Sunday, April 18, 2010

Rihanna kicks off European tour in ultra-sexy outfits

LONDON - Sexy singer Rihanna wowed her fans with a range of stunning outfits as she kicked off her European tour. The most notable of her dresses was a raunchy black outfit. “The show was incredible, she even rides around on a giant gun,” the News of the World quoted a source as saying, about her gig in Antwerp, Belgium. The insider added: “She looked amazing and the costumes were out of this world.” (ANI)

rihanna

Manufacturing fault, not UFO, caused turbine blade failure in Scotland

LONDON - Engineers have found that a manufacturing defect, not UFO, caused the turbine blade failure at a Scottish wind farm last month.Manufacturers Siemens, the German engineering company, discovered that the giant turbine blade snapped off because of freak problems with the glue used to coat it - scotching theories it may have been hit by lightning or, as some even suggested, an unidentified flying object.The catastrophic failure of the 150ft-long, 14-tonne blade at the Whitelees site near Eaglesham sparked global concerns about the safety of wind farm equipment.However, a spokesman for Siemens said that the blade broke off due to what it described as a one-off manufacturing fault in its outer coating.“We will carry out further investigations but we think there was a manufacturing defect in the laminate that covers the blade, a weak spot which caused it to break and fall off,” the Scotsman quoted spokesman Oliver Loenker as saying. (ANI)

Kiwi politician under fire for comparing himself to Jesus

WELLINGTON - North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams has come under fire for comparing himself to the Jesus on the cross.A group of his colleagues will present him with a letter asking for his immediate resignation.It is alleged that Williams urinated on a tree outside council offices after drinking at a Takapuna restaurant and wrote an email to councillors.“Yes two blokes got cru-ci-fied this week …and both will most cer-tainly rise from the dead to come back to haunt a few people!!” he wrote in the mail.The email was sent on April 4, Easter Sunday, reports The New Zealand Herald News.Catholic Diocese of Auckland spokeswoman Lyndsay Freer said Williams’ comment was inappropriate.“Jesus died for our sins, but he [Williams] appears to be crucified for his own.” (ANI)

Celebrating World Heritage Day with the youth (April 18 is World Heritage Day)

NEW DELHI - With an aim to educate the youth about protection, preservation and propagation of Indian heritage, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted various fun-filled activities at the Red Fort as part of the World Heritage Day celebrations Sunday.“Our main objective is to educate the youth on protection, preservation and propagation of our great heritage, for which our country is known,” B.R. Mani, ASI joint director, told IANS.“This year, we are conducting various activities for school children, through which we tell them the importance of heritage and monument sites in our country,” Mani said.“This day (World Heritage Day) offers us an opportunity to raise awareness about the diversity of our cultural heritage,” he added.Around 40 students from Tagore International School and Deshbandhu college here participated in various competitions like debate, drawing, extempore and essay. The topic of the essay competition was “Adapt a Heritage”.The students also participated in a cleanliness drive and took oath to protect the monuments in and around the capital.For the older people, the ASI conducted special lectures on conservation of heritage sites at the Red Fort.

Use of nuclear arms ‘haram’, says Khamenei

TEHRAN - Use of nuclear arms is “haram” (religiously forbidden) and it is necessary for all to protect mankind from the grave disaster, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said.“Any use or even threat to use nuclear weapons is a serious and material violation of indisputable rules of humanitarian law and a cogent example of a war crime,” Khamenei was quoted as saying Saturday by IRNA news agency.The Iranian supreme leader said: “There is no winner in a nuclear war and entering such a war is irrational and inhuman.”He stressed the need to find “sensible and practical ways and solutions to counter the threat of nuclear weapons against humanity.”The Ayatollah also urged participants at the First International Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, which began here Saturday, to take “serious steps towards protecting world peace and stability.”Officials and ministers from 60 countries are taking part in the conference.

Right to Food act to be brought out soon, says HM

Chennai, Apr 18 (PTI) Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today said the Centre would soon come out with a comprehensive Right to Food Act."After the Right to Information Act, Right to Work Act and Right to Education Act, the Government is working on a Right to food Act, which will be enforced soon," he said at a function here.He claimed that the Congress-led UPA government's rights based approach has ensured faster economic growth, benefiting all sections of society in the country.On the education front, he said disbursement of loans and scholarships to students, especially Dalits, has reached "unprecedented levels" under the UPA government.In 2008-2009, education loans worth Rs 25,000 crore were disbursed to poor students and this figure was expected to go up to Rs 45,000 crore during 2009-2010, benefiting about 25 lakh students, he said.

