UAE court extends date of hearing of 17 death row Indians to June 16

May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 19 (ANI): A United Arab Emirates (UAE) appellate court has extended the date of hearing of a case involving 17 Indians on death row for murdering a Pakistani national to June 16.

Earlier on April 8, Bindu Suresh Chettur, the Indian lawyer handling the case had filed an appeal awaiting the full file for defence to study the entire case.

Sources in the Ministry of external Affairs said on Wednesday that the court accepted the defence”s plea for a Punjabi interpreter for the convicts and postponed the hearing.

Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur had on April 4 said that the Union Government would provide the best legal aid assistance in the UAE to the 17 Indians.

The family members of the persons on death row had sought the Union Government”s assistance, and said that its intervention would help get the 17 people back to India.

The 17 people have been sentenced to death for killing a Pakistani man over an illegal alcohol business dispute in Sharjah in January 2009.

According to reports, about 50 people were involved in the fatal attack in which the Pakistani man was beaten to death with metal bars, but those sentenced to death, were found to have been the leaders.

Three other Pakistani nationals were also injured in the attack, but they survived.

This is the highest number of death sentence handed down at one time in the UAE. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hakimullah threatens more attacks on United States in a new video

May 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 3 (ANI): Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, who was believed to have been killed in a US drone strike in South Waziristan in January, has vowed more attacks on the United States in a new video dated early April, according to the SITE monitoring group.

Although neither the US nor the Pakistani agencies had confirmed Hakeemullah’s death, who was sworn in as the TTP chieftain following Baitullah Mehsud’s death in a similar missile attack in August last year, he was widely believed to have succumbed to his injuries sustained during a missile hit in January.

“The time is very near when our fidayeen (soldiers) will attack the American states in the major cities,” Mehsud said in the Internet video alleged to have been made on April 4, SITE reported.

Another video allegedly from the Pakistan Taliban claimed that it was behind an attempted car bombing in New York on Sunday, The News reports.

Mehsud was reported to have been killed in a US bombing raid in January, but some reports last week quoted Pakistani intelligence officials as saying he had survived the strike.

“He (Hakimullah) is alive. He had some wounds but he is basically OK,” The Guardian quoted the official, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, as saying.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik had also confirmed Hakimullah’s death, however, he had failed to table any evidence to back his claims.

Hakimullah was hit within 72 hours after the release of a confessional video of Jordanian doctor Human Khalil Abu-Mulal al Balawi, who killed seven CIA agents in Khost on December 30, Malik had claimed.

The video, which showed Hakimullah sitting with the Jordanian double agent Balawi, was released on the evening of January 9 and Hakimullah was hit in a drone attack in Shakoti on the night between January 13 and 14, he said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sailors bailed for bulk carrier detour

April 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Three foreign sailors who were arrested in connection with a bulk carrier that entered a restricted area of the Great Barrier Reef have been granted bail in a north Queensland court.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) allege that the Japanese-owned MV Mimosa entered the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park near Bowen, off the North Queensland coast, on April 4.

It is alleged the ship entered the area without registering with the Reef Vessel Tracking System and failed to provide a pre-entry report.

The 63-year-old South Korean ship master and two Vietnamese officers aged 26 and 32 years, were arrested by the AFP on Saturday and face a number of charges including conduct in a zone that is prohibited.

The men have been granted bail to reappear in the Townsville Magistrates Court for mention on Friday.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

McEvoy outed for a month

March 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Top jockey Kerrin McEvoy has been suspended for a month by Racing New South Wales stewards for his ride on Shakes at Randwick on March 18.

Stewards found McEvoy guilty of failing to take all reasonable and permissible measures to give Shakes full opportunity to win or obtain the best placing in a 1,400-metre race on the Kensington track.

McEvoy’s suspension is due to begin on April 4, the day after Golden Slipper day at Rosehill, and he will be free to resume riding on May 4.

Stewards ruled that McEvoy failed to take all reasonable measures near the 600m mark of the race as Mossamine improved three wide to his outside and he remained racing behind El Sonador when there was the opportunity to position Shakes to the outside of El Sonador’s heels and have a clear run in the straight.

