LIVE
Sat, 25 August 2012
Photo reveals UK police arrest plan for Assange
Timeline Refresh
23:04 Photo reveals UK police arrest plan for Assange
A policeman in London appears to have accidentally revealed an arrest plan for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, in what UK media have branded an embarrassing slip-up by London's Metropolitan Police.
The photo, snapped by the Press Association news agency and published in several newspapers, shows a clipboard held by a uniformed officer Friday outside the Ecuadorian embassy where Assange has been holed up since June, reports CNN.
Clearly legible in a zoomed-in view of the clipboard, on a sheet of paper headed "Restricted," are the words: "EQ Embassy brief -- Summary of current position re. Assange. Action required -- Assange to be arrested under all circumstances." It goes on to suggest possible ways in which he could exit the building, such as in a diplomatic bag or vehicle.
The document also appears to warn of the possibilities of "distraction," perhaps by supporters of Assange who have previously rallied outside the central London embassy building.
Read full report here
The photo, snapped by the Press Association news agency and published in several newspapers, shows a clipboard held by a uniformed officer Friday outside the Ecuadorian embassy where Assange has been holed up since June, reports CNN.
Clearly legible in a zoomed-in view of the clipboard, on a sheet of paper headed "Restricted," are the words: "EQ Embassy brief -- Summary of current position re. Assange. Action required -- Assange to be arrested under all circumstances." It goes on to suggest possible ways in which he could exit the building, such as in a diplomatic bag or vehicle.
The document also appears to warn of the possibilities of "distraction," perhaps by supporters of Assange who have previously rallied outside the central London embassy building.
Read full report here
21:50 Shirish Kunder apologises to SRK on Twitter
Filmmaker Shirish Kunder has finally put an end to the ongoing animosity between him and superstar Shah Rukh Khan by tweeting a public apology.
The editor-turned-director, who is married to Shah Rukh's close friend and choreographer-director-and-now-actor Farah Khan, had created a stir last year when he took a potshot at the superstar's mega-budget venture RA.One on Twitter. "I just heard a 150 Cr firework fizzle," Kunder had tweeted.
However, Kunder has now apologised for the same in a tweet today, and says he regrets it."I'll always regret one thing that I feel very guilty about. I sincerely apologise for my tweet on RA.One," he tweeted.
The editor-turned-director, who is married to Shah Rukh's close friend and choreographer-director-and-now-actor Farah Khan, had created a stir last year when he took a potshot at the superstar's mega-budget venture RA.One on Twitter. "I just heard a 150 Cr firework fizzle," Kunder had tweeted.
However, Kunder has now apologised for the same in a tweet today, and says he regrets it."I'll always regret one thing that I feel very guilty about. I sincerely apologise for my tweet on RA.One," he tweeted.
21:16 Auto driver held for call about bombs at Raj rally
An auto rickshaw driver was today arrested for allegedly making a fake call claiming that three explosives had been planted to eliminate MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday during his rally, sending the securityagencies into a tizzy, police said.
Acting on a tip-off, the accused Rajesh Kumar Sharma, auto rickshaw driver by profession, was apprehended this morning from suburban Vile Parle and a mobile handset and four SIM cards, including the one used to make the fake call, were recovered, a crime branch official said.
According to police, Sharma had introduced himself as taxi driver Santosh Gaikwad and had called the police control room on August 21, the day when Thackeray held a rally demanding ouster of the state Home Minister R R Patil and the then city police chief Arup Patnaik for the August 11 violence at Azad Maidan, saying that there was a threat to Thackeray.
Sharma further claimed that he had overheard three passengers in his cab talking about keeping three bombs at the site to kill the MNS chief, police said.
Acting on a tip-off, the accused Rajesh Kumar Sharma, auto rickshaw driver by profession, was apprehended this morning from suburban Vile Parle and a mobile handset and four SIM cards, including the one used to make the fake call, were recovered, a crime branch official said.
According to police, Sharma had introduced himself as taxi driver Santosh Gaikwad and had called the police control room on August 21, the day when Thackeray held a rally demanding ouster of the state Home Minister R R Patil and the then city police chief Arup Patnaik for the August 11 violence at Azad Maidan, saying that there was a threat to Thackeray.
