LIVE
Thu, 26 May 2011
Maharashtra HSC results at 1 pm tomorrow

Timeline  Refresh

image
18:32   Big stories this day...

Big stories today...

  1. Serbia's biggest war crimes suspect Ratco Mladicarrested
  2. Gambhir will be dropped if he is unfit: BCCI
  3. IMF chief contender wants support from India
  4. Sania bows out of French Open Singles
  5. Govt orders probe into Goa tribal agitation
  6. Adarsh plot NOT for Kargil heroes: Shinde
  7. Customs detain Bips for not declaring goods
  8. No air traffic disruptions across Europe today
  9. Flights to Singapore may get cheaper
  10. SC tells Ganguly to return govt land in 2 weeks
  11. 10 killed as air ambulance crashes near Delhi
image
18:26   Anna Hazare in Bengaluru tomorrow

Social activist and anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare will arrive in Bengaluru tomorrow on a two-day visit to elicit views from the public on the Jan Lokpal bill which is in the drafting stage.

Hazare's visit is being organised by India Against Corruption with the twin objective of creating awareness about the Bill and its salient features and to extend the participative process where views of different sections of society are incorporated into the draft.

image
18:21  
On the Krittika Biswas issue, the US says family members are not entitled to diplomatic immunity.
image
18:14   NYC mayor shrugs off Indian girl suing city

New York City Mayor Bloombergyesterday shrugged off the bid by the daughter of an Indian diplomat to get a key to the city to make up for her wrongful arrest, reports the New YorkPost.

John Bowne HS senior Krittika Biswas plans to sue the city for $1.5 million after her alleged mistreatment in February by officials at the Queens school who wrongly accused her of cyberbullying.

Her lawyer wantsBloombergto give the 18-year-old daughter of the vice consul of the Consulate General of India a key to the city.

"I just saw it in the paper. I'm not familiar with the details," Bloomberg said.

Ravi Batra, the lawyer for Biswas, said, "Unfortunately, [Bloomberg] hasn't stepped up yet because he thinks this is going to go away. But it's actually mushrooming."

A spokesman for theState Departmentconfirmed that officials there had been in touch with representatives at the Embassy of India in Washington.

image
17:56   Maharashtra HSC results at 1 pm tomorrow

The Maharashtra Higher Secondary School Certificate results will be declared tomorrow at 1 pm. Over 13.30 lakh students have appeared for HSC this year.The results will be available at the URLhttp://mahresult.nic.in/ and students can access their marksheet by entering their seat number in the area provided for it on the board's website.

The actual copy of the mark-sheet will be available in the schools a week later.The SSC results (for std X) are expected to be announced before June 15, 2011.

image
17:53   Why Britain can't stop fawning over Obama

US President Barack Obama's state visit to the United Kingdomended today. The sheen may have worn off his presidency at home, but overseas Obama retains a presence and a mystique that causes local politicians to forget themselves amidst an orgy of obsequious fawning, coat-tail clutching and self-abasement, writes Alex Massie in the Daily Beast.

Echoes of the same during his visit to India in November 2010, but traditionally India has always been more reticent in its fawning given our history of non-alignment..

image
17:44   More on Ratko Mladic's arrest
You may remember that Ratko (has a telling name) Mladic's Srebrenica co-accused, Radovan Karadzic, was arrested in Belgrade in July 2008. He was also using a false name, was disguised with a big beard and posing as a doctor of alternative medicine. No word yet on whether Mladic was in disguise.
image
17:42   Pope shuts down Rome's 'dancing monastery'

A beautiful nun who is a former lapdancer and an entire nunnery that dances. Reason enough for Pope Benedict to shut it down. The Vatican, of course, blames financial irregularities.

The lovely story on the bbc.co.uk that says the nun at the centre of the controversy, Anna Nobili, spent many years working in Italian nightclubs.

After becoming a nun, she began performing what she called The Holy Dance in a performance at the monastery in front of senior Catholic clerics including Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Vatican's cultural department.

But of course the Pope, who is know to be made of much sterner stuff than the late lamented John Paul II, disaproved. Read why.

image
17:33   No let up in pressure against Gaddafi: Obama

Libya's Muammar Gaddafi may have slowly eased his way out of public memory, but no such luck with the US. President Barack Obama has said there will be "no let up" in the pressure against Gaddafi, reports bbc.co.uk.