Shakes was held up in the straight until the 200m mark and finished third.

McEvoy’s good record over a period of 13 years and the fact the major autumn races at Randwick’s three-week carnival were imminent were taken into consideration when stewards issued the penalty.

The jockey, who is stable rider for the powerful Darley operation, has until Monday to lodge an appeal.

-AAP

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bec Hewitt sues New Idea mag over ‘new man in her life’ slur

July 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, July 14 (ANI): Australian tennis player Lleyton Hewitt’s wife Bec Hewitt has started legal proceedings against women’s magazine New Idea for stating that she had a new man in her life, who in fact is her brother.

In the story, that appeared in the April 4, 2009 issue of New Idea, it was alleged that Hewitt had a new man in her life, by the name of Minder Mark, who was described as a former fitness trainer from Dallas, news.co.au reports.

He was also described as “handsome” and a “special guy who’s always by her side”. The article went on to refer to him as “the kind of hunk every young mum dreams about”.

But Minder Mark turned out to be Hewitt’s brother, Shaun Cartwright, who often travelled with his sister and her husband, tennis player Lleyton Hewitt.

Hewitt, requested an apology and correction from New Idea the week the article was published, and has now headed to court to find out how New Idea came up with the story and how it could have mistaken her brother for a new man in her life.

In the proceedings issued last month in the Supreme Court of South Australia, Hewitt asked among other things that New Idea disclose all documents in its possession that would identify the source, or sources, for the story.

Hewitt has posted details of the latest move in the Minder Mark saga on her website.

The matter is scheduled for legal argument on August 14.

The Hewitt family is currently holidaying in their luxury hideaway in the Bahamas after Lleyton was knocked out of Wimbledon in London last month. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines posts decrease in cargo volume

May 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines posts decrease in cargo volumeSingapore – Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), one of the biggest container shippers worldwide, Monday said its cargo volume for the four weeks to May 1 had slipped by 22 per cent compared to the same period a year ago.

From April 4 to May 1, NOL moved 157,800 40-foot equivalent units (FEU), down from 203,000 FEU in the same period of 2008, the company said in a statement.

Average revenue per FEU fell 21 per cent to 2,322 US dollars.

“The decrease in volume was due to the decline in demand on all major trade lanes,” NOL said.

The shipping company, which is controlled by the Singapore government-owned investor Temasek Holding, had posted a net loss of 245 million US dollars for the first quarter 2009, a turnaround from a profit of 121 million US dollars for the same period last year.

NOL said it expected to post a “significant” loss for the whole year. (dpa)

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Inflation rate up to 0.61 percent

May 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 21 (ANI): The rate of inflation in India for the week ended May 9 rose marginally to 0.61 percent, from 0.48 percent a week earlier, a government data showed on Thursday.

The annual rate of inflation had been rising for four consecutive reporting dates since the week ended April 4 when it was at 0.18 percent and touched 0.7 percent for the week ended April 26, before falling to 0.48 percent for the period ended May 2.

During the week, prices of tea, fruits, vegetables and spices rose by 0.5 percent during the week and that for manufactured products was up 0.1 percent, while the index for fuels remained unchanged.

The prices of urad, barley and maize declined during the week. The sub-index for non-food articles rose 0.4 percent as raw cotton, raw silk and oil seeds became dearer, while prices fell for raw rubber. (ANI)

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hindraf leaders ask Malaysian Govt. to free them unconditionally

May 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Ipoh (Malaysia), May 20 (ANI): Four leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), who were released from the Kamunting Detention Centre recently, have asked the Malaysian Government to free them unconditionally.

M. Manoharan, T. Vasanthakumar, V. Ganabatirau and R. Kenghadharan, who were released under a suspended order, told the detention centre’s three-man advisory panel that they wanted the Home Ministry to give them an unconditional release.

Hindraf supremo P. Uthayakumar, also released recently from the centre, did not show up before the panel.