Sharma further claimed that he had overheard three passengers in his cab talking about keeping three bombs at the site to kill the MNS chief, police said.
20:40 Empire State Building shooting: 9 hurt by police firing
Police firing was responsible for wounding nine people in the shooting at the Empire State Building.
The New York Police Department released surveillance video showing the moment two officers opened fire on a man who had just gunned down a former work acquaintance in front of the Empire State Building.
Police said Jeffrey Johnson shot Steven Ercolino, a former co-worker on Friday and then stood over his prone body, pumping more bullets into him.
The New York Police Department released surveillance video showing the moment two officers opened fire on a man who had just gunned down a former work acquaintance in front of the Empire State Building.
Police said Jeffrey Johnson shot Steven Ercolino, a former co-worker on Friday and then stood over his prone body, pumping more bullets into him.
19:30 5 killed in fresh violence in Assam
Five killed in fresh violence in Chirang district of Assam. Indefinite curfew has been imposed in Chirang.
More than 80 persons have lost their lives and four lakh were rendered homeless in the violence in lower Assam districts of Korajhar, Dhubri and Chirang since early August.
More than 80 persons have lost their lives and four lakh were rendered homeless in the violence in lower Assam districts of Korajhar, Dhubri and Chirang since early August.
18:37 Deshmukh's ashes to be immersed at Ramtek on Aug 29
The urn containing ashes of late Vilasrao Deshmukh will be brought in Nagpur on August 29, and kept for darshan at Devadia Congress Bhawan, party sources said.
Deshmukh, a senior Congress leader and a Union Minister, passed away at a Chennai hospital earlier this month. Maharashtra Minister for Social Justice Shivajirao Moghe said the urn would be taken in procession to the Congress office from the railway station. Aftar all-religion prayers, it would be taken to Ramtek for immersion in the evening.
Deshmukh, a senior Congress leader and a Union Minister, passed away at a Chennai hospital earlier this month. Maharashtra Minister for Social Justice Shivajirao Moghe said the urn would be taken in procession to the Congress office from the railway station. Aftar all-religion prayers, it would be taken to Ramtek for immersion in the evening.
18:27 PC on coalgate: Why BJP not ready for Parl debate?
Hitting out at the BJP for disruption of Parliament on coal block allocations issue, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today asked the party why it was not not ready for a debate, daring it to face questions on allocations made during the NDA rule.
"If the BJP has such a strong case, why don't they debate the subject in Parliament," he said, reacting to BJP leader Arun Jaitley's criticism of the government and his assertion that his party is in no mood to allow Parliament to function till its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation is met.
Jaitley told a press conference in Delhi today that a nationwide debate is on on the coal block issue though it is not taking place in Parliament. "Our strategy does not permit that we allow the government to use Parliament to end this debate without any accountability. We want the debate to go on further," he had said.
"If the BJP has such a strong case, why don't they debate the subject in Parliament," he said, reacting to BJP leader Arun Jaitley's criticism of the government and his assertion that his party is in no mood to allow Parliament to function till its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation is met.
Jaitley told a press conference in Delhi today that a nationwide debate is on on the coal block issue though it is not taking place in Parliament. "Our strategy does not permit that we allow the government to use Parliament to end this debate without any accountability. We want the debate to go on further," he had said.
17:54 Kejriwal says he'll go ahead with Sunday protest
The Delhi police has denied permission to RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal for a protest called by him in New Delhi on Sunday.
Kejriwal has called for the public to gherao or protest at the homes of the Prime Minister, BJP president Nitin Gadkari and also Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Sunday. But despite the denial, Kejriwal is confident that his supporters will join him in large numbers, reports NDTV.
"It will only strengthen our protest. We will not back down," he told NDTV.
In a letter written to India Against Corruption, a movement fronted by Kejriwal and Gandhian activist Anna Hazare, the Delhi police said today that it cannot allow people to gather for the protest because Parliament is in session and hence prohibitory orders are in place in most parts of Delhi.
