Second strike in 24 hours: 10 die in Peshawar

In the second major terror attack in Pakistan in 24 hours, three blasts at a crowded bazar and a police checkpoint killed at least 10 people and injured 100 others in Peshawar on Thursday, the police said. Two terrorists were also killed by securitymen in a crossfire that lasted for hours.

“Two blasts ripped through Kissa Khuwani Bazar within minutes of each other,” a police official told this newspaper over the telephone.

On Wednesday, a bomb blast killed at least 35 people and injured over 250 others near the office of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence in Lahore. The Taliban later claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s Lahore attack, saying it was to avenge the Pakistan Army’s operations in Malakand and Swat.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

Slum stars saved by Danny-Tata trust

Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle plays with the film’s child star Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (10) as the other child star, Rubina Ali (9), stands by at a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday. Rubina and Azharuddin lost their homes this month as the authorities cleared out parts of Garib Nagar slum, where they live.

The two child actors from the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire are to get permanent homes after their shantytown dwellings were demolished, AFP quoted officials as saying on Wednesday.

They said Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson, who set up a trust for the slumdwellers, on Wednesday asked officials of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, who manage the trust, to fund the new homes.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

Mamata’s gift to poor: Rs 20 per month rail pass

Trinamul Congress president Mamata Banerjee, in an unusual move, assumed charge as railway minister on Tuesday not at her New Delhi Rail Bhavan office but at the headquarters of the Eastern Railway at Kolkata’s Fairlie Place — a stone’s throw away from Writers’ Buildings, seat of the state’s Left Front government in West Bengal.

Keeping an earlier promise, Ms Banerjee announced special Rs 20 monthly passes for all those with a monthly income below Rs 500. “This is for small vendors, labourers and other poor people who cannot afford tickets and regular passes. The railways will give them economic freedom to travel by train,” she said.

She also announced a new train for West Bengal, named Kandari Express after the famous poem by Nazrul Islam, whose birth anniversary fell Tuesday. It will run daily between Howrah and Digha in a month’s time.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

White Ribbon bags top prize at Cannes

Austrian director Michael Haneke’s sombre black-and-white drama the White Ribbon, a account of a German village in the build-up to World War I walked away with the Palme d’Or for the Best Film at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Haneke beat off competition from French director Jacques Audiard’s Prophet, Jane Campion’s period drama Bright Star, Pedro Almodovar’s Broken Embraces and Quentin Tarantino’s World War II film Inglourious Basterds to win the top prize on Sunday night in a gala award ceremony. The Austrian helmer, who had won the best director prize at Cannes in 2005 for his French film Cache (Hidden), examines themes of communal guilt, distrust and punishment among residents of a small German village on the eve of World War I through his brilliantly crafted 20th century drama.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com/

Top Naxal killed in Andhra encounter

Two top Maoists, including the extremists’ central committee member Patel Sudhakar Reddy were killed in an encounter with the police in Tadwai forests in the district on Sunday morning.

Reddy, also member of the Maoists’ central military commission, carried a Rs 12 lakh reward on his head and was said to have plotted some of the biggest attacks in the country.

Reddy alias Suryam had masterminded the assassination attempts on the then chief minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, near Tirupati in November 2004 and the former chief minister, Mr N. Janardhan Reddy, in Nellore last year.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

Top Tiger is cremated, India seeks certificate

The Sri Lankan military cremated LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his senior lieutenants on Wednesday at the same place where their bodies were found by the Army — at a lagoon in the battle zone — the previous day.

“We cremated his body yesterday in the same place. All the other LTTE leaders who were killed along with him were also cremated there at the same time,” the military spokesman, Brig.Udaya Nanayakkara, told this newspaper here.

Asked if the Tiger chief’s remains were subjected to a DNA test to establish his identity beyond doubt, he said, “Our doctors may have taken some blood samples, but we feel there is no need for any DNA testing because there is absolutely no doubt it’s him.”

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

Naveen oath for third term as Chief Minister today

Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik will be sworn in as chief minister of Orissa on Thursday. This will be his third term in power in a row.

Mr Patnaik met governor M.C. Bhandare for 25 minutes at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday to stake claim to form the new government.

“I have been invited by the governor to form the government,” Mr Patnaik said. He said the swearing-in ceremony will take place at around 11.30 am on Thursday. Mr Patnaik held talks with senior party leaders at his residence on ministry formation.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

New ministry Friday, Rahul might not join

AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who led the Congress’ Lok Sabha election campaign from the front, has “made up his mind” on the issue of “whether or not” to join the government. “Rahulji will take a final decision after consulting Soniaji and Dr Manmohan Singh,” wellplaced sources in the party indicated on Tuesday night.