Taliban says will break the Americans teeth

Kandahar (Afghanistan), Apr.18 (ANI): The Taliban believes they are winning and are able to negotiate from a position of strength.Asked about a forthcoming Nato offensive in the Kandahar region, a local Taliban commander told The Times: “We’re ready for this. We’re going to break the Americans’ teeth.”The Taliban leaders said that lessons had been learnt from NATO’s last big offensive in the Marjah area of Helmand province earlier this year. When NATO gave advance notice of the operation, the Taliban were lured into sending too many fighters to the area, some of whom died.The leaders said that in Kandahar a plan to counter Nato had already been prepared.“There will be no surprise there. We have our people inside all positions in the city, in the government and the security forces,” The Times quoted Abdul Rashid, a Taliban spokesman, as saying. He added that America already had enough problems “to haunt her” and fighting in Kandahar would only turn more people against it.“People don’t trust the foreigners because they are backing the warlords. People are fed up with crime and brutality and that’s a big problem for the Americans. We’re well positioned, with supporters everywhere,” he added. Abdul Rashid said there had been Taliban commanders who had financed their campaigns by taking bribes to give safe passage to Nato supply convoys or from drug smugglers. But the Taliban’s leadership had ordered a halt to this.“What we do is not for a worldly cause — it is for the sake of Allah. More important than the fighting for us now is the process of purification. We are getting rid of all the rotten apples,” he said. (ANI)

IPL semi-finals shifted to Navi Mumbai

Mumbai, Apr 18 (ANI): The two semi-finals of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament, which were scheduled to b held in Bangalore, have been shifted to Navi Mumbai for security reasons.Television reports said that foreigner players have expressed apprehensions and reservations about playing in Bangalore following Saturday''s bomb scare.The Bangalore Police had earlier hinted at not giving a green signal to the IPL semis till security issue is resolved.Bangalore Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari said, "Till full proof security is available, we won''t give permission for the IPL semifinal matches."Earlier on Sunday, three bombs were defused near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The first one around 100 meters from the stadium and the second one near the Gandhi Murti, also near the stadium.A third explosive was defused near Gate Number One of the stadium.Sources said the bombers had time placed the devices behind a flex board.At least 12 people were wounded in the incidents on Saturday, which caused an hour''s delay in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers of Bangalore.Roughly 20,000 people had packed into the stadium and hundreds more were streaming in when a loud explosion at Gate Number 12 rattled nearby buildings.The first explosion occurred at 3:15 p.m. and the second 20 minutes later.The explosives were found in bushes.Preliminary forensic investigation revealed that the explosive was an ammonium nitro glycerine gelatin stick. It was detonated with the help of a microchip timer.Both the IPL semis were scheduled to be played at Bangalore on April 21 and 22 respectively. (ANI)

Benazir Bhutto murder 'avoidable', UN inquiry concludes

benazir bhuttoThe assassination of ex-Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto in 2007 could have been prevented and the subsequent inquiry was bungled, according to a UN report. It says insufficient security measures were taken by the government of then President Pervez Musharraf. And it concludes that the police deliberately failed to investigate the murder properly as they feared intelligence agency involvement. An aide to President Musharraf said the report was a "pack of lies". 'Failed profoundly' The independent UN commission of inquiry urges the authorities to launch a "credible, serious" investigation into Ms Bhutto's death at a rally in the city of Rawalpindi "and bring those responsible to justice". Its report says that the pervasive presence of Pakistan's powerful politicised intelligence agencies hampered the initial inquiry. "The commission believes that the failure of the police to investigate effectively Ms Bhutto's assassination was deliberate," the report says. "These officials, in part fearing intelligence agencies' involvement, were unsure of how vigorously they ought to pursue actions, which they knew, as professionals, they should have taken." The report criticises the intelligence agencies for conducting parallel investigations, gathering evidence which was only selectively shared with the police. Speaking at a news conference at the UN in New York, the head of the commission, Heraldo Munoz, said: "A range of government officials failed profoundly in their efforts, first to protect Ms Bhutto and second to investigate with vigour all those responsible for her murder, not only in the execution of the attack but also in its conception, planning and financing." One of President Musharraf's aides, Rashid Qureshi, told the BBC: "The report makes absurd statements. The inquiry was not well conducted." He insisted that President Musharraf was not in charge of Pakistani security at the time of the assassination as he had already resigned as head of the army. Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) - led by her widower, current President Asif Ali Zardari - said it was satisfied with the inquiry. Senior party leaders told the BBC that the findings were "exactly what they had been saying all along". And a presidential spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said efforts to track down the perpetrators behind the assassination would be redoubled. Publication delay The commission was set up in July last year in response to a request from Pakistan. The three-member panel was mandated to investigate the facts and circumstances of Bhutto's death, not assign criminal responsibility. Its report had been due to be published at the end of March but was delayed for two weeks at the request of President Zardari, who had called for the investigation. The government said it wanted extra time to include input from Afghanistan, the US and Saudi Arabia, three countries that had apparently warned Ms Bhutto of a death threat. President Musharraf has declared that the late head of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, organised the assassination. Ms Bhutto herself had written that four suicide attack squads were after her, some linked to al-Qaeda. But she also accused a group of senior politicians and intelligence officials of plotting to kill her, and many of her followers blame elements of the military establishment and President Musharraf's government for her death.

Assam Governor for more courts at lower level

GUWAHATI: Voicing concern at the huge backlog of cases pending in courts, Assam governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik on Saturday called for more courts at the lower level for their timely disposal.Speaking at the launching of 'North Eastern region access to Justice and socio-economic development programmes' here, Patnaik said there should be more courts at the district and sub divisional levels."Lok Adalats at the village level should be empowered with judicial powers to dispose of petty cases. Vacancies in the high courts and other courts should be filled up and retired judges should be temporarily appointed to function in specially constituted courts to dispose off the huge backlog of cases pending up to a particular period," he said.The problems of the legal system had become acute as the expense of pursuing cases in courts, the intimidating structure of the courts and the inability of legal aid system to reach all sections were the major institutional barriers to justice, the governor added.

Rapes on minors outnumber those on women in Mumbai

Mumbai, Apr 18 (PTI) Rapes on minors have outnumbered those on women in the city, making the former more vulnerable and soft targets of the crime.Till February this year, the city police has registered 36 rape cases out of which 23 are of rapes on minors.In 2009, a total of 182 rape cases were registered out of which 128 belong to cases of rapes on minors. In 2008, a total of 216 cases were registered in the city in which 147 belong to cases of rapes on minors.Joint Police Commissioner Rajnish Seth (Law and Order) says such cases are more as the culprits feel they could easily overpower the minor girls and after committing crimes, they could easily escape."In many cases, the culprit either is a relative, neighbour or someone living in the same locality where the girl stays.

AIIMS metro station is patient-friendly

New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) With thousands of passengers expected to use the station due to its proximity to two premier hospitals, the DMRC has specially designed the AIIMS Metro junction to enable passengers to directly go to AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital without having to cross the road.The station has been strategically constructed right between AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospitals on Aurobindo Road, so that patients can be conveniently taken to any of the hospitals from the Metro station, a DMRC spokesman said.The station expected to have a footfall of 60,000 everyday by next year, is part of the Central Secretariat-Gurgaon corridor which will be thrown open to the public in June.To facilitate free movement of patients to the hospital from the station and vice-versa, four entrances have been constructed.

US lacks long-term policy to curb Iran’s nuke drive: Gates

Washington, Apr. 18 (ANI): Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has said the United States does not have an effective long-range policy for dealing with Iran’s steady progress toward nuclear capability.According to officials, the secret three-page memorandum describes only portions dealing with strategy and policy, and not sections that apparently dealt with secret operations against Iran, or how to deal with Persian Gulf allies. The New York Times quoted one senior official, as saying that the document is “a wake-up call.”The paper reports that Gates wrote of a variety of concerns, including the absence of an effective strategy should Iran choose the course that many government and outside analysts consider likely.According to several officials, the memorandum also calls for new thinking about how the United States might contain Iran’s power if it decided to produce a weapon, and how to deal with the possibility that fuel or weapons could be obtained by one of the terrorist groups Iran has supported, which officials said they considered to be a less-likely possibility.Gates’s spokesman, Geoff Morrell, declined to comment on specifics in the document, but issued a statement on Saturday saying, “The secretary believes the president and his national security team have spent an extraordinary amount of time and effort considering and preparing for the full range of contingencies with respect to Iran.”Pressed on the administration’s ambiguous phrases until now about how close the United States was willing to allow Iran’s program to proceed, a senior administration official described last week in somewhat clearer terms that there was a line Iran would not be permitted to cross.Gates’s memo appears to reflect concerns in the Pentagon and the military that the White House does not have a series of alternatives in place in case all the diplomatic steps finally fail. (ANI)

Security agencies probing IPL slush finances

New Delhi, Apr 18 (ANI): Security agencies are reportedly tracking the sources of slush funds to the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams.There are reports that the security agencies have joined hands with the Finance Ministry to track down the illegal money trails from tax havens abroad.Income Tax officials had earlier submitted a preliminary report to the Finance Ministry about the unknown investors in IPL and its franchises.Sources said the report charts out the structure of the Kochi team ownership on bid documents.There are reports that notices will be served to IPL franchises by next week.This step has been taken to ensure the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has more details about the whole controversy surrounding Minister of State for External Affairs Shahshi Tharoor and he does not face complications in taking a final call on Tharoor''s future. Dr Singh is likely to meet with the Congress top brass at around 6: 30 p.m. at his official residence and may take a final decision on the whole issue.Tharoor is reportedly in trouble after IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi tweeted to reveal that Sunanda Pushkar, a close associate of Tharoor, had been gifted sweat equity worth Rs 70 crores in the new Kochi team, which was sold for Rs 1530 crores last month.Modi in his email to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Shashank Manohar had stated it was Tharoor who called him and instructed him not to reveal the identities of the stakeholders of the Kochi IPL franchisee.Tharoor, however, has denied this.Tharoor said he had ''enough'' of the controversy and denied securing any monetary interest in the Kochi IPL team. (ANI)

Iceland’s volcanic eruptions could continue for months: Experts

London, Apr 18(ANI): Experts have warned that Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcanic activity, which is still pumping ash into the sky and disrupting European air traffic, could last for months. When asked if it is possible to predict when the eruptions might cease, Dr. Pall Einarsson, a geophysicist of the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland, said: “There is really no way to know that. We have quite good measurements to know what''s going on.”“We can see where the stresses are changing due to earthquakes, and so on. But how it will develop is a very difficult thing to say. The activity is quite variable; it goes up and down a bit. But on the whole the vigour of the eruption seems very little changed,” The Scotsman quoted Dr. Einarsson, as saying.Although the eruption is small in relative terms, the location, close to a very busy airspace, and the fact it is beneath an icecap, have produced a great deal of ash.“It''s the interaction of the molten rock, the magma and the glacial ice which is causing the magma to cool very quickly and to be pulverised into tiny fragments of rock,” said Dr. Matthew Roberts, a British glaciologist.“These updrafts of fine volcanic ash are being lifted into the sky by the enormous steam plumes that have been created by the vast quantities of ice that''s been melted,” he added.Almost two-thirds of all transatlantic flights into European airports were cancelled and authorities shut down airspace over France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Slovakia, Croatia and Hungary.As the cloud moved east, flights were halted at Frankfurt, Europe’s third-busiest airport, and at 10 other German airports. (ANI)

Tharoor calls on PM

New Delhi, Apr 18 (ANI): Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor called on the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh this morning ahead of the Congress Core Committee Meeting today.Tharoor reached Dr Singh''s official residence to reportedly put across his point of view before a final call with regard to his future in the Cabinet is taken.Dr Singh is likely to meet with the Congress top brass at around 6: 30 p.m. at his official residence.Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram are expected to attend the meeting.Sources said the Congress High Command is unconvinced with Tharoor''s defence with regard to his role in the controversial Kochi IPL franchise and may take a final decision before the Parliament reconvenes on Monday.Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani on Saturday demanded Tharoor''s sacking and lashed out at the government for using its might to save the ''tainted'' minister.Advani said Tharoor was not fit to be a minister.Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh too demanded Tharoor''s dismissal in the wake of the IPL row.The Communist Party of India (CPI) also made a similar demand."Tharoor''s behaviour is unbecoming of a minister and out of tune with Indian politics," said CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta.The BJP had earlier demanded a CBI probe into Tharoor''s role.It said Tharoor''s link with the IPL team Kochi was a patent abuse authority by a minister.Tharoor is reportedly in trouble after IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi tweeted to reveal that Sunanda Pushkar, a close associate of Tharoor, had been gifted sweat equity worth Rs 70 crores in the new Kochi team, which was sold for Rs 1530 crores last month.Modi in his email to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Shashank Manohar had stated it was Tharoor who called him and instructed him not to reveal the identities of the stakeholders of the Kochi IPL franchisee.Tharoor, however, has denied this.Tharoor said he had ''enough'' of the controversy and denied securing any monetary interest in the Kochi IPL team. (ANI)

Sunanda Pushkar a last minute inclusion in IPL bidders group

New Delhi, Apr 18 (ANI): Adding a new twist to the whole IPL Kochi bid controversy, it has been reported that Sunanda Pushkar was a last minute inclusion in a IPL bidders group.A private television channel has asserted to have found details of the Kochi IPL franchise documents."Sunanda Pushkar was not a Director of the Company till 18 days before IPL," reports TimesNow."She was shown as Director on February 25, 2010," added the report.It has been reported that Rendezvous Entertainment Private Management Limited was floated in 2009,Rendezvous floated company law provisions and Sunanda was not a part in any of the document of the company.The documents were registered with the Registrar of Companies, Pune.Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor is reportedly in trouble after IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi tweeted to reveal that Sunanda Pushkar, a close associate of Tharoor, had been gifted sweat equity worth Rs 70 crores in the new Kochi team, which was sold for Rs 1530 crores last month.Modi in his email to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Shashank Manohar had stated it was Tharoor who called him and instructed him not to reveal the identities of the stakeholders of the Kochi IPL franchisee.Tharoor, however, has denied this.Tharoor said he had ''enough'' of the controversy and denied securing any monetary interest in the Kochi IPL team. (ANI)

Another bomb scare near Bangalore''s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium

Bangalore, Apr 18 (ANI): One more explosive was found outside Gate Number One of Bangalore''s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.Earlier this morning, a suspicious object was found near the Gandhi Murti outside the stadium.The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which was monitoring the situation, recovered a second suspicious object, reports said.Security experts and sniffer dogs are scouting the blast site for fresh clues. The area has been cordoned off.Union Home Secretary G K Pillai said:"It was a very low-intensity explosive that was used in one and in the second blast, even smaller quantity was used where no injury took place. From all available information we have people have suffered minor injuries, very minor injuries, and the police are investigating.""We will have to wait for sometime till the investigation is over," he added.At least 12 people were wounded in the incidents on Saturday, which caused an hour''s delay in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers of Bangalore.Roughly 20,000 people had packed into the stadium and hundreds more were streaming in when a loud explosion at Gate Number 12 rattled nearby buildings.The first explosion occurred at 3:15 p.m. and the second 20 minutes later.The explosives were found in bushes.Preliminary forensic investigation revealed that the explosive was an ammonium nitro glycerine gelatin stick. It was detonated with the help of a microchip timer.The match that was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. started after an hour delay till it became clear there were no more bombs. (ANI)

Five policemen among seven killed, over 25 injured in Kohat suicide blast

Islamabad, Apr.18 (ANI): Northwestern Pakistan’s Kohat region was once again rocked on Sunday with a suicide car bomb attack killing seven people, including five police personnel, and injuring over 25 others.“We have gathered information from hospital and elsewhere, five police personnel are injured, and 21 civilians are wounded. And the dead are seven,” said Abdullah Khan, a senior police official. “These incidents are a reaction to the military operation in the tribal areas,” he added.Another police official said five policemen were among the dead.A senior police officer confirmed the attack, adding that around 200 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack on the police station, The News reports.The attack comes less than 24 hours after two suicide bombers dressed in burqas struck a refugee camp killing at least 41 and wounding more than 60 peoples.The bombers struck minutes apart on Saturday (April 17) in the Kacha Pukha camp on the outskirts of the garrison city of Kohat, a registration centre for people fleeing Taliban violence and Pakistani army operations close to the Afghan border. (ANI)

President for making justice affordable for the poor

President Pratibha Patil on Saturday said that legal services should be strengthened and made affordable for the poor, as low levels of legal access impede development."Litigation is not an in-expensive option. For the poor and disadvantaged sections of society approaching courts without legal aid is not possible. We must look at how to make justice more affordable whether it is in terms of court fees or lawyer's fees," Patil said."At the same time, we need to make our legal aid system robust, effective and competent. Low levels of legal awareness also impede access," she said.Inaugurating a conference on access to justice and socio-economic development programmes in the North Eastern region at Machkhowa in Guwahati, Patil said "Lack of opportunities for equitable access to justice can create a division in society of those who "have" and those who "do-not-have" access to justice."Efforts should also be made to employ information and communication technology to improve efficiency of courts, she said, adding that many High Courts place their cause lists and case status on their website.This needs to percolate down to all sub-ordinate courts which would make judicial processes more transparent and predictable, the president said."As the courts look to the future, they must ask many questions as to what would be the role of the judiciary in the 21st century and how could there be inclusive justice," Patil said.