Read full report here
Kejriwal has called for the public to gherao or protest at the homes of the Prime Minister, BJP president Nitin Gadkari and also Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Sunday. But despite the denial, Kejriwal is confident that his supporters will join him in large numbers, reports NDTV.
"It will only strengthen our protest. We will not back down," he told NDTV.
In a letter written to India Against Corruption, a movement fronted by Kejriwal and Gandhian activist Anna Hazare, the Delhi police said today that it cannot allow people to gather for the protest because Parliament is in session and hence prohibitory orders are in place in most parts of Delhi.
Read full report here
17:29 Geetika case: Kanda sent to 3-day police custody
Former Haryana Minister Gopal Kanda, arrested in connection with the suicide of his former employee, was sent to three-day police custody.
Kanda surrendered before police last Saturday after evading them for 11 days following registration of abetment to suicide case against him. His former employee Geetika Sharma committed suicide on August 5 alleging harassment by Kanda and his employee Aruna Chaddha, whom she claimed were pressurising her to rejoin.
Chaddha is presently in judicial custody. Investigators had claimed that the suicide notes they recovered were written on the same day though they bore two dates.
Kanda surrendered before police last Saturday after evading them for 11 days following registration of abetment to suicide case against him. His former employee Geetika Sharma committed suicide on August 5 alleging harassment by Kanda and his employee Aruna Chaddha, whom she claimed were pressurising her to rejoin.
Chaddha is presently in judicial custody. Investigators had claimed that the suicide notes they recovered were written on the same day though they bore two dates.
17:10 We want coal-gate debate to go on further: BJP
Rubbishing the no loss argument of the government in the coal block allocations, the Bharatiya Janata Party has made it clear that it is in no mood to allow Parliament to function till its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation is met.
"A nation wide debate is on on this issue though it is not taking place in Parliament. Our strategy does not permit that we allow the government to use Parliament to end this debate without any accountability. We want the debate to go on further," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told media persons in New Delhi.
"There are occasions when obstruction in Parliament brings greater benefit to the country," he said.
Jaitley dismissed Chidambaram's assertion on Friday that there cannot be a loss in the coal block allocations as no mining was done in many cases.
"Kapil Sibal had propounded the zero loss theory in the 2G spectrum case. It was a bitter experience for him. He had to eat his words. Finance Minister P Chidambaram has not learnt lessons from Sibal's bitter experience and has tried to take it further," he said.
16:10 PM to meet Ayatollah during Iran visit on Aug 28
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will leave for Iran on August 28 to attend the Non-Aligned Movement Summit, which will be preceded by crucial bilateral talks with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
A host of meeting with the leaders of other NAM countries, including Pakistan, is also likely to take place on the sidelines of the 16th Summit of 120-nation grouping, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said while briefing reporters in New Delhi on Prime Minister's four-day Iran visit.
Singh's bilateral meet with Iranian leadership assumes significance as it will take place at a time when the US is pushing India to reduce engagement with Iran and implement sanctions imposed by some countries over its controversial nuclear programme.
"We had indeed proposed to schedule a meeting with Khamenei. During the meeting the Prime Minister will raise all issues for India-Iran bilateral relations and issues of interest and concern to us.
"Peace and security is, indeed, our primary concern given just how important the entire West Asia region, Gulf region, in particular, is for India's security and for Indian economy, both in terms of oil imports and our exports. So, this is our own concern and we don't have to take anybody else is concern...," he said.
15:00 Air India stops checking in excess VIP baggage
In an attempt to plug revenue loss of Air India, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has imposed a blanket ban on excess baggage checked in by ministers and civil servants, which is generally carried free by the airlines.
Singh, in a letter to Air India CMD Rohit Nandan, said that the airline should stop the practise of carrying excess baggage without charges immediately on domestic and international flights, a senior official said.
The Minister has said that no such requests should be entertained as the airline needs to generate more revenue, he added, referring to his letter written on Thursday.
World over, excess baggage fee is a form of an ancillary revenue for airlines.
Welcoming the move, airline officials said on an average they used to get around 100 requests for waiver of excess baggage fees on Air India flights from some "important persons".
"Sometimes we are unable to say no to their request," they said, adding this practise would end now "as we can flatly tell them that it is an order and we have to abide by it".