“I have made up my mind ... You will soon come to know,” Mr Rahul Gandhi told a few reporters on Tuesday. But he was evasive when questioned further about his mind on this issue. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has stated that he is keen to have the young leader in his Cabinet. But, if insiders are to be believed, the young Gandhi is unlikely to join the government at this time. A TV channel, too, quoted Mr Rahul Gandhi as saying, “I have made up my mind not to join and you will shortly come to know.”

He was greeted by newly elected MPs at the meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) on Tuesday.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

Tigers Extinct

Velupillai Prabhakaran, the ruthless LTTE supremo who led a bloody movement for over three decades for a separate Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, was killed on Monday by the Sri Lankan Army, ending a saga of militancy that devoured over 70,000 lives, including Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa and former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Prabhakaran, 54, was shot dead by Sri Lankan special forces as he tried to stage a dramatic breakout from the Army encirclement, a military spokesman said. “We have successfully ended the war,” Sri Lanka defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse told the President in a nationally televised ceremony. “Now the entire country is declared rid of terrorism,” the Army Chief, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, said, declaring an end to all combat operations in the northern war zone.

The news of Prabhakaran’s death also came along with reports of bodies of his son Charles Anthony and three other top leaders — Pottu Amman, Soosai and Nadesan — being found.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

Bengal CPM scared of 2011 Karat effect

Apprehending possible flareups if not a full-scale revolt, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat has decided to cancel the party’s scheduled central committee meeting on Monday and decided to wrap up proceedings after holding only the politburo meeting. The signal sent by the party on Sunday is that “policy issues do not require consultations”, which means in other words that Mr Karat is in no mood to allow politburo members effect to question his decisions, sources said.

The anger within the party’s powerful West Bengal unit became evident on Sunday when chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee indicated that he would not be coming to New Delhi on Monday to attend the politburo meeting. As for the central committee meeting, which was to follow the politburo session, a committee member said they were told the meeting had been “temporarily deferred”.

At Sunday’s meeting ofthe four Left parties here, representatives of both the CPI and the RSP questioned Mr Karat’s electoral decisions.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

Monsoon to hit Kerala May 26

Southwest monsoon, lifeline for the country’s over 200 million farmers, is expected to set over Kerala on May 26, five days ahead of the normal onset, the weather office said on Thursday. The annual monsoon rains are expected to reach the Andaman Seas around May 20, a delay of five days, but forecast models indicate a rapid advance leading to an early onset in Kerala.

The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted that the southwest monsoon will set in over Kerala on May 26. According to the weathermen, the monsoon will be reasonably strong this time and is likely to provide bountiful rains.

“Our predictions are based on a statistical model and the onset can be four days before or four days after May 26,” said director-incharge of the IMD Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Mr K. Santhosh.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

Nepal changes Pashupati rules

Ending the centuries-old monopoly of South Indian brahmins, Nepal’s government has issued a regulation enabling Nepalese citizens and others to become priests, including chief priest, of the famed Pashupatinath Temple here, one of Hinduism’s eight holiest shrines.

The regulation issued by the ministry of culture and state restructure allows any qualified person to become a priest irrespective of nationality, sources at the Pashupati Area Development Trust said. Now anyone, including Nepalese and Indian nationals, can apply for the jobs.

Local religious activists, however, said the decision was “illegal and impractical”.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

World’s oldest woman dies at 130 after fall

The world’s oldest woman has died at the age of 130 after slipping in the bathroom of her new flat gifted by Kazakhstan authorities.

Sakhan Dosova never recovered from her fall which broke her hip slipping on the bathroom floor of her new flat gifted to her by local authorities who had found her living in woeful conditions.

In an interview she had said: “I don’t have any special secret. I’ve never taken pills and if I was ill, I used. The recent census in the city of Karaganda brought her into limelight after the authorities discovered her date of birth was officially registered as 27 March 1879, Daily Mail reported.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

Iran releases United States journalist

An American journalist jailed for five months in Iran was freed on Monday and reunited with her parents after an appeals court suspended her eight-year prison sentence on charges of spying for the US.

Roxana Saberi, a 32 year-old dual Iranian American citizen, met her parents outside Evin prison on Monday evening after the court cut her jail term to a two year suspended sentence, her lawyers said. While they awaited her release, her mother, in a headscarf, smiled while her father looked overcome with emotion.