The New Straits Times quoted Manoharan as saying that the suspended order under which the four were released meant they could still be subject to the Home Ministry’s rules and regulations.

The five were detained under the Internal Security Act on Dec 13, 2007, after staging an illegal rally a month earlier in Kuala Lumpur.

Ganabatirau and Kenghadharan were freed on April 4 while Uthayakumar, Manoharan and Vasanthakumar were released on May 13. Their release from Kamunting was subject to several conditions.

The four arrived at the detention centre for the review of their suspended order around 10.30am yesterday, accompanied by their counsel, Karpal Singh. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Malay Indian mom waits to get baby back from converted hubby

April 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Ipoh, Apr 26 (ANI): Indian origin teacher in Malaysia M. Indira Gandhi spent a sleepless night at the Ipoh police district headquarters, waiting for her baby to be returned to her.

She had been there since the High Court here granted her interim custody of her three children and an injunction preventing her husband from entering their home.

On Friday, Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim had also ordered police to assist Indira Gandhi, 34, in enforcing the orders, The Star reports.

However, Indira Gandhi said police told her to find K. Patmanathan, 40, before they could retrieve one-year-old Prasana Diksa.

Patmanathan had taken Prasana from their home in First Garden on April 4 after he had converted to Islam.

“If I could locate him, I definitely would have gone and brought my baby straight home. What are the police there for?”

When met at her place of vigil, Indira Gandhi said Patmanathan called her at 8.30pm on Friday to say he was on his way to Singapore.

She claimed he refused when she asked him to return Prasana.

“She is still breastfeeding and I have not done so for the past one month. I don’t know how she’s doing,” she said.

Patmanathan’s last known address was his mother’s house in Pasir Puteh.

Police refused to comment, but Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran said they had agreed to set up a special unit to trace the husband.

According to court documents, Indira Gandhi discovered that her husband had converted to Islam on March 11 and was now known as Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Beyonce is in no hurry to start family with Jay-Z

April 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Apr 25 (ANI): R and B singer Beyonce Knowles has revealed that she is in ho hurry to give up her singing career to start a family with her hip hop artist husband Jay-Z.

Beyonce, 27, who celebrated her 1-year wedding anniversary with Jay-Z, 39, on April 4, does admit that she would like to have at least one child.

The ‘Irreplaceable’ hitmaker, who is launching the U.S. leg of her ‘I Am…’ world tour on June 21, is for now just content to play aunt to her sister Solange’s four-year old son, Daniel.

“I definitely want one (a child) but I’m not ready for all that. I don’t think a person should see that before their time. I fall in love with my nephew every time I see him,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Inflation rate up to 0.26 percent

April 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr 23 (ANI): The rate of inflation in India for the week ended April 11 rose marginally to 0.26 percent, from 0.18 percent a week earlier, a government data showed on Thursday.

The inflation rate, as measured by the wholesale price index, was 7.95 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

During the week, prices of raw food as a whole rose by 0.5 percent due to tea prices increasing by five percent, bajara by three percent, fruit and vegetables by two percent, and mutton and maize by one percent each.

Between April 11 and April 4, the wholesale price index rose 0.3 per cent to 228.8 from 228.2 the week before, as per the provisional data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.

Among the three main commodity groups, the index for manufactured products and primary articles rose 0.2 per cent and 0.5 per cent.

The index for fuel, power, light and lubricants remained unchanged at 322.6. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Inflation rate up to 0.26 percent

April 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr 23 (ANI): The rate of inflation in India for the week ended April 11 rose marginally to 0.26 percent, from 0.18 percent a week earlier, a government data showed on Thursday.

The inflation rate, as measured by the wholesale price index, was 7.95 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

During the week, prices of raw food as a whole rose by 0.5 percent due to tea prices increasing by five percent, bajara by three percent, fruit and vegetables by two percent, and mutton and maize by one percent each.

Between April 11 and April 4, the wholesale price index rose 0.3 per cent to 228.8 from 228.2 the week before, as per the provisional data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.

Among the three main commodity groups, the index for manufactured products and primary articles rose 0.2 per cent and 0.5 per cent.