Speaking at a news conference with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, the US leader said that Gaddafi would ultimately be forced from power. At least five explosions hit Tripoli overnight on Tuesday as Nato continued its campaign against the Libyan leader. Russia has condemned the raids as a "gross violation" of a UN resolution.

India, after the initial condemnation, has chosen to remain silent.

image
17:24   Suu Kyi plans freedom rallies to Mandalay
Burmese opposition leader Suu Kyi has said that she intends to test the limits of her freedom through rallies that will culminate in a visit to Burma's former capital Mandalay, six months after the military-led government ended her seven-year spell of house arrest.

Win Tin (no friend of Tintin), a close political ally of Suu Kyi said,"She told me recently that she has decided, and that she will go to the countryside in one or two months' time."

image
17:02   Closed painful chapter in history: Serb president

The bbc.co.uk says Serbian president President Tadic rejects any suggestion that Serbia dragged its feet in its pursuit of Mladic, saying he is very proud of Serbian investigators' work. Answering questions, at a press conference in Belgrade, Tadic says the timing of the Mladic arrest was "not calculated" but refuses to give details of the operation to arrest Mladic and that Serbia has closed a 'painful chapter in its history'.

Gen Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military leader, is wanted by the Hague on genocide and war crimes charges.

image
16:55   World's biggest war crimes fugitive arrested

Serbian president Boris Tadic confirms the arrest saying: 'It is good for Serbia that this page in our history is closed'

Read: Who is Ratko Mladic

image
16:50   Serbia's biggest war crimes suspect held?

Heads up: Police in Serbia have arrested a man suspected of being former Serbian military commander Ratko Mladic, the highest-ranking war crimes suspect still at large from the Balkan wars of the 1990s, Serbia's B92 radio reported today.

A report on cnn.com says that the police are doing DNA tests on the man to determine if he is Mladic. The radio station said it "contacted the police, but was told only that an indentity check and DNA analysis were 'ongoing."

image
16:40   Gambhir will be dropped if he is unfit: BCCI

This is what the BCCI has to say on whether Gautam Gambhir will in fact play in West Indies.

The BCCI is in the process of analysing Gambhir's medical reports and will drop the stand-in captain from the tour of the West Indies if he is found to be unfit.

BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said the Board had received the report submitted by Kolkata Knight Riders physio Andrew Leipus on Gambhir's shoulder injury and a decision will be taken very soon.

image
16:33  

Our respect for Anna Hazare is waning. The Magsaysay award winner without doubt brought to the Lokpal Movement against corruption,last month,his considerable reputation and the moral strength derived from his social work in a village in Maharashtra in his village, Ralegaon Siddhi.

At the that platform, Anna had praisedGujarat CM Narendra Modi saying his state was a model of development.

Today, Anna did a U-turn sayingthe state was corruptand urgently need a Lokayukta (ombudsman). He said liquor flowed in the state like water. (Gujarat is a dry state).

Makeup your mind, one way or the other, Anna.

image
16:22   IMF chief contender wants support from India

French finance minister Christine Lagarde is planning to visit India, China and Brazil to drum up support for her bid to become the chief of the IMF.

Lagarde, who announced her candidacy yesterday, said, "China, Brazil and India are an absolute necessity...," she told the Wall Street Journal in an interview.

"I would certainly prefer to be endorsed by a very large majority rather being the European candidate pushed by the Europeans," Lagarde said.

The post of IMF's Managing Director fell vacant after the ignominous exit of Dominique Strauss-Kahn this month over sexual harassment charges.

It may be remembered that Brics countries -- Brazil, Russia,India, China and South Africa -- are of the view that the IMF chief's post should not got to an European.

image
16:15   Gaddafi stashes billions in financial institutions

Here's a man who stubbornly makes it to the news every other day. Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.

The New York Times reports that Gaddafi has stashed billions of dollars of Libyan oil revenues with financial institutions on Wall Street and in Europe, according to a document made public today by an international advocacy group.

Goldman Sachs,JP Morgan,HSBC Holdingsand Socit Gnrale are among the major banks that have helped the strongman to invest some of the Libyansovereign wealth fund's $53 billion, according to the document, which was published on the Web by Global Witness.

On Tuesday, in the heaviest attack yet on the capital since the start of the two-month-old NATO bombing campaign, alliance aircraft struck at least 15 targets in central Tripoli, with most of the airstrikes concentrated on an area around Gaddafi's command compound.

image
16:03   Sania bows out of French Open Singles

What a shame! Just when she was beginning to show promise, Sania Mirza is out of the French Open singles. Sania loses to 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-2, 6-4 in th second round in 76 minutes.

Meanwhile, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi registered contrasting victories in the first round of the mixed doubles at the French Open today. The seventh seeded Indo-Czech pair of Paes and Iveta Benesova brushed aside Frenchwoman Aravine Rezai and her Bulgarian partner Grigor DiMitrov 6-3, 6-1 in only 52 minutes.

However, Bhupathi and his Chinese partner Jie Zheng had to fight hard before getting the better of Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Ukrain's Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-7 (3-7), 6-0, 10-8.

image
15:59   No air traffic disruptions across Europe today

We told you yesterday that ash from the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland is unlikely to create a major disruption of air traffic across Europe because activity has thankfully declined sharply.

The British weather bureau says there would be no disturbances to air traffic whatsoever for the next couple of days. As of now, there are no flight restrictions anywhere across Europe as the ash cloud from Iceland moved away from British skies to northern Europe and even then it's very mild.

image
15:48   KKR: BCCI knew about Gambhir injury

Even as former Kolkata Knight Riders' skipper was asked to return the land allotted to him by the former Left front government in West Bengal, KKR is in the news now for its role in handling Gautam Gambhir's injury.

KKR today said it had kept the BCCI in the loop over the injury issue which has now put a question mark on the stand-in captain's avaibility for the upcoming series against the West Indies.

Despite the injury, Gambhir played the eliminator match against Mumbai Indians yesterday and the move has now snowballed into a major controversy and sparked a debate on whether players are more keen to play in cash-rich events like IPL rather than the country.

A miffed BCCI is expected to take a decision on Gambhir soon.

image
15:36   China used prisoners in lucrative internet gaming

Fascinating story on the guardian.co.uk how Chinese labour camp detainees endure hard labour by day, online 'gold farming' by night. As a prisoner at the Jixi labour camp, Liu Dali would slog through tough days breaking rocks and digging trenches in the open cast coalmines of north-eastChina. By night, he would slay demons, battle goblins and cast spells.

Read

image
15:21   Govt orders probe into Goa tribal agitation

Goa government on Thursday ordered a magisterial enquiry into the violence, following the agitation by tribals demanding reservation in government jobs, that killed two tribals in Balli village, 60 kms south from Panaji.

Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said that the enquiry has been ordered after two charred bodies were recovered from the premises of a factory that was set on fire by a violent mob.

"The magistrate will inquirer into entire happenings that began on Wednesday morning after tribals blocked national highway and train routes," Kamat said.

Two tribal leaders, Manguesh Gaonkar and Dilip Velip, were burnt alive by a mob when the tribals agitating over reservation in government jobs went berserk pelted stones on several vehicles besides setting afire a forest outpost on Wednesday, police said.

The locals retaliated after their house and shops were pelted with stones following which they burned down a factory owned by a tribal leader, they said.

image
14:44   Faridabad crash: Haryana govt compensates victims

The Haryana government as well as the charter company which was operating the air ambulance that crashed here killing 10 people on Friday announced Rs 2 lakh each separately for the three women victims from the town.

Three women members of the same family were charred to death when the Pilatus PC-12 single-engine turboprop aircraft belonging to Delhi-based Air Chartered Services India Limited nosedived into two houses in Parvatiya Nagar.

Besides the compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the three, government job will also be given to one member of the family of Sobha Ram Sehrawat whose house was the worst-hit in the crash, Faridabad Deputy Commissioner Praveen Kumar said adding, Rs 20,000 each will be given to those injured.

Haryana Labour Minister Shiv Charan Sharma said the government would rebuild the house of Sehrawat whose wife, daughter and daughter-in-law died in the mishap.

The Air Chartered Services India Limited, from which the plane was hired by Apollo Hospital, also announced Rs 2 lakh each as compensation for the family of the victims and Rs 25,000 for the injured, according to Sunil Gaur, Director (Operations) of the company.

image
14:41   Zardari anticipated Abbottabad-like raid?

Over two years before US commandos swooped into the Pakistani city of Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had said he would be willing to "take the political heat" for a cross-border raid against a high-value target, according to a secret US diplomatic cable.

During a meeting with then US Ambassador Anne Patterson on October 2, 2008, Zardari "noted he would be willing to 'take the political heat' of a cross-border raid if a really important high value target was captured", said the cable sent by the envoy and released by WikiLeaks.

He was speaking to Patterson shortly after a visit to New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly session. Zardari, who had attended the UN meet for the first time after becoming President, "was appreciative of his briefings and meetings in New York", the cable said. Patterson did not say whether she and Zardari had discussed the possibility of cross-border raids by the US against terrorist leaders believed to be hiding in Pakistan.

The cable made no other reference to cross-border raids. However, Zardari spoke to the US envoy about reforms in the Inter-Services Intelligence agency and "political consolidation".

image
14:13   China used prisoners in lucrative internet gaming

Fascinating story on the guardian.co.uk how Chinese labour camp detainees endure hard labour by day, online 'gold farming' by night. As a prisoner at the Jixi labour camp, Liu Dali would slog through tough days breaking rocks and digging trenches in the open cast coalmines of north-eastChina. By night, he would slay demons, battle goblins and cast spells.

Read

image
14:08   Strauss-Kahn moves to $50K luxury pad

Here's where former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been moved to a luxury pad where he will remain under house arrest as he awaits trial for allegedly sexually assaulting a maid in a Manhattan hotel.

Strauss-Kahn's new apartment is a USD 50,000 per month luxury pad with four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a spa, gym, steam bath, and home theatre, the New York Post reported.

The three-story building at 153 Franklin Street in an area called Tribeca is reportedly the most expensive rental in the area. The former chief of the IMF will live with his wife, Anne Sinclaire, a French TV journalist.

Located on a charming cobblestone street between Varick and Hudson, the home was built in 1915 but recently renovated by noted architect and designer Leopoldo Rosati, the Post said. Celebrities like Cameron Diaz have reportedly previously shown interest in the place.

image
14:04   Headley recced nuclear power plant

More dope on the David Coleman Headley trial in Chicago.

Headley visited a nuclear power plant in India at the direction of his handler in Pakistan, Major Iqbal in April 2008. According to these documents,petitioned before the court, Major Iqbal, said to be an ISI officer, also gave him Indian currency notes for his operation in India.

image
13:43   So what's on the UK PM's bookshelves?

From the Londonist: A voyeur's joy -- a peek into UK PM David Cameron's books and DVDs.

See

image
13:36  
Bipasha Basu paid Rs 10,000 as tax for the undeclared cash and jewellery, though she calls it, 'excess baggage'.
image
13:34   Adarsh plot NOT for Kargil heroes: Shinde

This is the equivalent of denying that the Earth revolves around the sun.

Today, Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told the judicial panel probing the Adarsh Society Housing scam that the land where the controversial building stands belongs to the Maharashtra government and was never reserved for defence personnel or Kargil war heroes.

"The plot where Adarsh stands is owned by the State of Maharashtra. The plot was not reserved for Defence personnel or Kargil war heroes," Shinde, former Maharashtra Chief Minister said in an affidavit filed before the two-member enquiry commission set up to probe the Adarsh scam.

Shinde said the allotment of the land to Adarsh Society was done by the government only after proper scrutiny of all records. "The Letter of Intent dated January 18, 2003 made it clear that the land was alloted according to Government Resolution (GR) of July 1999 which did not provide reservation for war heroes," the affidavit says.

image
13:23   Flights to Singapore may get cheaper

Flights to Singapore may just get cheaper.

Singapore Airlines plans to start a budget carrier flying across longer distances. The new airline will start operating within a year, using wide-body aircraft to ferry passengers, reports bbc.co.uk. Details, such as its name, planned routes and ticket prices, have not been revealed.

The average price of a Singapore return ticket ranges between Rs 10,000 to Rs 17,000.

image
13:19   Star, Zee merge distribution biz in equal JV
A report on Indiantelevision.com saysIndia's leading broadcasters, Star and Zee are merging their distribution businesses. Star Den and Zee Turner are floating a new distribution company, Media Pro Enterprise India Pvt. Ltd where both will have equal stake.
image
13:14   Customs detain Bips for not declaring goods

Bollywood bombshell Bipasha Basu was detained at the Mumbai International airport for not declaring goods, but was released after she paid up the taxes. She was detained with unaccounted cash and jewellery.

These women never do learn. Just last week, another Bollywood, umm, actress, Minissha Lamba was detained at the international airport after undeclared jewellery was allegedly found in her possession.Lamba, who landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport from Cannes, France, was crossing the green channel when she was intercepted, a senior customs official said.

image
12:54   FBI thought David Headley worked for them

The trial of convicted terrorist David Coleman Headley continues in Chicago.

The newspaper Globe and Mail reports that US agents overlooked his growing radicalization in the belief he was actually working for them.

A Chicago court heard testimony that two US FBI agents showed up on Headley's doorstep in Philadelphia in late 2001, checking tips thatHeadley was talking openly about joining an armed jihadist movement '" even in the aftermath of 9/11.

But, here's what happened - American naivete stepped in. Read

image
12:42   Obama's toast to the Queen goes awry

A fun read from US President Barack Obama's UK visit.

The HuffingtonPost story:

A traditional sequence took a strange turn on Tuesday evening as President Barack Obama dined with the Queen. Obama was delivering a toast to the Queen, not unusual, but what happened next was.

He fumbled -- or the orchestra was in error, you be the judge-- leaving the Queen to look extremely uncomfortable.

The toast went awry after Obama said, "I propose a toast. To her majesty the Queen." The orchestra thought he was done, and began playing God Save The Queen. But he wasn't. And Obama continued his toast as the song played in the background.

Read more

image
12:28   Why Arnie had an affair: 'No sex with wife'

The usual, pathetic reasons that men come up with for infidelity.

A former friend of Arnold Schwarzenegger's mistress Mildred ''Patty'' Baena has claimed that the actor began a secret affair with his housekeeper after complaining about his ''sexless'' marriage with wife Maria Shriver.

Maria Medel has revealed details about how the pair's liaison allegedly began -- including their first drunken encounter -- in a new interview.

Medel, who attended the christening of Baena''s love child in 1997, also claims the housekeeper, was "obsessed' with the 'Terminator' star.

"When I met Patty she had already been working for Arnold for several years. She had a minishrine to him in her house -- his movie posters, pictures, newspaper clippings, action figures,' Medel added.

Medel claimed that Baena, 50, confided in her about the affair.

image
12:21   Taliban: Won't hit Pakistan nuclear arsenal

In a relief to the world at large, the Taliban said it has no plans to attack Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Its spokesman declared, that they would however keep up their campaign to avenge Osama bin Laden's death.

The Wall Street Journal reports thata larger assault earlier this week by the Pakistan Taliban on a naval base renewed fears that Pakistan's sizable nuclear arsenal could be vulnerable.

The Taliban's spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, dismissed those concerns Wednesday as America's "excuse" to pressure Pakistan's government into fighting the Taliban, who he portrayed as the country's true protectors.

image
12:18   Aseemanand in jail till June 7

Back to real life.

A local court in Panchkula, Haryana, today extended the judicial custody of Samjhauta blast case accused Swami Aseemanand till June 7 after the investigating agency NIA assured the Judge that a chargesheet will be filed against him before the next date of hearing.

The hearing in the case took place through video-conferencing with the accused lodged in central jail in Ambala. The defence submitted that the NIA team, which sought a permission from the court to interrogate Aseemanand for two days on Saturday and Sunday last, did not turn up even as the Swami's advocate was present on the both the occasions.

image
12:13   Malaika, Arbaaz "very much together"

A break from the all this serious news -- a tweet from Arbaaz Khan.

Let me clarify one last time that Malaika and me r very much together, gossip mongers and stupid malicious reporting about us should stop.

And an earlier one...

Malaika and me r very much together and don't need to validate our relationship constantly because of some stupid news in some gossip column

By way of introduction, Arbaaz is Malaika Arora Khan's husband and Salman Khan's brother. The reference he's made is from a column in Open magazine. Since this is a family website, we cannot, in all honesty, tell you what the column said about the couple.

There, that feels nice and sanctimonious.

image
12:07   India, Pak defence secretaries meet on May 30-31
In the background of the resumption of talks on Kashmir with Pakistan, (see our 11:47 am post), the defence secretaries of India and Pakistan are scheduled to meet on May 30-31 for talks.
image
11:58   Food inflation up to 8.55 per cent
Food inflation rises to 8.55 per cent for the week ended May14 from 7.47 per cent in the previous week.
image
11:57   45-minute commute may end push you to divorce

Going by this study carried out in Sweden, most Mumbaikars would be heading for a divorce.