“She was reunited with her father and mother. They left for their house,” her lawyer Saleh Nikbakht said. He said, Ms Saberi was free to leave Iran immediately.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

I am fighting for self-respect: Varun

BJP’s latest Hindutva poster boy and Lok Sabha candidate from Pilibhit, Varun Gandhi, in his public meetings stated that he will not watch like an eunuch while his people are being attacked. Mr Gandhi claimed that he was fighting for the “swabhimaan”(self respect) of his people. At the same time he clarified that he was not anti-minorities and was a staunch nationalist. Speaking at one such rally in Abhaypur village in his constituency, “People of Pilibhit know there is no place for violence here... but that does not mean that if anyone attacks our people, we will stand on one side and watch the drama like eunuchs. In this election, the patriots — be a Hindu, Sikh or Muslim — will be respected. I can get myself beheaded for this, but will not allow your heads to hang in shame,” he stated.

Mr Gandhi exhorted people to vote for him, but refused to speak against his rival Congress, as he claimed, it was on its deathbed. “My mother has told me that one should not speak against an old and ailing person on the deathbed.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

South Africa can now boast of 3 First Ladies

South Africa will get three First Ladies when president-elect Jacob Zuma, a polygamist, is sworn in on Saturday, a local daily has reported, putting an end to months of speculation over the hot topic.

According to the Star, 67 year-old Zuma will bring all three of his wives and has invited all his 19 children to his inauguration ceremony in Pretoria on Saturday.

“He will be accompanied by his three spouses and children. He has also invited relatives from all corners of the country,” his spokesman Zizi Kodwa told AFP.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

World Health Organisation raises tally of H1N1 cases to 1,516

The World Health Organisation has updated its tally of confirmed human cases of swine flu to 1,516. The global body says 22 countries have reported cases since the outbreak began two weeks ago.

Mexico has 822 laboratory confirmed cases, including 29 deaths.

The United States has 403 cases and one death. Canada has 165 cases, followed by Spain (57) and Britain (27).

Germany has nine cases, New Zealand has six, Italy has five, and Israel and France each have four.South Korea and El Salvador have two cases each, while Austria, Hong Kong, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Guatemala, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland each reported one case.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

Obama policy on Business Process Outsourcings to backfire

US President Barack Obama, fighting to cope with the superpower’s super-recession and job losses, on Monday unveiled new proposals to end tax breaks for American companies that ship jobs overseas to countries like India.

Though the move will impact roughly 10 lakh information technology professionals in India, the Indian IT industry has given a thick skinned response to Mr Obama’s whiplash at Bengaluru, synonymous the world over with India’s technology outsourcing industry, saying that the proposals do not threaten outsourcing and offshoring to Indian companies such as Infosys and Wipro, but would instead make iconic American companies such as IBM and HP, which run large outsourcing centres in India, less competitive.

“It has very little to do with Indian firms which pay the US taxes for their operations in that country. It targets US subsidiaries,” Mr Som Mittal, president of the Indian software industry’s lobbying body Nasscom, said.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com

Sensex crosses 12K in big leap

The Indian and Asian stock markets hit a seven-month peak on Monday riding on the confidence that the global economy is recovering faster than expected. FIIs were back in buying mode in the emerging markets. Both the Sensex and the Nifty, which rose at a scorching pace, saw the highest single day rally after October 31, 2008. The Sensex, up 6.4 per cent, closed up 731.50 points at 12,134.75 and the Nifty was up 180.05 points at 3,654.00. Fear of the pandemic nature of the H1N1 virus, which gripped the markets last week, ebbed on Monday.

“It was not unexpected,” said Mr Deven Choksey, MD of K.R. Choksey Shares and Securities Ltd.“The market has been preparing for the rally and with the FII money flowing in the markets are looking up. We can expect the market to touch 12,300 before the election results are out.” The Sensex has crossed the resistance level.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com/

United Arab Emirates introduces multi-entry visa

Enhancing local environment to ensure economic growth, the UAE has introduced a multi-entry visa for the foreigners owning property in the Gulf country. The new resolution issued by interior minister Lt. Gen. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan will allow the visitors to stay upto six months in the UAE.

The multi-entry permit can also be renewed on the basis of certain specific requirements and condition. The new resolution adds a new paragraph to Article 33 of the executive regulations of the entry and residency law.

It reads: “Owners of built in properties can stay for six months from the date of entry into the country. On the expiry of this period, the owner pledges to depart for his home country or any of the GCC countries. He will only be allowed to enter the country again after meeting the required conditions”.

Another new article to be incorporated into the by-law stipulates that the property should be built-in and this case doesn’t include owners of vacant lands.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.asianage.com