Manmohan Singh hosts Iftar party

New Delhi, Sep 19 (ANI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosted an Iftar party here on Friday.

Vice President Hamid Ansari, Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, several foreign dignitaries and many political leaders were among those who attended the party.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India, Shahid Malik, and several prominent Muslim religious leaders were also among the invitees.

During the holy month of Ramadan Muslims observe a daylong fast without water and open it in the evening.

The month-long dawn-to- dusk fast started on August 22, after the sighting of the new moon. (ANI)

Lahore women files petition seeking Pakistani citizenship for Indian husband

Lahore, Sep.17 (ANI): A Pakistani woman has filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking Pakistani citizenship for her Indian husband.

Justice Mian Saqib Nisar admitted the petition filed by one Shazia Zia, and referred the matter to the High Court Chief Justice.

Zia, in her petition, said she has married an Indian national named Majid Ali, but the authorities have denied giving her husband a Pakistani citizenship despite repeated appeals.

She alleged that there was no legal justification for this refusal and submitted that it was gender discrimination which has no provision in the constitution

“A foreigner woman married a Pakistani man and got Pakistani nationality, but my husband is being refused the same,” The Daily Times stated the petition, as saying. (ANI)

Now, unwed Malaysian couple to be whipped for trying to have car sex

Shah Alam (Malaysia), Sep. 18 (ANI): Following the whipping episode of the Malaysian model who was sentenced for drinking beer, an unmarried couple is now being subjected to the controversial canning sentence under the country’s Sharia law for trying to have sex.

Mohammad Shahrin Abd Majid, 29, and his lover Nadiah Najat Hussin, 24, pleaded guilty to attempting to have sex in a car, were fined 5,000 ringgits or 12 months’ jail and ordered to be caned six times each, the New Strait Times Online reports.

Both Shahrin and Nadiah have paid the fine. On Wednesday, the Sharia High Court of Shah Alam granted a stay on the caning pending an appeal following an application by the couple’s counsel.

The Court has also advised both accused to marry as soon as possible.

The couple had claimed that they were to be engaged soon, and scheduled to be married in February next year.

“You are still young… after Hari Raya seek consent from both your parents to marry,” he said.

Shahrin and Nadiah would be sent to prison in order to receive the caning if their appeal gets dismissed.

Earlier, former Malaysian model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno hogged the international headlines when she was sentenced for canning under Sharia law for drinking beer at a nightclub. (ANI)

UK fitness TV teaches bhangra workout class!

London, September 17 (ANI): A new British TV station, dedicated entirely to fitness, is offering a string of classes, including those on Bhangra.

The Fitness TV, a 24-hour station, also hosts a high heel workout class for the women who refuse to get out of their beloved stilettos. Other workouts include those based on Salsa, Hip Hop and Disco.

“Just like a personal trainer, the channel allows viewers to tailor workouts to their own levels of fitness and interests and can be easily scheduled around busy lives,” the Sun quoted a spokesman for the TV shows as saying.

“Programmes range from children’s classes including a mobility and balance workout for pre-schoolers, kids’ yoga and street dance for teenagers, while pensioners and the less mobile are offered Chairobics.

“For the more adventurous, there are boot camp-style workouts and dance-based exercise sessions for Strictly Come Dancing fans, including Bhangra, Cheerleader and 70s Disco.

“There’s even a High Heels workout for more glamorous viewers,” the spokesman added.

Fitness TV founder Luan Underwood, a former personal trainer and mum-of-two, said: “We are positioning the channel as an additional workout option, not as a replacement to gyms, fitness and wellbeing classes.

“We would like to capture the imagination of the 80 per cent of UK citizens that have never visited a gym and inspire them to do so.

“We also aim to reach people unable to visit fitness facilities, perhaps because they have young children, or time pressures that make it difficult to get to the gym for a few weeks.