The index for fuel, power, light and lubricants remained unchanged at 322.6. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Australian tourist found dead in Delhi hotel

April 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) A 33-year-old Australian tourist has been found dead in a hotel in the capital’s Paharganj area.

Julian Stanford, a resident of Sydney, was found unconscious with froth oozing out of his mouth in a room in Hotel Express in Paharganj area of central Delhi late Sunday, police said.

‘Stanford was rushed to hospital where doctors declared him dead. We are awaiting the postmortem report to ascertain the cause of his death,’ Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) I.B. Rani told IANS.

Stanford arrived in India April 4 on a tourist visa and had been staying in the hotel since Friday.

According to hotel authorities, Stanford left the hotel room early Sunday morning to see off his girlfriend, Georgia, who had a flight to Australia.

‘He came back and latched the door of his room and we did not hear anything from him afterwards. In the evening, our hotel staff knocked at his door but there was no response. Finally, we opened the door with a master key and found him lying on the bed with froth coming out of his mouth,’ the hotel manager said.

Paharganj has many hotels frequented by foreign tourists, especially backpackers.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We won’t pullout from the government: Samy Vellu

April 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, April 17 (IANS) ‘No pullout, case closed’, said Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) chief S. Samy Vellu while categorically rejecting speculation that his party wants to quit the Malaysian government.

Vellu met Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak Thursday to say that the sole cabinet minister and two junior ministers from the MIC be retained in the government.

S. Subramaniam is the human resource minister, while the two junior ministers are S. Devamani and M. Sarvanan.

He told the media after chairing the party’s central working committee meeting that the prime minister should consider a ‘senior’ ministry to be given to the MIC and the appointment of an MIC woman representative as deputy minister.

‘I told him this is my request. I leave it in his hands,’ New Straits Times quoted him as saying.

The MIC had said the party might withdraw from the government for being allotted a ‘junior’ ministry at the cabinet level, the report said.

Vellu said he did not seek the Works Ministry, which he held for long till he suffered a shock defeat in the election last year. He said he had merely asked for a senior ministry.

MIC has traditionally spoken for Malaysia’s two million-plus ethnic Indians and has been part of the government since the independence in 1957.

A bulk of the Indians came here during the British era. They form eight percent of Malaysia’s multi-ethnic population.

The prime minister, who took office April 4, has said the constituents of the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional were welcome to make suggestions, but the final decision about the parties’ representation, and the portfolios would be his.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tiger cub succumbs to injuries in Madhya Pradesh

April 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Bhopal, Apr 16 (ANI): A tiger cub succumbed to injuries here after being hurt by an adult tiger.

Eleven months old Pancham was brought in an injured condition to Bhopal’s Van Vihar National Park on April 4. It was located at the Pench National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

Pancham was seriously injured on his forelimbs and was being treated with life saving drugs. He was unable to walk and eat.

“The cub was brought from Pench Tiger Reserve in an injured condition. He was brought here after a fight with an adult tiger. He had seven external injuries and internal injuries too. After post mortem, he was found to be suffering from hemorrhages in almost every part of his body. Pancham survived for some time because of life support systems and medication.” said S.S Rajput, Director, Van Vihar National Park.

All the officials of Van Vihar National Park were present during funeral.

Among all the tiger reserves and national parks in Madhya Pradesh, Van Vihar National Park is the sole national park with all the medical facilities required to treat injured animals.

Conservation group WWF says there are only about 4,000 tigers left in the world and are considered an endangered species. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US embassy in Islamabad suspends routine consular service

April 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Apr 10 (PTI) The United States’ Embassy here suspended visa and routine consular services today due to “heightened security’, a spokesman said. The embassy will provide emergency consular services for Americans and the routine operations will resume on Monday.

The US consulates in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar would be open today, the spokesman said. The spokesman did not give details about the security concerns but the move appeared to be linked to heightened security across Pakistan on the occasion of Good Friday.

