley

by

Melbourne, August 07: Desperate to salvage their Ashes tour, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is hoping to win the fourth Test at Headingley, where he has scored two centuries and his side has not lost a Test in the last 34 years.

Ponting is hoping that result-oriented Headingley will continue to be lucky ground for them as they look to cancel the 1-0 lead, England got by winning the Lord’ Test.

“Of all the venues in England, I’m glad we’re playing the fourth Test at Headingley because I believe it presents us with a great chance to level the series.

MSU to offer postgraduate course in Pharmacogenomics

by

Chandigarh, August 07: M S University (MSU) has decided to introduce a post-graduate degree course in Pharmacogenomics from the next academic year. Pharmacogenomics is a new branch of pharmacology that studies the influence of genetic variation on drug response on patients.

MSU has received the seed money from the Centre under the 11th Five-Year Plan to start the course in Pharmacogenomics and Clinical Research.

Coal India seeks coal price hike

by

New Delhi, August 07: Navratna PSU Coal India on Friday sought a hike in coal prices on the back of a decline in its retained earnings.

“Coal India has reported a sharp drop in retained earnings because of wage built annual impact. A profit of Rs 300 crore on a turnover of Rs 45,000 crore is low. We see the scope for moderate increase in coal prices,” Coal India CMD P S Bhattacharya told reporters here.

He further said there is no shortage of coal for the thermal power plants.

Eng team evacuated after a fire alert in their hotel

by

London, August 07: The England cricket team’s hotel was evacuated in the early hours Friday following a fire alarm, forcing the players to stand outside in heavy rain.

The players and staff were forced to wait outside the Radisson SAS Hotel in Leeds, northern England, hours ahead of the planned start of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at Headingley.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said the England team’s preparations for the five-day match were “disrupted” by the incident.

Sensex plunges by 181 pts in early trade on Asian cues

by

Mumbai, August 07: Continuing its losing streak for the second consecutive session, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday fell by 181 points in opening trade on selling by foreign funds and retail investors, tracking other weak Asian markets.

The 30-share index, which had lost nearly 390 points, or 2.45 percent in yesterday’s highly volatile session, lost another 181.16 points, or 1.16 percent at 15,332.87.

Similarly, the Nifty index on the wide-based National Stock Exchange fell by 50.85 points, or 1.10 percent at 4,534.65.

Ludhiana woman ‘molested’ near Mohali

by

Ludhiana, August 07: Two youths waylaid and assaulted a motorcycle-borne man and allegedly molested the female pillion rider on the busy Mohali-Kharar stretch on Wednesday evening when the two were on their way to Chandigarh.

In his complaint to the police, Sandeep Singh, in his mid-20s, said around 6 pm on Wednesday when he was riding to Chandigarh with Prabhjot Kaur, a resident of Ludhiana, the youths parked motorcycles and blocked their way.

PCB takes legal advice on match-fixing allegations

by

Karachi, August 07: In the wake of allegations of match-fixing in Pakistan’s ongoing tour of Sri Lanka by former chief selector of the PCB Abdul Qadir, Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the Pakistan board, has sought legal advice on the means to tackle such unsubstantiated accusations.

‘We are discussing the matter with our lawyers on how some senior players came up with allegations without any proof,” Butt told AFP, without naming Qadir. “This is not on and not acceptable.”

NHPC IPO fully subscribed in an hour

by

Mumbai, August 07: The much-awaited initial public offer of state-run NHPC allured investors and was fully subscribed within an hour of the opening of the issue on Friday.

The NHPC IPO, which is the first stake sale by a PSU company in the last one and a half years, received bids for 175.81 crore shares as against 167.73 crore shares on offer.

The issue got subscribed 1.05 times as on 1100 hrs, as per data available on the National Stock Exchange.

Bank employees to call off strike today: Pranab

by

New Delhi, August 07: PSU bank employees are expected to call off their strike on Friday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha. “The bank strike is expected to be called off today. I am being told that talks are on between the bank associations and worker unions,” he said replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour.

Banking operations across the country have been impacted severely with employees of public sector banks going on a two-day strike yesterday demanding wage revision.

–Agencies

26/11 trial: Kasab wants to plead guilty to all charges

by

Mumbai, August 07: About three weeks after his surprise confession, Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the prime accused in the 26/11 terror attacks, today told the court that he wanted to plead guilty to all the charges framed against him.

The judge M L Tahaliyani, however, told Kasab to discuss his plea with his lawyer and inform the court.

Kasab had pleaded guilty in the court on July 20, but had accepted only some of the charges. The court had accepted his partial “admission of guilt” and decided to continue with the trial.