 |
|
Srinagar grenade blast leaves 45 injured Srinagar, Oct 20: A grenade explosion set off by suspected militants at a bus stand in Srinagar left 20 civilians injured on Monday, official sources said. Unidentified militants lobbed the grenade towards a BSF picket near the Batmaloo bus stand around 3.30 pm, but the device fell short of the target and exploded injuring 20 pedestrians. The blast sparked off panic as people ran helter skelter and shopkeepers downed their shutters running to safety. No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the blast. Police assisted by BSF shifted the injured to hospital, where the condition of some of them was stated to be serious, the sources said. Wickremesinghe has talks with Vajpayee on LTTE proposal New Delhi, Oct 20: India on Monday urged strife-torn Sri Lanka to continue with its efforts to broker peace with the Tamil rebels. New Delhi's statement comes hours after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), fighting for a separate homeland, offered a new proposal on power-sharing, which will set the framework for renewed direct talks. The LTTE has reportedly said they will give the proposal to the government, via Norwegian mediators, by October 26 and were ready to restart negotiations anytime. Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who arrived in New Delhi late on Sunday night discussed the issue with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani. "We discussed the progress of talks between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE. Sri Lankan Prime Minister has said that they are waiting for some new proposals from LTTE side, after which surely the talks will move forward. India wants talks between the LTTE and government to be successful. There should be decentralisation of power. Sri Lanka should not be bifurcated," Advani said after calling on Wickremesinghe. Wickremesinghe also met Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha. Pak may buy China's SAM (Go To Top) Brussels, Oct 20: Pakistan is seriously considering plans to buy China's `FT-2000' surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as 'AWACS killer', to counter India's acquisition of the Phalcon warning systems from Israel. The News quoted reliable sources as saying that if the US refused to provide the same kind of Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) to Pakistan, then the Chinese option could be exercised. The FT-2000 missile has a reliable capacity to engage radiating aircraft such as the AWACS. According to defence experts, the missile has a truck launcher that is similar in appearance to the Antey S-300 SAM. The paper said that China has agreed to help Pakistan counter the strategic challenge mounted by the Indo-Israel military collaboration. Pakistan is also considering plans to produce the FT-2000 type of missiles indigenously, the experts said. Pakistan team arrives for Indus Water talks (Go To Top) New Delhi, Oct 20: A three-member Pakistan Indus Water Commission team, which arrived in India on Sunday, will hold discussions with Indian officials on Monday on matters pertaining to sharing of river waters. The Pakistan team is also scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation at a dam located on the river, sources said. Children demonstrate against Diwali crackers (Go To Top) Lucknow, Oct 20: Dozens of school children in Lucknow on Monday took to the streets urging people to stop lighting firecrackers even as the people are on a shopping spree to celebrate 'Diwali'. Young environmentalists in Lucknow lined up the streets carrying anti-cracker posters and placards. "We want to tell people that we celebrate Diwali every year as a festival and waste a lot money on harmful crackers, we should instead use the money for the needy and the poor. Crackers are very harmful and they cause a lot of pollution," Rakesh, a young boy, said. Diwali this year, according to the Hindu calendar, falls on October 25. India's apex court has banned the use of pyrotechnics during the festival after 10 in the night bringing down fire cracker business in various parts of the country. The Supreme Court gave its directives after noise pollution reached intolerable levels during the festival season. According to rough estimates, Indians blow up about 50 million dollars worth of crackers on Diwali, causing thousands of fires and leaving the air four times more polluted than a normal clear day. Meanwhile, people in New Delhi are busy shopping for what is undoubtedly the biggest festival of the year. "Diwali is the biggest Hindu festival in India, this is why we are here for shopping. At this time, everybody wants their New Year to be happy and prosperous, people pray and wish for wealth," Mukesh Gupta, a shopper, said. Diwali, which falls in October-November, has its origins in the celebrations in Ayodhya, marking the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom after defeating demon king Ravana. Diwali is also celebrated in honour of Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. Indian Railways goes hi-tech as accident rate spirals (Go To Top) Panaji, Oct 20: Alarmed by the spiralling accident rate, the Indian railways, the world's second largest locomotive network, has begun work on upgrading its safety systems. Researchers have completed work on "Raksha Kavach" (Safety Barrier), a state-of-the-art anti-collision device (ACD), which will be fitted along railway tracks and trains in western India. A self-acting microprocessor based communication system, the ACD is satellite-controlled and effectively foolproof. It is capable of detecting trains, coming or going on the same track, even from a distance of 3 km, in all weather conditions and will accordingly regulate speed. The ACD can detect potential collision situations for both stationary and moving trains and provides an `electronic' additional safety buffer for drivers, guards, station masters and gatemen. B Rajaram, managing director of the Konkan railways, said the new indigenous technology is a landmark in Indian railways. Muslims in Rajasthan demand job quota (Go To Top) Jaipur, Oct 20: Muslims in Rajasthan have demanded education and job quotas in proportion to their population in the state. Rajasthan Muslim Forum on Sunday asked the government to reserve some seats exclusively for Muslims under the Other Backward Castes (OBCs). "The main agenda is of reservation. But the reservation that has been given to us under the OBC category, along with the 52 other parties under it, we are not getting any of it. Other powerful parties get their rights but Muslims are not getting any opportunity in the (government) services. We demand that some seats under the same OBC category should be reserved for Muslims exclusively," Moinuddin, convener of the Forum, said at a meeting in Jaipur. Muslims constitute about 11.3 percent of the state's population. "We demand that like in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Muslims should have separate quota for reservation," Engineer Mohammed Salim, state president of Jamat-e-Islami Hind, said. The government already provides reservation in government jobs to scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and people belonging to backward classes. Earlier, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had announced that his government would provide quota in government jobs to economically backward among forward castes, which was followed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's declaration to introduce a legislation for it at national level. Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will go to the polls on December 1 while the remote Mizoram votes on November 20. Kiwis outsmart India, Mohali Test also drawn (Go To Top) Mohali, Oct 20: The two-match Test series between India and New Zealand ended in a draw here on Monday. But the Kiwis emerged the moral victors having outplayed the hosts in almost all the departments of the game in their own den. After failing to avoid the follow-on by just seven runs, the hosts were in danger of suffering their first series defeat when they were 18 for three at one stage in their second innings. But VVS Laxman (67 not out) and newcomer Aakash Chopra (52) saved the day with a resolute 110-run fourth wicket partnership. The hosts were 136 for four in their second innings before play was called off with six mandatory overs still remaining. The visitors nearly recorded their first-ever series win on Indian soil when they bundled out India for 424, and then tightened the grip on the match by making early inroads into the Indian batting line up. Paceman Daryl Tuffey, the hero of the first innings, struck twice in the Indian second innings to remove opener Virender Sehwag and captain Rahul Dravid, both caught by Stephen Fleming at first slip. At lunch, India had scored 12 for 2 in reply to New Zealand's mammoth first innings total of 630 for six declared. Sehwag and Dravid had scored one and five, respectively. Earlier at the start of play, middle-order batsman Laxman fought gamely to score an unbeaten century, but failed to prevent India from avoiding a follow-on. India fell short of the follow- on target of 430 by six runs. Badani to replace Ganguly in first two ODIs (Go To Top) Mohali, Oct 20: Hemang Badani will replace skipper Sourav Ganguly in the first two matches of the tri-series ODI tournament beginning on Thursday, BCCI secretary SK Nair said in a statement on Monday. Vice-captain Rahul Dravid will lead the side in the absence of Ganguly who is recovering in Kolkata after two minor abscess surgeries in his left thigh. India take on New Zealand in the opening ODI match at Chennai on Thursday and will meet World Champions Australia at Gwalior on October 26.
London, Oct 20: David Thewlis' scary werewolf in the forthcoming Harry Potter flick has caught a lot of people off- guard. The actor was nearly axed from the film, as his bosses feared he would terrify young film buffs. According to the Sun, Thewlis, portraying the character of professor Remus Lupin, psyches out Harry and his friends, as he transforms into a monster at the full moon. The stare and make-up get serious and the professor of wizardry also goes into bouts of weird spasms, followed by a stunt man taking over the part of the nine-foot werewolf. The directors thought it might be too scary - but kept it," David said. Britney on a 'strip-tease' spree (Go To Top) Washington, Oct 20: To the delight of her fans, pop princess Britney Spears went on a strip-tease spree on Friday night. But, media persons and photographers were dismayed when her security goons confiscated their cameras and roughed them up with threats to keep the pictures of her tearing her tight-fitting tank off at three different clubs from coming to light before they air on MTV. Photographers told the New York Post of the mass chaos at the ultra-trendy clubs Show, Splash and Avalon, as both MTV security and Britney's personal detail manhandled the paparazzi and fans alike at the unannounced events. "It was way out of control. They went totally overboard," one photographer was quoted as saying. The pop star was filming an MTV special titled 'In the Zone and Out All Night' to promote the November 15 release of her new album. At each of the three clubs, Britney pulled her red tank top over her head to reveal a skimpy pink lami bra (sported as she dominated a backup dancer during her striptease). At Avalon, the Madonna wannabe was briefly blindfolded and put in a leather chair as backup dancers gyrated around her. But not everyone enjoyed the shows in which Britney performed two songs off her new album titled 'In the Zone.' One photographer called the police after being put in a headlock by an MTV security guard, but reportedly decided against pressing charges. Kilmer and Jolie get cosy! (Go To Top) New York, Oct 20: Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie and her 'Saint' co-star Val Kilmer reportedly spent an entire week together at a Beverly Hills hotel. According to a TeenHollywood report, the two who are working together in Oliver Stone's new epic 'Alexander' have been the subject of romance rumours since they first met. While the stunning 'Tomb Raider' star has been insisting they are "just friends", Britain's Daily Star newspaper claims Angelina and Val enjoyed an entire week with each other at the L'Ermitage Hotel recently. "They spent the week at the hotel and often rang down for room service. They rarely left their room. But when I did see Angelina she looked really happy," a hotel insider told the paper. Harrison Ford's surgery success (Go To Top) New York, Oct 20: The highest paid blue-collared worker in the world, Harrison Ford, has left a Los Angeles hospital after undergoing shoulder surgery. According to ratethemusic.com, girlfriend Calista Flockhart, of Ally McBeal fame, accompanied Ford, 61, as he emerged from the medical centre in a wheelchair, with his left shoulder in a cast. The screen idol's spokesman told reporters that Ford was "recovering well", and that the surgery was performed to mend injured tendons in his shoulder. Charm bracelets: season's 'must have' (Go To Top) Washington, Oct 20: Attention style aficionados, the glamorous charm bracelet once popularised by the Victorians, is a must-have this season. The jingle-jangle accessory was a favourite of glamorous Fifties icons Grace Kelly, Coco Chanel and Jackie Kennedy. And TeenHollywood says that it has already become the bracelet of choice for Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. Big names Celine, Chanel and Louis Vuitton have all come up with their own ultra-stylish versions in everything from 18-carat gold to diamond-encrusted white gold. Of course, there's no need to worry for cheap hunters because less expensive imitations will be soon available in the market too. -ANI |