A new study says that long commutes to work every day could mean one is on the road to divorce -- 45 minutes or more -- on trains or buses or stuck in cars shuttling to office are up to 40 per cent more likely to split from their spouse. The risk is highest in the first few years of marriage when the dream of life together gives way to the daily grind, the study has found.

According to the researchers, if one partner -- most likely the husband -- spends 45 minutes or more commuting they would come home too tired to help around the house.

This would create a "breeding ground for conflict" which would leave the other person feeling like they are being taken for granted.

And these researchers have actually got grants and are being paid a salary to table this 'pathbreaking' study.

image
11:52   Kashmir will form core of discussions

Our Delhi correspondent adds that since the delegation has three MPs from Jammu and Kashmir, the Kashmir problem will form the core of discussions.

"We will tell our Pakistani friends to use their influence to ensure a political space in Kashmir by asking militants not to target activists of mainstream political parties," said Shariq of National Conference which rules J&K.

"In return, the governments both the Centre and state can ensure a peaceful political space for separatists as well," he said.

The MPs, who were briefed here by the top foreign ministry officials before they left for Islamabad said they would attempt to reassure Pakistani counterparts to concentrate on the battle against terrorism and extremism as it was threat to the whole region.

image
11:47   12-member team heads to Pak for K solution

Heads up. Our Delhi correspondent reports India sent a high-level 12-member parliamentary delegation led by Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Prof. Saifuddin Soz to Pakistan to look for a political solution to the Kashmir tangle, besides discussing steps to build confidence and trust.

This the first Indian visit to Islamabad after the Americans smoked out Osama bin Laden from his hideout in Pakistan's cantonment town of Abbottabad.

The delegation includes five Congress MPs namely Dr Keshava Rao, Aaron Rasheed, Dr Sudharshan Nachiappan, Shadi Lal Batra and Madan Lal Sharma, thee from Left Front, Syed Aziz Pasha, Mohammad Amin and R C Singh.

Also on board are Tariq Anwar of the Nationaist Congress Party, Sharifuddin Shariq of National Conference and Rajniti Prasad of Rashtriya Janata Dal.

None from the opposition National Democratic Alliance and no explation was forthcoming why.

Since the delegation has three MPs from Jammu and Kashmir, the Kashmir problem would form core of discussions.

image
11:43   Strauss-Kahn bored under house arrest: lawyer

While on Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF chief has now been moved to a new, more permanent location in New York City where he will await trial on sex assault charges.

He was reportedly moved from lower Manhattan to a townhouse about 1.6km away. A lawyer for Strauss-Kahn said on yesterday his client was "very bored" under house arrest. Strauss-Kahn has denied charges of attempting to rape a hotel maid.

image
11:34   $2.5 lakh 'golden parachute' for ex-IMF boss

A US Congresswoman has reacted angrily to reports that former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is accused of a sex attack on a New York City hotel maid and is currently free on a million dollar cash bail, is set to receive a 250,000 dollar 'golden parachute' severance payment and pension.

Republican Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers asked: "What does it say about the IMF that its managing director has a higher annual salary than the President of the United States?'"That he stays at 3,000 dollars-per-night hotel rooms and that he gets a quarter of a million dollars in severance pay while awaiting charges for attempted rape?' she added.

image
11:30   Mehran airbase attack heavy loss for Pak: US

More funds coming up for Pakistan just so it can sponsor terror in India.

The US ambassador to Pakistan conceded that Pakistan suffered the loss of precious personnel and two exceptionally prized Orion 3 PC multi-role naval planes in the attack on Mehran Base in Karachi Sunday evening due to its frontline role in the war on terror.

The world should acknowledge this role, said Cameron C Munter as quoted in the Pakistanin paper The International News.

image
11:27   PNS Mehran probe to be made public: Gilani

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said facts regarding the PNS Mehran attack would be made public after investigations are completed.

"There is no discrepancy in the figure of attackers on PNS Mehran. It has rather been created in the media," he said.

He called on every segment of the society to strive in curbing extremism and that extremists would have to be dealt with an iron hand.

image
11:17   DGCA inquiry, compensation for crash victims

The DGCA began an inquiry into the crash of the medical ambulance aircraft and appointed an inspector of inquiry, who will take charge of all material evidence at the site of the mishap including the wreckage of the plane in sector 22 here.

In Chandigarh, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda expressed shock over the death of 10 persons in the crash and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the three deceased persons hailing from Faridabad. He also announced a financial assistance of Rs 20,000 to each of the three injured.

image
11:12   All women in a family killed in air crash tragedy

The tragic air crash in the residential area of Faridabad that killed 10 people -- three of a family in a house -- and seven in the plane -- has left the victims' families in shock.

The night began normally enough. Other than gusts of wind and a power cut, it was a regular evening for the Sehrawats in Parvatiya Colony when tragedy struck, wiping away all the womenfolk of the family.

Vedvati (55), her daughter Sarita (19) and daughter-in-law Rani (20) were killed when the chartered plane carrying a critically ill patient from Patna nosedived into their house in Gali no 3 of Mukesh Kunj at 10.35 pm.

The house, worst-hit among the two buildings that bore the brunt of the mishap, turned into a fireball after the crash.

The head of the family Sobha Ram along with his son Deepak and nephew Yash were injured in the incident.

Neighbours of the "friendly and cordial" Sehrawat family are numb in shock after the cruel turn of fate. The family very recently had a happy occasion to observe -- the marriage of their 21-year-old son Deepak, who is a taxi-driver.

image
11:03   SC tells Bengal govt to return Ganguly's money
Incidentally, the Supreme Court has also directed the West Bengal government to return Ganguly's money. The apex court had issued a notice to the state government (then Left Front) and Ganguly on a petition filed by an NGO which has alleged that the land at Salt Lake was alloted to the cricketer allegedly by flouting all procedures.
image
11:01   SC to Dada: Return academy land in 2 weeks
Just in: The Supreme Court has directed cricketer Sourav Ganguly to surrender the 63.04 'katha' of land within two weeks, thereby quashing the land allotment by the Left front government in 2000. The land was alloted for the establishment of a crikceting academy. The SC has now directed Ganguly to surrender the land in two weeks.
image
10:52   Top stories this morning

Good morning. Yet again, LeT operative David Coleman Headley occupies the prime share of headlines this morning. And this is just day 3 of the 26/11 trial in Chicago. Here are the rest of the headlines...

10 killed as air ambulance crashes near Delhi (Hindustan Times)

Mangled remains of an aircraft on streets, a damaged heavy metal fan of the engine, burning buildings, and people in panic. This was the scene at the accident site of the chartered plane that crashed in a residential area in Faridabad on Wednesday night, killing ten persons. Read

DGCA begins probe into crash of air ambulance (The Times of India)

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has appointed an inspector of inquiry, who will take charge of all material proof at the site of crash. Read

'Major Iqbal' chief plotter of 26/11: Headley (The Times of India)

In his testimony on Tuesday, Headley revealed that "Major Iqbal", a Pakistani army officer in ISI, was also known by the name "Chaudhery Khan. Read

Major Iqbal instructed Headley to buy bracelets to disguise attackers as Hindus (DNA)
In his last surveillance trip to India before 26/11, the Mumbai attacks terror accused, at the instruction of his Pakistani handler bought 15 red bracelets to be worn by the attackers. Read

ITBP too costly, Maharashtra police to now protect Ajmal Kasab (DNA)
Shocked by a staggering Rs11 crore bill from the ITBP for guarding Kasab, the Maharashtra government has decided to hand over the security of 26/11 terror attack convict to the state police. Read

'Mumbai attackers left clues despite fool-proof plan' (The Hindu)
According to the documents, Sajid explained that he had chosen the Leopold Cafe as an attack location because it was close to the Taj Mahal hotel and had instructed the attackers to move to the hotel after attacking the cafe. Read

U.S. worried Pakistan was misusing war funds (The Hindu)

Of concern were claims relating to helicopter operations, radar maintenance and Joint Staff operations. A cables noted that despite repeatedly raising issues relating to CSF disbursement, the Embassy had "not received satisfactory responses" Read

Headley e-mail casts light on ugly world of Shiv Sena fixers (The Hindu)

Late in the summer of 1998, as Lashkar-e-Taiba jihadist David Coleman Headley desperately searched for a means to assassinate Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray and hit a brick wall, he ran into a small-time party apparatchik with big dreams and an even bigger appetite for cash. Read

TOP STORIES