“With Fitness TV, people can squeeze in a session at a time to suit them, and because the classes are constantly being updated, they’ll be more motivated to stick to them than they would an exercise DVD,” Underwood added. (ANI)

Victoria Police deny Indian bashing cover-up

Melbourne, Sep.16 (ANI): Victoria Police has denied they had a plan to limit publicity about the bashing of four Indian men outside a Melbourne pub on Saturday night.

Four men were arrested in relation to assault and affray, but they were released pending further investigations.

Police believe a fifth man may also have been involved in the bashing outside a pub at Epping in Melbourne’s east.

Details of the incident only emerged publicly today, prompting an outraged Indian media to claim Victoria Police had been involved in a cover-up.

Police said the Indian media were made aware of the incident via “other channels”.

Acting Senior Sergeant Glenn Parker said there was no cover-up, although he did admit the police media department would have known about the incident in the early hours of Sunday morning.

“Unfortunately, this type of incident occurs regularly. This is really treated no differently to any other event of this type. There has been no deliberate attempt to suppress it. It’s just part of normal procedure. It’s attracted more media attention than anticipated,” news.com.au quoted him, as saying.

According to the police, the four men were playing pool on Saturday night at a bar in High St, Epping, when a female hurled a racist remark at them.

The men left not long after but were followed into a car park by up to four males who were part of a larger group celebrating a birthday in the bar’s function room.

It has been alleged the Indian men were set upon and seriously assaulted by the group of males.

Police were called and arrested four males, who were interviewed in relation to assault and affray. ll four were released pending further investigations.

While only four men were arrested, one of the alleged victims told ABC Radio today that more than 70 people could have been involved.

He said the attackers didn’t use weapons, but racism was behind the incident.

“Definitely racism,” he said.

Police say that when the arrests were made, a group of about 15 men and women, who had been celebrating a birthday, directed racist abuse at the Indian men.

As the victims were escorted away by police, officers allege the larger group continued its “threatening behaviour and racist remarks”. (ANI)

Congress to decide over alliance with NCP on Sunday

New Delhi, Sep 12 (ANI): Union Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said that the decision on alliance with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls would be taken by Sunday.

Speaking to the media after a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Deshmukh said the party will take a decision on the continuation of alliance by Sunday.

On Friday the Congress High Command appointed Deshmukh as the chairman of party’s poll management committee and Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as the chairman of campaign committee for the Maharashtra polls.

Both Deshmukh and Shinde held an hour-long meeting with the party’s central leadership.

He said, Sonia Gandhi had asked him to coordinate party’s election work by taking everyone into confidence.

Earlier, the Congress Party asked the Sharad Pawar led NCP to accept new ground realities during seat sharing. (ANI)

Congress screens aspiring candidates for polls in Maharashtra

Mumbai, Sep 12 (ANI): Congress party has begun shortlisting candidates aspiring for party’s nomination for the October 13 assembly elections in Maharashtra.

Congress party, which is running a coalition government with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra for the second term in a row, is yet to sort out hiccups on seat sharing with its ally.

As the days for nominations to open on September 18 draws close, state Congress party leaders went in a huddle in Mumbai to screen aspirants seeking ‘ticket’ to contest polls on the party symbol.

“I have given my profile, I have told about major problems in our area including drinking water and irrigation and people do not get benefited from the policies of the government,” said Anil Chandra Kumar Gupta, an aspirant from Tiroda seat of Gondia district.

Congress party, which also heads the central coalition, is on a high after its good performance in the April-May general elections. (ANI)

Malaysian spiritual seeker who ‘went through bad karma in India’ leaves for home

New Delhi, Sep. 11 (ANI): A Malaysian spiritual seeker, who landed in a Varanasi jail for violating Indian immigration laws, has finally left for home in Johor.

After being released from jail on August 27, Lim Soon Seng was waiting to obtain his exit certificate from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office in Delhi to leave India.

“I was shattered in prison. All I wanted to do was to heal and help people but I went through some bad karma in India. There were so many legal complications.

“It placed so much stress on my family and me. Now I am free and happy to go home and see my sister,” The Star Online quoted Lim as saying before his departure on a Malaysia Airlines flight for Kuala Lumpur.