14:57 Situation improves in Rajasthan
Situation has started improving in Rajasthan where Army was roped in for rescue and relief work in the wake of torrential rainfall which has claimed 33 lives and left many districts facing a flood-like situation.
No fresh rain-related incident occurred and efforts are on to provide relief to people in affected areas in Sikar, Karoli, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Jhunjhunu, Dholpur and Bharatpur, an official said.
Situation in Jaipur and Dausa is under control and de-watering process in waterlogged areas is on, he said.
In Jaipur, localities in Madrampura and Jawahar nagar ares are still submerged and rescue teams of Army are pumping out accumulated rainwater.
Teams of the civil administration are carrying out surveys to assess loss and medical teams are also working in separate areas for disease control, additional district collector Arun Gupta said.
Around 1,500 people are still homeless and staying in relief camps at various places in the district, he said, adding that food packets were also being distributed.
13:08 Actor A K Hangal remains critical
Distinguished character actor A K Hangal, who has been hospitalised for over a week now, remains in critical condition, his family said on Saturday.
The 98-year-old was admitted to Asha Parekh hospital in suburban Santacruz on August 16.
"He is in the ICU. He is not on ventilator. But he is on oxygen mask. His condition has worsened on Saturday," Hangal's son, Vijay, told PTI.
The doctors have told the family that he is in a critical condition.
Hangal slipped and fell down in his bathroom on August 13, fracturing his right femur (thigh) bone. Later when he was to undergo surgery, it was observed that he has several complications from chest problem to breathing.
The yesteryear actor, who has acted in over 200 films, is best known for character oriented roles in films like Namak Haram, Sholay, Shaukeen, Aaina, Bawarchi and others.
Recently, he returned to face the studio lights after seven long years for TV Series Madhubala.
12:25 Malayalam actor Thilakan in critical condition
The condition of renowned Malayalam film Actor Thilakan, who was admitted to a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on August 23 following a heart attack, continues to be critical, according to doctors attending on him.
Thilakan (74) was admitted to a hospital at Thrissur on August 21 after he collapsed during the shooting of a new film. He was then shifted to the hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
Hospital sources said besides having cardiac problems, Thilakan was suffering from pneumonia.
The actor has been put on ventilator since Friday, they said.
12:21 India tests nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile
India on Saturday test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II ballistic missile from the Integrated Test Range off Odisha coast as part of a user trial by the Army.
"The sophisticated surface-to-surface missile was flight tested at around 1100 hours from a mobile launcher at ITR's launch complex-3 as part of an operational exercise," defence sources said.
The test-fire of the short-range ballistic missile, which has already been inducted into the armed forces, was a user's trial conducted from the test range at Chandipur, about 15 km, from Balasore in Odisha.
The sleek missile is handled by the strategic force command, they said.
12:16 Elections will silence critics: Lankan president
Hitting back at critics, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said the snap elections called for three provincial councils next month would silence them.
Addressing the voters of the North, Central and South-western provinces last night, Rajapaksa said that his government had faced unjust international criticism for ending a three decade old separatist armed conflict.
He said local and international critics point accusations at his government for human rights abuses to embarrass him and the voters of the three provinces have been given the opportunity to answer them.
The President said he would not allow communalism to raise its head and would treat all three ethnic groups in the island with fairness.
Sri Lanka has faced international stricture for alleged rights abuses, most prominent was the UN human rights council resolution in March moved by US and backed by India.
Snap elections are scheduled to be held on September 8 for three of the island's nine provinces. The opposition charges the government of holding elections on a staggered basis to gain undue advantage.
12:12 Rains lash Haryana and Punjab
Rains lashed many parts of Haryana and Punjab on Saturday, with the mercury hovering a few notches below normal.
Chandigarh, the joint capital of the two states, was lashed by heavy rains on Saturday.
In Haryana, Ambala, Narnaul, Rohtak, Panchkula and Kalka were among other places to be lashed by rains.
Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Ropar, Mohali, Madhopur and Phagwara in Punjab were also lashed by rains.
After poor rainfall in the June-July period, the current month has brought good rains in the two states and Chandigarh.
It has been raining in the region for most part of this week and more rains have been forecast by the MeT Department over the next few days.
11:24 NATO strike kills 12 militants in Afghanistan
A NATO airstrike in eastern Afghanistan targeting a group of insurgents near the Pakistani border killed at least 12 militants, the international military coalition said.
Pakistani intelligence and Afghan officials said Mullah Dadullah, the self-proclaimed leader of the Pakistani Taliban in Pakistan's Bajur tribal area was also killed, although they offered conflicting reports on the exact location of yesterday's strike.
NATO could not confirm that a senior militant had been killed. Coalition spokesman Maj. Adam Wojack said the attack took place late last afternoon in Kunar province near the Pakistan border, killing 12 militants.
Conflicting reports out of the rugged and remote regions along the Afghan-Pakistan border are common shortly after an attack.
Kunar provincial official Aslam Gul Mujahid said the airstrike killed 20 people, including Dadullah. Pakistani intelligence officials said Dadullah and 19 others were killed, but they said the airstrike took place in Pakistan's Bajur region, just across the border from Kunar.
10:48 BJP to take on govt before media at 2pm today
A day after the government maintained that Comptroller and Auditor General's concept of presumptive loss in coal block allocation was flawed and that there was no loss because no mining has taken place as yet, the Bharatiya Janata Party seems set to launch its counter-offensive.
At 2pm on Saturday Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley will hold a press conference at 11, Ashok Road on coal-gate and the CAG's report to counter government arguments.
Rejecting Finance Minister P Chidambaram's zero-loss theory in coal allocation scam because no mining was done, the BJP had on Friday said his view was akin to Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal's repudiation of CAG's estimation of presumptive loss in allocation of 2G spectrum.
09:51 Samsung copied Apple patents; fined over $1bn
Apple has won more than $1 billion in a massive victory over South Korean giant Samsung, in one of the biggest patent cases in decades -- a verdict that could have huge market repercussions.
A jury in San Jose, California rejected Samsung's counterclaims against Apple on Friday, according to media reports -- a big win for the Silicon Valley giant, which had claimed its iconic iPhone and iPad had been illegally copied.
The jury, which had examined infringement claims and counter-claims by Apple and Samsung, ruled the South Korean electronics giant had infringed on a number of patents, the tech websites Cnet and The Verge said in live courtroom blogs.
The verdict affects patents on a range of Samsung products including some of its popular Galaxy smartphones and its Galaxy 10 tablet -- devices alleged to have been copied from the iPhone and iPad.
"This is a huge, crushing win for Apple," said Brian Love, a professor of patent law at Santa Clara University.
"All of its patents were held valid, and all but one were held to be infringed by most or all accused Samsung products. Even better for the company, five of the seven patents were held to be willfully infringed by Samsung."
Love said this means that Judge Lucy Koh "now has the discretion to triple Apple's damages award, which is already a monstrous and unprecedented $1.051 billion."
09:47 Top headlines at this hour
'Is Chidambaram ready to cancel coal mines allocation?'
PHOTOS: Man kills ex-colleague in NY shooting; 9 injured
Armstrong stripped of Tour de France titles
Coalgate: BJP rejects Chidambaram's zero-loss theory
NIA lets off two detained in Beed after questioning
'How does it matter if Rajesh Khanna is dead or alive?'
Govt not running away from Kanda issue: Hooda
Jundal's police custody extended till September 3
Assam: 1,706 new refugees in relief camps
02:58 Three dead in newly-built Chinese bridge collapse
A section of a multi-million dollar bridge in China that opened in November has collapsed, leaving three people dead and five injured, state media say.
Four lorries fell off the Yangmingtan Bridge in Harbin City, Heilongjiang province, when part of it collapsed, Xinhua news agency said.
01:08 Mexico: Two US embassy staff shot and injured
Two people employed at the US embassy in Mexico have been shot and wounded in a vehicle south of Mexico City, officials say.
Their armoured US embassy four-wheel drive vehicle came under fire on a main road leading to the city of Cuernavaca, police said, quoted by Mexican media.
TOP STORIES
© 2024 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances