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Contentious 'Da Vinci Code' released

      New Delhi/Panaji: Hollywood adaptation of The Da Vinci Code opened to packed houses across the country on Friday after the Central film board cleared it for screening following protests by the Catholic population in the country. In Capital New Delhi, the controversy circumscribing the movie seemed to lose its steam, as the theatres were packed with movie buffs to view the controversial movie. "I have just watched The Da Vinci Code. It is an awesome movie. Tom Hanks (playing lead role in the movie) has done a good job. Forget the controversy and go and watch the movie," said Rajeev, a moviegoer. The moviegoers were in all praise for the star cast in the movie. "It is a great movie. Tom Hanks has done a great job, but because of controversy, the film was banned. It's not worth the controversy," said Akriti, another cine goer.

Adulterated edible oil seized in Mumbai (Go To Top)

      Mumbai: Under the supervision of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, R R Patil, the Crime Branch on Friday seized nearly five lakh litres of adulterated edible oil from a number of godowns at Kurla in central Mumbai. The culprits used to adulterate the edible oil with cheaper varieties of oil like palm oil after removing oil from the tins of reputed brands, said a Mumbai Crime Branch official. Patil and the officials of Food and Drugs Administration were also present when police raided the godowns, sources said. A number of persons have been detained in the operation.

Five injured in Patna bomb blast (Go To Top)

      Patna: Five persons, including a woman and a minor were injured in a bomb explosion at Begampur in the Chowk police station area of Patna on Friday. A gang of armed criminals, six in number who were reportedly planning a crime, on seeing a police party approaching them started running and in their haste two bombs fell on the ground from the bag they were carrying and exploded. The explosion injured three criminals besides a woman and a child passing by. The police arrested three injured criminals while as many managed to escape. Three live crude bombs have also been recovered from the spot. The police have launched a search operation to nab the criminals.

MCD to go high tech, complaints by SMS (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is planning to introduce a new complaint system through which the people of Delhi would be able to register their complaints through SMS. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit revealed this at a function of the Bhagidari (partnership) Workshop in New Delhi yesterday. She said that this system has already been successfully implemented in the Delhi Jal Board and is giving excellent result. "We are thinking of introducing a SMS system through which the people of Delhi can send their MCD related complains to the MCD offices," Dixit said. With this new system people would not have to wait for some body to pick up the phone in MCD offices, she added.

India, Pakistan conclude Sir Creek talks (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Indian and Pakistani officials concluded talks on their boundary dispute over the Sir Creek estuary on Friday, even as the South Asian neighbours push forward a slow moving peace process aimed at ending nearly six decades of hostility. A joint statement on the Sir Creek talks is expected to be released by the two sides later on Friday afternoon. It is expected that the two sides will maintain status quo, and announce the desire of both governments to take the process of talks on this key bilateral issue forward. Sir Creek is a small strip of marshy land along the Rann of Kutch, bordering Gujarat in India and Sindh in Pakistan. Both countries are keen to acquire the region, said to be rich in oil and natural gas. India claims that the boundary should lie in the middle of the 100km estuary, basing its claim on accepted practice as well as pillars built down the middle of part of the channel during British colonial rule. Pakistan says the border should lie on the southeastern bank of the creek, basing its claim on a line shown on a map drawn up by the British governor of then Bombay in the early 20th century. The dispute has prevented the two sides agreeing on their maritime boundaries and hampered offshore exploration in an area thought to hold oil and gas deposits. The two sides must submit their maritime boundaries to the UN by 2009 in order to claim exclusive economic rights over waters 350km offshore, as part of international efforts to demarcate the continental shelf. Last year, both India and Pakistan had agreed to conduct a joint survey of the area and to consider options for the delimitation of the maritime boundary. Sources said the survey, which has since been carried out, could form the basis of any resolution on the issue.

     The issue has been discussed between the two neighbours at both technical and governmental levels in eight rounds of talks since 1969. The latest round was led by India's Surveyor General Lt General M. Gopal Rao and Pakistan's Rear Admiral Ahsan-ul-Haq Chaudhry, an additional secretary in that country's defence ministry. The dialogue-- part of a wide-ranging peace process after near- war in 2002 -- winds up as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a key roundtable peace conference in Kashmir. South Asia's military giants, who began a cautious peace initiative two years ago, have fought three wars since Britain partitioned its Indian empire in 1947, two over Kashmir. Tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians, have died in a 16- year rebellion by Islamic rebels against Indian rule in Kashmir.

Flood scam accused Sadhu Yadav on bail (Go To Top)

      Patna: A Patna Vigilance Court today released flood relief scam accused and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Sadhu Yadav on bail after the latter surrendered before it. The bail order was given following a Patna High Court order granting him anticipatory bail in flood relief scam. Accompanied by his lawyer Janardhan Rai, Sadhu Yadav, who is the brother-in-law of Railway Minister Lalu Yadav, had been on the run ever since the vigilance court had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him on April 10. Designated Judge R N Sharma released Yadav on bail after he furnished a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties each of the same amount on the directive of the High Court. Yadav also deposited his passport following the High Court order asking him not to leave the country without prior permission of the court. Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad of the Patna High Court had on May 22 had granted anticipatory bail to Yadav on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties each of the same amount. The Vigilance Investigating Bureau which had issued a nation-wide alarm against Yadav following issuance of the NBW had on May nine moved the court for property attachment order against the MP which was accepted by Vigilance Judge R N Prasad and a proclamation notice, a step before attachment of property, issued against him. The Supreme Court had on May 15 refused to grant Yadav interim protection from arrest, but directed the Patna High Court to hear his anticipatory bail prayer "on merit".

BJP prevents Aamir's Fanaa in Gujarat (Go To Top)

       Ahmedabad: Bollywood actor and filmmaker Aamir Khan's "Fanaa", which was released across the country today, failed to hit the screens in Gujarat as Bharatiya Janata Party activists marched to cinemas to ensure that the movie was not screened. Khan's latest release has invited the wrath of the ruling BJP in the State, who have called for a boycott of the film following Khan's support to the Sardar Sarovar Dam displaced. "Aamir Khan said he was fighting for 30 thousand people. But in Gujarat, out of 50 million people, 30 million do not have access to drinking water. Who will take care of them? People of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan would benefit from this project. So, we don't need Aamir Khan's suggestions," said Amit Thakkar, general secretary of the youth wing of the BJP in Ahmedabad. Khan, 40, joined a recent protest by anti-dam activists led by Medha Patkar in New Delhi, calling for rehabilitation of thousands of villagers to be displaced by the new dam.

    The actor also slammed the Gujarat government for failing to control the communal riots earlier this month in Vadodara where six people were killed and many wounded. His remarks irked the authorities in Gujarat who said the actor had little knowledge of the topics on which he commented. Movie buffs also had no qualms about the film being not screened in the State as they sought an apology from the actor for his comments. "Aamir Khan has commented against our Narmada. He is not a political person, he should understand all the consequences and then comment, or support the protest against Narmada. Therefore, we are opposing it (Fanaa's screening). He should apologise," said Deepika Shah, a regular movie-goer. However, Khan has refused to apologise for his comments, saying he has not said anything wrong but had only asked for the rehabilitation of those displaced by the construction of the dam. Cinema halls in Gujarat even took off Khan's previous release, "Rang De Basanti", after protests over the actor's remarks.

Kerala to bear expenses of Endosulfan victims

      Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government has decided to bear the medical expenses of people suffering from Endosulfan poisoning in Kasaragod district. According to official data, over two hundred people in Kasaragod district have been suffering from different health disorders ranging from skin diseases and finger deformities to neurological and reproductive disorders due to the chemical, which was being sprayed by the Kerala Cashew Development Corporation to prevent tea-mosquito attack for more than a decade. Endosulfan is a hazardous pesticide that is banned in many parts of the world. The Cashew Corporation stopped the use of the chemical in 2001 following a media war against endosulfan poisoning in Swarga, Padre, Muliyar and Bellur villages in Kasaragod district. Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy has said that the Government would bear their medical expenses even if the patients opted for treatment in hospitals outside the State. She said that ensuring relief to the affected people was one of the poll promises of the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), which had now taken over the reins of the Government in the State.

Nepal Govt-Maoists talks begin (Go To Top)

      Kathmandu: The peace talks between newly formed Nepal government and Maoists began here today in an effort to resolve the decade-old insurgency in the landlocked Himalayan country. Nepal Home Minister Krishna Sitaula is leading the government's side while the Maoists' team is being led by their spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara at the talks which got underway at the luxurious Gokarna Resort in eastern Kathmandu. Besides Sitaula, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Pradip Gyawali and Minister of State for Labour and Transport Ramesh Lekhak are also representing government's side. While the Maoist team also comprise Dinanath Sharma and Dev Gurung apart from Mahara. It is the first time in three years that the sides are meeting. The talks are expected to be focussing on a parliament proclamation that drastically curtailed the King's powers as well as the code of conduct for facilitating the peace process.

Hindujas 'bankrolled Labour' for 5 yrs (Go To Top)

      London: Believe it or not, the billionaire Hinduja brothers have bankrolled Tony Blair's "New" Labour Party for the past five years. According to a report in the Spectator magazine, which quoted a spokesman of the Hindujas in India, the brothers allegedly made a "substantial donation" in 2001 and have given the party regular gifts since. According to The Daily Mail, the spokesman in India has been identified as Bobby Kewalramani, and he gave this bit of information during a lunch in New Delhi on March 11. If this claim is substantiated, Blair could very well be up against another scandal of sleaze and charge that his party has broken the law of the land. Labour is already embroiled in the police investigation into allegations that senior party figures offered millionaire supporters peerages in exchange for secret loans. Labour and Charles Stewart-Smith, the Hindujas' London spokesman, have termed the claims "untrue". "It is untrue that the Hindujas ever gave money as a donation or a loan to the Labour Party," Smith was quoted, as saying. Although G P and S P Hinduja gave one million pounds to the Millennium Dome in 1998, it was previously thought they had never bankrolled Labour directly. All donations over 5,000 pounds must be declared to the Electoral Commission, but there is no record of gifts from the businessmen in the past five years.

Indian American gets New York award (Go To Top)

       New York: Indian American businessman-cum- philanthrophist Niranjan S Shah has been conferred the 2006 Ellis Island Medal of Honour for his contributions to American society. Shah received the award from US Congressman (New York) Joseph Crowley. Established in 1986 by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO), the Ellis Island Medals of Honor pay tribute to the heritage of those groups that comprise America's unique cultural mosaic and extraordinary individual achievement. Past medalists include six U.S. Presidents as well as Nobel Prize winners and leaders of industry, education, the arts, sports and government. As a young man growing up in India, Shah was an academic standout obtaining his bachelor's degree in engineering from Sardar Patel University. After completing his studies in India, Shah was given the opportunity to pursue a Master's degree in the United States. With the support of his family and his village, Shah left India for America and successfully obtained his Master's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Mississippi. He thereafter supplemented his engineering education with the Harvard Business School Executive Management program. With this incredible wealth of education, a lack opportunities still existed for a young Indian. So, Shah decided to pursue his own dream and created a thriving engineering firm. He is well known in his adopted hometown of Chicago for his engineering success.