A follower of the Krishna Consciousness movement, Lim of Johor landed on the ghats of Varanasi in 2001. For the next six years he diligently renewed his visa as he wandered in orange robes with sadhus and lived a life of solitude.

But Lim’s spiritual sojourn turned into a nightmare when his passport expired in 2005 and he failed to renew it.

For the next 20 months, Lim, in his 50s, languished in Varanasi jail, one of the most crowded and dreaded Indian jails where notorious criminals are held.

Lim was charged under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, where offenders can face a jail sentence of between six months and seven years.

A German diplomat, who visited the jail to meet a fellow citizen, came across Lim and notified the Malaysian High Commission in Delhi about his predicament.

Once the embassy assured the local district magistrate that he would be repatriated to Malaysia safely, Lim was released. (ANI)

Indian HC meets Pakistan Foreign Secretary in Islamabad

Islamabad, Sep 11 (ANI): Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal on Friday called on Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir at the Foreign Office to discuss the agenda for foreign secretary level talks in New York.

Union External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in their meeting in New York are expected to discuss issues of bilateral interest, including the resumption of a composite dialogue process between the two countries and progress by Pakistan on bringing the Mumbai culprits to justice as per India’s demands, The Dawn reports.

In the meeting Bashir handed over a written proposal for secretary level talks to Sabharwal.

Bashir also said that Pakistan is ready to hold talks with India in order to resolve issues of dispute and also wants to find peaceful solution of all outstanding issues in line with the Sharm-El-Sheikh joint-declaration. (ANI)

Nithari victims’s relatives express outrage over Pander’s acquittal

New Delhi, Sep. 11 (ANI): The acquittal of Nithari killings accused Mohinder Singh Pandher in the Rimpa Haldar murder case has left relatives outraged and anguished.

“I will destroy this bungalow (Pandher’s residence) in one minute. I am ready to spend money to get justice,” said Anil Haldar, Rimpa’s father.

His reaction came after the Allahabad High Court acquitted Pandher for the murder of Rimpa, who was among the 19 people killed at the businessman’s home.

Haldar, a married woman, was called by Kohli to work as housemaid at the Pandher, and thereafter went missing.

The father of another victim said he would approach the country’s apex court for justice.

“We will go to Delhi and appeal in the Supreme Court because the government out here is corrupt,” said Jhabbu Lal, the father of Jyoti, a Nithari massacre victim.

Earlier this year, both Pandher and Koli were awarded capital punishment by a special court in Ghaziabad.

The Nithari killings came to light three years ago, leaving people across the country shocked.

The skeletal remains of the children were first discovered in a sewer behind Pandher’s plush D-5 bungalow in Noida’s Sector 31.The human skulls were stuffed in 57 gunny bags along with 700 bone pieces.

Special Judge Rema Jain completed the proceedings after re-cross examination of former Noida police officer Dinesh Yadav on January 27 and the recording of statements of Pandher and Kohli.

A total of 19 cases of killings were registered at the Noida police station in December 2006. All of them were transferred to the CBI for further investigation. (ANI)

IAAF in a fix as tests prove Semenya is a hermaphrodite

Melbourne, Sep 11 (ANI): The International Association of Athletics Federations is likely to strip champion runner Caster Semenya of the gold medal she won in Berlin last month, as a test has shown that she is a hermaphrodite – a person with both female and male sexual characteristics.

The tests, not yet publicly released, show the 18-year-old has no womb or ovaries.

The IAAF is expected to disqualify the South African from future events and advise her to have surgery because her condition carries grave health risks, The Daily Telegraph reports.

And she could be stripped of the gold medal she won in Berlin in last month, as she has three times more testosterone than a normal female.

A source closely involved with the IAAF tests said Semenya had internal testes — the male sexual organs, which produce testosterone.

“There certainly is evidence Semenya is a hermaphrodite. But the trouble is the IAAF now has the whole ANC and the whole of South Africa on their backs. Everything is going to have to be done absolutely by the book, no question of a challenge to the findings,” the source said.

It is believed that Semenya is unaware the tests has identified her as a hermaphrodite.

Only the certainty of a backlash from South Africa has so far prevented the IAAF from banning Semenya and revoking her gold medal.

South Africa embraced the feisty teenager after the storm of controversy from Berlin, declaring her “Our girl”.

African National Congress MP and National Assembly sports committee chairman Butana Komphela has already lodged a complaint with the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights, accusing the IAAF of racism and sexism.

The IAAF expects to receive the full set of results this week. (ANI)

CBI records Buta Singh’s statement in bribery case

New Delhi, Sep 10 (ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday recorded the statement of Buta Singh, Chairman for the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), in connection with a bribery case involving his son Sarobjit Singh.

A two-member CBI team recorded Buta Singh’s statement at his NCSC office in the Lok Nayak Bhavan in the national capital.

Heavy security arrangements were made at the Lok Nayak Bhavan during the recording of Singh’s statement.

Singh had informed the Delhi High Court on August 31 that he would appear before the CBI only after it clarified that he is required as a witness and not as an accused in the case.

Earlier, Singh, had struck a defiant note saying CBI has no authority to question a constitutional functionary having powers of a civil court, without Central Government’s sanction.

The CBI arrested Sarobjit, on July 31 for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs one crore from a Nashik-based contractor to dispose off an atrocity case against him pending before the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) headed by Buta Singh.

The Lok Nayak Bhavan was declared out of bounds for the public and also to the media till 2 p.m. (ANI)

Jet Airways sacks three pilot, calls strike illegal

New Delhi, Sep. 8 (ANI): Jet Airways, which had to cancel 190 flights by 2 p.m. on Tuesday due to mass sick leave taken by its pilots, has sacked three pilots.

The airliner has called the agitation illegal, and has secured a restraint order from Bombay High Court against any strike.

“The Bombay High Court has passed an order restraining any kind of strike,” Jet CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer was quoted as saying.

“We were assured by the National Aviators Guild last night that there would be no strike and we went by this assurance. But we were shocked by the mass sick leave by about 360 pilots… it is nothing but a simulated strike,” he added.

The Jet pilots have been protesting the sacking of two of their colleagues by the management for reportedly joining the guild.

Asked what action the management would take against the striking pilots and if the two-sacked pilots could be reinstated, Prock-Shauer declined to comment.

Prock-Schauer also said that he was confident about normal services by Wednesday.

“The matter is on in the Labour Commission and we would not like to comment,” he said.

Jet Airways had earlier sought the Directorate General of Civil Aviation”s (DGCA) intervention to resolve the crisis.

Last month, Jet Airways had terminated the services of two of its senior most pilots, saying their services were not required after both formed a trade union body within the company.

A conciliatory meeting was called on August 31 between the Jet Airways management and the union, which claims to have representation of over 650 pilots.

Jet Airways has 1000 pilots on its rolls.

Although the National Aviators Guild (NAG) has decided not to go on the proposed strike, its members have decided on an alternate course of protest like going on mass casual leave to hamper operations of the private carrier. (ANI)

Pak Qaeda hand in 2006 trans-Atlantic bomb plot revealed

London, Sep.8 (ANI): New evidence put before a British jury during a retrial of three Brit Muslim convicts suggests that the men used code words to discuss their plans with an al-Qaeda fixer based in Pakistan.

The e-mails and conversations suggest that the plot was in its final stages, possibly days away from execution in 2006.

The seven daily flights highlighted by the three plotters were: 14.15 United Airlines Flight 931 to San Francisco; 15.00 Air Canada Flight 849 to Toronto; 15.15 Air Canada Flight 865 to Montreal; 15.40 United Airlines Flight 959 to Chicago; 16.20 United Airlines Flight 925 to Washington; 16.35 American Airlines Flight 131 to New York; 16.50 American Airlines Flight 91 to Chicago.

According to The Telegraph and the Daily Express, the batteries the gang planned to use as part of their detonators were bought in Pakistan.

An ingredient in the bomb mix was the orange soft drink Tang – sold in Pakistan – which had a high sugar content to aid the explosion.

A British intelligence source said: “The use of drink bottles sold in Pakistan and batteries sold in Pakistan underline the plot’s ties to that country. The foot soldiers were from Britain – but the organisers were in Pakistan.”

A security source said of the conspiracy: “It was very clever and the airport scanners would not have picked up the devices at all.”

Prosecutor Peter Wright told the Woolwich Crown Court in South East London how the would-be bombers were “a cell of home-grown terrorists activated and directed by a designated leader in Pakistan.”

That was confirmed by a government source in Pakistan, who said the plot was believed to have originated “with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.”

Seized e-mails showed the chain of terror stretched from there, across the lawless border to Pakistan, to London and to the woods of High Wycombe where explosives were buried.

The aim was to mirror the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, which killed 259 passengers and 11 in the Scottish town.

Aliases exposed during the trial revealed the terror kingpin in Pakistan was dubbed “Paps” or “Papa”.

Ali called himself Imran and Chacha and also set up email accounts in the bogus names Tippu Khan and Jameel Masood.

His co-conspirators used aliases such as Fatty, Arro and Nigga.

Hydrogen peroxide was known as “aftershave”, police surveillance as “skin problems” and martyrdom videos were referred to as “wedding tapes”.

It is also thought that the bomb makers received training at an al-Qaeda camp in Pakistan.

A mystery Pakistani, thought to be a top al-Qaeda envoy, made contact with the three would-be suicide bombers during a flying visit to Britain in June 2006.

Experts who tested the explosive mix on the aircraft were horrified.

A witness said: “It was absolutely devastating.” (ANI)

Manchester City stadium ‘target of loner’s Columbine-style massacre plot’

London, Sep.8 (ANI): A teenage loner accused of plotting a Columbine-style gun massacre at his school also considered targeting Manchester City’s stadium.

According to The Sun, Matthew Swift, 18, was said to have sent his idea in a computer message to 16-year-old co- accused Ross McKnight.

A jury at Manchester Crown Court heard how he told McKnight: “I was thinking of targets to attack – like the City stadium.”

Both teens allegedly plotted a killing spree at Audenshaw High School, Manchester, on the tenth anniversary of the Columbine massacre.

Swift also wrote in a diary: “I cannot wait for Judgment Day. It is going to be awesome.” he friends deny conspiracy to murder and to cause explosions.

The trial continues. (ANI)

Nifty touches 52 weeks high, telecom, ifra sectors gain

Mumbai, Sep 7 (ANI): The Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) touched a 52-week high of 4743.75 on Monday following early trends of good purchasing in all Asian markets.

Earlier, during the intra-day the Nifty registered the high of 4737.20 and low of 4679.30.

Indian markets were well-poised Monday taking cues from the positive global markets as all the sectoral indices were up, led by gains in realty, metals and auto stocks.

According to the market analysers, the US markets closed up and other Asian markets are positive.

Asian stocks rose for a third day, led by finance and technology companies, as the G-20 nations agreed on steps to shore up the global financial system.

The Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was at 15862.98, up 173.86 points the 30-share index touched a high of 15877.12 and low of 15793.27.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index was up 2.13 per cent, BSE Metal Index moved up 1.60 per cent and BSE Auto Index gained 1.30 per cent.

BPCL 6.28 percent, Reliance Communications 3.36% percent, TCS 2.56 percent, Tata Motors 2.30 percent and Reliance Capital 2.20 percent were amongst the Nifty gainers. (ANI)

High quality video, telephone conferencing may be round the corner

Washington, September 6 (ANI): German researchers are sure that compression technologies can put an end to the poor images and sound quality that are often encountered by people during video and telephone conferencing sessions.

At this year’s IFA international consumer electronics exhibition in Berlin, researchers from four Fraunhofer Institutes will demonstrate the power and flexibility of these new technologies by holding games sessions in which players compete against each other via the Internet.

To ensure high and consistent quality of sound, the researchers have developed the Audio Communication Engine, which consists of reciprocally-tuned components that vastly improve the sound quality and clarity of video and telephone conferences compared with present systems.

The key component in providing excellent sound is the MPEG Enhanced Low Delay AAC audio codec, which ensures low-delay hi-fi quality even at low bit-rates.

An echo control eliminates troublesome echo so that users do not have to wear a headset, and can move around the room freely.

Sophisticated signal processing, which extends from enhancement of the microphone signals through to multi-channel loudspeaker reproduction, removes the barrier of distance between friends without incurring great installation expense.

The researchers say that they have already started working on actual implementation by designing the technology for integration in TV sets, set-top boxes and hi-fi systems.

They claim that visitors to the IFA international consumer electronics exhibition will be able to experience the system’s superb picture and sound quality, and even play games such as Memory, Battleships and Sorry. (ANI)

PAF using unmanned drones in war exercise

Islamabad, Sep.5 (ANI): The Pakistan Air Force (PAF), for the first time, is using unmanned UAV drone planes in its ongoing annual war exercise in Sargodha.

The focus of the drill named ‘Saffron Bandit 2009-10′ is to train fighter pilots in counter insurgency operations and carrying out precision attacks on militant hideouts.

Briefing media persons about the exercise at the Air Force Headquarters, Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Hasan said the drills were aimed at training the PAF for operations against the terrorists.

“PAF is employing for the first time in the recent drills pilotless UAV drone planes to target the enemies. It was due to the precision of PAF planning that common people were not among the casualties,” Air Vice Marshal Hasan said.

Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman also inspected the drill, The News reports.

Air Vice Marshal Hasan also informed that a joint military exercise, Exercise High Mark 2010, involving both the Army and the Air Force would be held next year. (ANI)

High earners munch frequently at work, stay healthier

Washington, Sep 5 (ANI): People who earn more money are more likely to munch on muffins or chocolate bars while working, according to researchers at University of Texas at Austin.

What’s more, such people boost their chances of staying healthy – thanks to the regular munching.

Economist Daniel Hamermesh and his colleagues used data from the American Time Use Survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to reach the conclusion.

And they examined how much time Americans spend eating meals each day and how much time they spend “grazing” – snacking or drinking while working, watching TV or doing some other activity.

“When their time becomes more valuable, people substitute grazing for eating, essentially switching to multi-tasking. Overall, better health is associated with more time spent eating, but especially with spreading that time over more meals per day,” said Hamermesh.

It was found that over fifty percent of all adults graze each day, with their grazing time almost equalling the time they spend eating meals.

The average American adult spends about two-and-a-half hours eating or grazing every day.

The study also revealed that men graze less but spend more time eating meals than women. Overall, men spend about three-and-a-half more minutes a day eating meals than women.

It was also found that better-educated people eat more frequently, spend more total time eating, graze more frequently and spend more total time grazing than those with less education.

Higher earners also spend more time eating individual meals, graze more frequently and spend more time during each individual grazing episode.

Those who spend more time eating have a lower body mass index (BMI), on average, and view themselves as healthier than those who spend less time eating.

The National Bureau of Economic Research released the study recently. (ANI)

SC asks Indian embassy to ensure safety of students in Australia

New Delhi, Sep 4 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Indian High Commissioner and Consulate General in Australia ensure the safety of Indian students and to prevent them from falling prey to fake educational institutions in that country.

An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice K.G.Balakrishnan expressed concern over Indian students falling prey to fake Universities.

Attorney General G. E. Vahanvati informed the court that the Government has laid down guidelines to aid the student community in Australia.

Cases of Indian students being duped by fake universities in Australia came to light when a petition was filed seeking an apex court direction to the Union Government to take action.

Vahanavati said the Ministry of External Affairs has published the measures to be taken by students before they go abroad for study on its website.

The court then disposed the petition. (ANI)