The Pakistani capital has also been targeted in a recent series of terrorist attacks, with a suicide bomber killing eight security personnel at a paramilitary camp in the heart of the city on April 4. A statement issued by the US embassy said staff should be careful while travelling to public places, restaurants and hotels due to “serious security threats” to American citizens.

Offices of several international donor organisations in Islamabad would also remain closed today due to security threats, reports said. PTI.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Darfur kidnappers demand retrial of Zoe’s Ark “criminals”

April 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

KHARTOUM, April 12 (Reuters) – Kidnappers holding two aid workers hostage in Sudan’s Darfur region say they will kill them unless the French government agrees to retrial Zoe’s Ark “criminals” involved in the abduction of children from Chad.

Six members of a humanitarian group Zoe’s Ark were imprisoned in 2007 for flying children, aged between one and 10, out of Chad to Europe. They were sentenced to eight years hard labour by a Chadian court but were later pardoned.

“We demand France open the case of the Zoe’s Ark criminals and judge them through a fair court,” an unnamed member of the group calling itself the Freedom Eagles of Africa told Reuters.

“If the French government is not serious in negotiations with us and does not respond to our request, we will kill the two aid workers,” he said.

A Canadian and a French aid worker from Aid Medicale International (AMI) were seized from their compound in the south Darfur settlement of Ed el Fursan on April 4. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp and Khalid Abdel Aziz; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Terror alert in Islamabad; US embassy suspends work

April 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The United States’ Embassy here suspended visa and routine consular services on Friday due to “heightened security’, a spokesman said.

The embassy will provide emergency consular services for Americans and the routine operations will resume on Monday. The US consulates in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar would be open on Friday, the spokesman said.

The spokesman did not give details about the security concerns but the move appeared to be linked to heightened security across Pakistan on the occasion of Good Friday.

The Pakistani capital has also been targeted in a recent series of terrorist attacks, with a suicide bomber killing eight security personnel at a paramilitary camp in the heart of the city on April 4.

A statement issued by the US embassy said staff should be careful while travelling to public places, restaurants and hotels due to “serious security threats” to American citizens.

Offices of several international donor organizations in Islamabad would also remain closed today due to security threats, reports said.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Two pirates, one hostage killed in French rescue move, Paris says

April 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Paris – French naval forces overwhelmed pirates who had seized a private yacht in the Indian Ocean a week ago, but at the cost of the lives of one of the hostages and two pirates, Paris disclosed Friday evening. The presidential office said the three other pirates involved in the capture of the yacht Tanis on April 4 had beencaptured.

President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his condolences to the family of the hostage who had died. He stressed France’s determination not to give in to blackmail and to keep the pirates in check.

The pirates had seized the Tanit off the coast of the Gulf of Aden. Two French couples and a child were on board the yacht.

According to the presidential office, the hostage who was killed in the rescue operation was one of the adults.

A French naval vessel had intercepted the Tanit on Thursday and taken up contact with the pirates. But the pirates rejected all the proposals made, with the navy then deciding to take action, Paris said.

The couples had been vacationing aboard the Tanit and, despite repeated warnings to stay clear of the waters off Somalia were sailing toward Zanzibar when the pirates captured them.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Two pirates, one hostage killed in French rescue move

April 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Paris, April 10 (DPA) French naval forces overwhelmed pirates who had seized a private yacht in the Indian Ocean a week ago, but at the cost of the life of one of the hostages and two pirates, the government said Friday.

The presidential office said the three other pirates involved in the capture of the yacht Tanis on April 4 had been captured.

President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his condolences to the family of the hostage who had died. He stressed France’s determination not to give in to blackmail and to keep the pirates in check.

The pirates had seized the Tanit off the coast of the Gulf of Aden. Two French couples and a child were on board the yacht.

According to the presidential office, the hostage who was killed in the rescue operation was one of the adults.

A French naval vessel had intercepted the Tanit Thursday and taken up contact with the pirates. But the pirates rejected all the proposals made, with the navy then deciding to take action, Paris said.

The couples had been vacationing aboard the Tanit and, despite repeated warnings to stay clear of the waters off Somalia were sailing toward Zanzibar when the pirates captured them.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts