Former Miss India Nafisa Joseph commits
suicide
Mumbai:
Former Miss India, model and video jockey, Nafisa Joseph
was found dead late Thursday evening at her residence here.
She was found hanging from the ceiling of her room. Nafisa
was rushed to Nanavati hospital, where she was declared
dead on admission. Police officials said further investigations
would be conducted to ascertain the cause of Nafisa's death.
"Apparently, it is a suicide case, but investigations are
going on, and we have to talk to the parents. We have not
recorded the parents' statement, so it is not clear as yet,"
said Arun Waluj, ACP. Nafisa won the Miss India title in
1997. She finished her schooling at Bishop Cotton School
and St Joseph's College, both in Bangalore. She also took
an active interest in animal rights. "We have come to know
that Nafisa was present in the apartment with her mother
and a couple of her friends last night and later closetted
in another room before hanging herself from a ceiling fan",
a senior police official from Mumbai police was quoted as
saying. It is believed that she was suffering from depression.
Singh
lauds Bhutan's crackdown on Indian insurgents (Go
To Top)
by Vikas Khanna
Bangkok:
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday lauded
Bhutan's crackdown on Indian rebels last year when his Bhutanese
counterpart, Lyonpo Jigmi Y Thinley, called on him in Bangkok
on the sidelines of BIMST-EC summit meeting. Briefing reporters
about the meeting, Indian Foreign Minister, Natwar Singh,
said that . Thinley appreciated India for providing assistance
to his country's ninth five-year-plan. Last year, Bhutan's
troops ran over 30 camps set up by Indian rebels in the
tiny Himalayan kingdom. More than 200 rebels were killed
and some 500 Indian rebels are reported to have surrendered
to authorities since the Bhutanese army launched the crackdown.
Padmanabhaiah
to meet NSCN-IM leaders in Thailand (Go
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Bangkok:
Former Union Home Secretary and the Indian Government's
key negotiator with Naga rebel leaders K. Padmanabhaiah
will meet them here today. Padmanabhaiah, accompanied by
a senior official from the Intelligence Bureau, will meet
NSCN-IM Chairman Isak Swu and General Secretary T Muivah,
who went to Thailand last year. The meeting is being held
just a day before the cease-fire between the NSCN-IM and
the Indian security forces in Nagaland ends. The Nagaland
government favors an extension of the cease-fire as it wants
the peace process to continue.
Iraq
hostage crisis: Relatives launch agitation (Go
To Top)
Dehlan
(HP): Relatives of one of the Indian hostages in Iraq
on Friday threatened the Central government with dire consequences
if it did not act fast to secure his release. Residents
of Antaryami's village blocked traffic on the state highway,
demanding that the government try harder to secure his release.
Amarjeet Singh, Antaryami's brother came down heavily on
the government saying they would step up agitation if their
demands were not met. "For the past six-seven days the Indian
government has not taken any step to ensure the release
of our relatives. If they can go to Kandhahar for the release
of the captives then why can't they go to Iraq and get our
relatives released? If the government does not take any
action till 12 noon then they would be responsbile for the
consequences. We all are ready to lay down our lives," said
Singh. Antaryami, a truck driver from Dehlan village, was
seized in Iraq last week alongside two other Indians, three
Kenyans and one Egyptian. The kidnappers did not say which
of the seven they would kill. "The villagers are with us.
If they do not take any action by 12 noon then the government
would be responsible for the events, which unfold. We will
burn all the government institutions here," said Harjinder
Kaur, Antaryami's sister.
The
kidnappers have demanded the firm pull out of Iraq, where
guerrillas have stepped up a campaign of hostage taking
to force foreign troops and firms to leave. The kidnappers,
who have threatened to kill one of the hostages by 7:00
p.m. on Friday, have demanded that their employer, Kuwait
and Gulf Link Transport, stop doing business in Iraq. Kidnappers
threatened to "slaughter" one of the seven drivers they
are holding if their demands were not met by Friday. A videotape
showed the terrified Indian man, Antaryami, with a masked
man holding an automatic rifle to his head.
India
makes another appeal for release of its hostages (Go
To Top)
New Delhi: A warning by Iraqi captors to kill one of
the Indian hostages by Friday evening today prompted the
Indian Government to issue a fresh appeal for the release
of three Indian truck drivers. In its appeal, the government
said that the captives were poor people who had gone to
Iraq for employment, and were not working for the occupation
forces in that country. The kidnappers on Thursday had said
that they would slit the throat of one of the Indian hostages
at 8.30 p.m. (IST) Friday, if their demands were not met.
They also released some pictures showing one of the Indian
hostages being threatened with an automatic weapon, following
which the government made the appeal. Informed sources said
that Iraqi negotiator Sheikh Hisham Duleimi was still talking
to the abductors, so there was hope still.
Indian
plane diverts to save Pak baby (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: An Indian airliner had to make an emergency landing
on July 28 to save the life of a 10-day-old Pakistani baby
with a heart ailment whose condition deteriorated on board,
the pilot said on Friday. The Airbus A320 of the Indian
Airlines was on a flight from New Delhi to Bangalore. When
the crew learnt that Pakistani baby Muhammad Khan, en route
to Bangalore for surgery with his mother and uncle, had
started to turn blue, the pilot diverted the plane to Hyderabad.
That was a 10- minute flight while Bangalore was still 50
minutes away. "He (the doctor) said how far is it to go?
I said it would take 45-50 minutes more to reach Bangalore.
He said that is too long, the situation is really quite
critical. I said okay we are right next door to Hyderabad.
He said we should land as soon as possible, I said okay
and the moment he said that, I immediately contacted Hyderabad
and said I am declaring a medical emergency and we are diverting
to Hyderabad. He immediately cleared me to set course directly.
We were about 40 nautical miles, that's around 60 kilometres,
and in 8-9 minutes we were on ground. We were accorded the
highest priority," Sanjay Marwah, the pilot, said. "And,
during the descent, I told my co-pilot to radio air and
tell them that we require immediate medical aid in the form
of ambulance so that he could be taken to a hospital right
away," he added. The child was rushed to hospital as soon
as the plane touched down. Newspapers quoted the doctor
who treated the child as saying his condition was stable
and he had been discharged.
Prostate
afflicted Saddam refuses biopsy (Go
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London:
Blood tests and x-rays carried out by American doctors
on deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein have ruled out
chances of him suffering from cancer as was reported yesterday.
Iraqi Human Rights Minister Bakhtiar Amin was quoted by
the Daily News as saying that Saddam is suffering from a
chronic prostate infection, but has refused to undergo a
biopsy to rule out any chance of him having cancer. Amin,
who was speaking in an interview on Al-Jazeera television
said Saddam otherwise seemed to be in good health. Chronic
prostate infections are common, occurring in about 35 percent
of all men over 50, but are not linked to cancer. However,
routine screening for prostate cancer, especially among
older men, is common. Saddam, 67, has been held under U.S.
detention at an undisclosed location in Iraq since his capture
last December. On Thursday, one of Saddam's lawyers, a Jordanian,
was quoted as saying that the dictator had suffered a stroke,
and could die before his trial. "Saddam did not have a stroke
and he is not dead," First Sergeant Steve Valley was quoted
as saying by a foreign news agency.
Six
die in suicide attempt on Shaukat Aziz’s life (Go
To Top)
Lahore:
At least six people were killed and 25 were injured
in a suicide attack on the life of Pakistan Finance Minister
Shaukat Aziz here, Geo TV reported. Shaukat Aziz was returning
from a public meeting in Fatehjang on the outskirts of Punjab
province capital Lahore, when two explosions occurred, Senator
Mushahid Hussain told Geo. Shaukat Aziz narrowly escaped
the blast and remained unhurt, he said. Punjab cooperative
minister Col. Anwar was also hurt in the attack.
US
shuts down Karachi consulate temporarily (Go
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Karachi:
The United States has decided to close down its consulate
here over concerns of safety. Well placed sources were quoted
by Online as saying that the US was not satisfied over the
security arrangements made by Pakistan for the protection
and security of the consulate. Therefore, it has decided
to recall staff till safer premises are located. Sources
said that the search for the new premises could take anywhere
between six months to a year.
TATA
pressing Pak for landline licence (Go
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Karachi:
Indian business group TATA has reportedly approached
Pakistan's Ministry for Privatization and Investment to
grant them a landline license that had been denied to them
earlier on security grounds. "The ministry has received
a letter from TATA's chief (Ratan Tata). The group has clearly
sought ministry's support for landline telephone operation
license for Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL)," the Daily
Times quoted a source as saying. Ratan Tata is believed
to have given a reference about the group's meeting with
privatisation and investment minister in February this year
in which he welcomed Indian companies' interest in Pakistan.
He, however, said the ministry had yet to give any response
on the request. VSNL had applied for landline telephone
operations following deregulation of the sector in partnership
with CyberNet - a leading local Internet service provider.
But the telecom watchdog - Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
(PTA) - scrapped the company with three other telecom firms
from the list of potential investors on security grounds.
But later the PTA agreed to reconsider VSNL's bid, but said
the firm would again have to go through a security clearance.
"We are in touch with the telecom authorities who said that
the Indian firm's application has not been ruled out finally
and they are still considering it," an official of the ministry
said.
Warne's
record wicket-taking ball auctioned for 42,700 dollars (Go
To Top)
Sydney:
The ball with which Australian leg spinner Shane Warne
equalled the world Test record of 527 wickets has reportedly
been sold for 42,700 dollars. An unknown bidder going by
the name of Arim44 purchased the ball at an auction on the
Internet site e-bay. The money will go to the Shane Warne
Foundation, which helps seriously ill and underprivileged
children. The foundation was set up last month. Warne joined
Sri Lankan off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan at the top of
the Test wickets table earlier this month. He expressed
his delight when informed about the sale.
