CURRENT AFFAIRS: 08/15/11

Monday, August 15, 2011

India-Pakistan series faces uncertain future

The Pakistan-India bilateral series, scheduled for next year in the ICC's Future Tours Programme, faces an uncertain future with the PCB still awaiting response from the BCCI on whether the Indian government will grant clearance for the historic tour.

Indian selectors to come under BCCI scanner

Mumbai:

Team India's recent drubbing in England has raised a lot of questions about selection policies and suddenly Krishnamachari Srikkanth-led panel which was all but sure to get an year's extension will come under scanner during board's AGM on September 19 and 20.

"It would be decided at the AGM," was the terse reply from BCCI secretary and president-elect N Srinivasan.

According BCCI constitution, the tenure for a national selector is for four years with a chance of extension at the end of the third year.

Anderson doubtful as Onions replaces Tremlett

London:

Graham Onions has been called into the England squad for the fourth Test against India at The Oval, after Chris Tremlett was ruled out on Monday and James Anderson emerged as a new injury concern.

India failed to reset goals and paid price

London:

After climbing to the number one Test ranking in December 2009, India were content on clinging to it instead of resetting new goals and paid the price as they were dethroned from the top spot by England after suffering a humiliating defeat at Edgbaston.

Kumble suggests more practice games for tour of Australia

Mumbai:

Former India captain and current Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) president Anil Kumble has suggested BCCI to find ways to include two or three warm-up first class games in the run-up to the opening Test against hosts Australia when India visit Down Under later this year.

Washington: American counterterrorism officials are increasingly concerned that the most dangerous regional arm of Al Qaida is trying to produce the lethal poison ricin, to be packed around small explosives for attacks against the United States.

London: Former New York Police Commissioner William Bratton will advise the British government on gangs in the wake of rioting in London, Prime Minister David Cameron's office said on Friday.

Downing Street said in a statement that Cameron had spoken with Bratton earlier in the day and thanked him for agreeing to make himself available for a series of meetings in the U.K. this fall to share his expertise tackling gang violence.

London: Thousands of extra police officers were stationed on Britain's streets, as the country faced its first weekend since riots raged through suburbs and town centres, leaving a scarred landscape of broken glass and torched buildings.

Havana, Cuba: Fidel Castro marked his 85th birthday outside of the public spotlight on Saturday, with little fanfare around the aging revolutionary icon who is rarely seen in public these days but still casts a long shadow over Cuban society.

Lahore, Pakistan: Gunmen abducted an American after breaking in to his house in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Saturday in an unusually brazen raid that illustrated the threat to foreigners in this militancy-wracked, U.S.-allied country.

London: A 20-year-old British soldier, who was in Afghanistan in 2010, has been charged with stealing a guitar during the London riots.

Indianapolis: At least four people were killed and 40 injured when a stage collapsed on Saturday night during a storm at the Indiana State Fair, where the country group Sugarland was set to perform.

The incident at the Indianapolis fairgrounds occurred shortly before 9 p.m. when strong winds caused the rigging that holds lights and other equipment to topple onto fans, many of them in the VIP section closest to the stage. The injured included at least one child, WTHR reported.
No one was performing at the time. Opening act Sara Bareilles had finished, and the crowd was waiting for Sugarland to take the stage.

London: Tensions between Britain's government and police leaders flared Saturday over Prime Minister David Cameron's recruitment of a veteran American police commander to advise him on how to combat gangs and prevent a repeat of the past week's riots.

London: Outside a London court last week, as those accused of looting and rioting in the most destructive and widespread violence in recent British history faced justice, a mother turned to her 11-year-old son, accused of theft, and asked simply, "Why?"

Islamist militants break out of Lebanon prison

Beirut: Militants from a radical Islamist group which fought deadly battles with the Lebanese army in 2007 escaped from the country's main jail on Saturday, a security official said.

"Five inmates have escaped from Ward D in the Roumieh prison," northeast of Beirut, the official said on condition of anonymity. "We believe at least three of them belonged to the Fatah al-Islam group."

Bangladesh: Award winning filmmaker killed in road accident

Manikganj, Bangladesh: Award-winning filmmaker Tareq Masud was killed in a road accident at suburban Manikganj in central Bangladesh on Saturday, police said.

Besides Masud, CEO of ATN News Mishuk Munier was killed along with three others in the accident that took place on Saturday afternoon on Dhaka-Aricha highway when a bus collided head-on with Masud's micro bus.

Havana: A gay man and a woman whose sex-change operation was paid for by the state tied the knot on Saturday in a first-of-its-kind wedding for Cuba, a sign of how much the country's attitude toward sexuality has changed since gays and transsexuals suffered persecution in the early years after the revolution.

Man fired for washing himself with own urine

Vienna: A famed Austrian museum has fired an employee for washing his hands and face with his urine.

Alfred Zoppelt says he was fired after 23 years of working as an attendant at the Belvedere, a castle in Vienna with a major art collection. He says his adherence to urine therapy was previously "never a problem."

London: Several Indian-origin people were among those attacked during the riots in London and elsewhere, but it is a matter of satisfaction for the community that so far none of the over 1,000 rioters arrested are of Asian origin.

Hotel bomb kills 12 people in Pakistan

Quetta: A bomb attached to a timer ripped through a two-story hotel in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province on Sunday, reducing the building to rubble and killing 12 people, police said.

The attack in the town of Dera Allah Yar also wounded 23 people, said Jawed Iqbal Gharshin, the police chief in surrounding Jafferabad district. Police have taken two people into custody who had tea in the hotel's restaurant and left just before the bomb went off, he said.

Oslo, Norway: Norwegian police say the man who has confessed to killing 69 people at an island youth camp has been brought back to the crime scene.

Charikar: A team of six suicide bombers some wearing explosive vests stormed a provincial governor's compound in eastern Afghanistan today, killing 22 people in the latest high-profile attack to target prominent Afghan government officials, authorities said.

Kathmandu: Nepal was plunged into a crisis on Sunday with embattled Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal tendering his resignation late night after days of vacillating.

The communist leader, who had pledged in parliament that he would quit on Saturday if he failed to take the stalled peace process forward, but then tried to stay on in power saying his exit would lead to a dire constitutional void, submitted his resignation to President Ram Baran Yadav in a surprise move late Sunday evening.

London: Community groups held a peace rally on Sunday in England's second-largest city against the hit-and-run attack that claimed three lives during rioting in Birmingham.

Scores of people gathered in Winson Green, where three Muslim men - Haroon Jahan, 20, and brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31 - were mowed down and mortally wounded on Wednesday when a car struck them at high speed. The trio had been with a larger group guarding a row of Pakistani-owned shops from looters.

Bago, Myanmar: Thousands of well-wishers lined roadsides in Myanmar to welcome opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she tested the limits of her freedom on Sunday by taking her first political trip into the countryside since being released from house arrest.

Beirut: Syrian gunboats firing heavy machine guns pounded impoverished districts of Latakia on Sunday, killing at least 19 people in a renewed assault on the Mediterranean coastal city, activists said.

As the gunships blasted waterfront districts, ground troops backed by tanks and security agents stormed several neighbourhoods. The sharp crackle of machine-gun fires and loud explosions could be heard across the city.

Washington: In the days after the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, Pakistan's intelligence service probably allowed Chinese military engineers to examine the wreckage of a stealth American helicopter that crashed during the operation, according to American officials and others familiar with the classified intelligence assessments.

Beirut: Syria has used gunboats for the first time to crush the uprising against Bashar Assad's regime, hammering parts of the Mediterranean coastal city of Latakia after thousands marched there over the weekend to demand the president's ouster. At least 25 people were killed, according to activists.

Mountain View, California: Google Inc is buying cell phone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for $12.5 billion in cash. It's by far Google's biggest acquisition and a sign the online search leader is serious about expanding beyond its core Internet business and setting the agenda in the fast-growing mobile market.

Cairo: Television cameras won't be allowed in the courtroom for the rest of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's trial, the presiding judge ruled on Monday.

Judge Ahmed Rifaat adjourned the trial until Sept 5.

Washington: The United States (US) has made it clear it will not lift the hold on its USD 800 million military aid to Pakistan, reiterating that Islamabad needs to takes steps in the war against terrorism.

"While our civilian assistance continues unchanged, on the security side, on the military side, we have had to make some changes based on cooperation. We need to have the appropriate military personnel in. If all the training assistance is going forward, we have to have the trainers there," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters.

Bangalore may soon turn into virtual medical hub

Bangalore: With medical treatment and counselling going virtual, major hospitals in the city are fast turning to technology to treat patients sitting in any part of the world.

A study by Cable and Wireless Worldwide (a global telecom company) in the UK, India, Singapore, Germany and Spain proves that the trend is catching on in Bangalore as well. The study states that 54 per cent of Indians would prefer medical consultation through video conferencing and telecommunication.

Man bludgeoned to death for mobile phone

Jaipur: A 21-year-old boy was allegedly murdered by another man in a public park in Jaipur, police said on Friday.

Ranjit, a resident of Dudu town in the district, was found critically injured in the park in Adarsh Nagar area on Friday morning, police said.

New Delhi: There were heart-tugging scenes at Tihar Jail on Saturday as thousands of inmates were tied rakhis by their families on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.

Tihar Jail spokesperson Sunil Gupta said over 12,500 people visited the country's largest prison to tie rakhis on the wrists of around 4,500 prisoners.

Mumbai: In a tragic culmination of an appalling incident, the tuberculosis patient at the Sewree hospital who was being neglected by staff members as chastisement following his several attempts to flee its premises, passed away on Friday.

Close shave for Air India flight as tyre bursts

Lucknow: An Air India flight from Delhi suffered a tyre burst during landing at the airport in Lucknow on Sunday, an official said. All the passengers are safe.

AI-411 flight was landing at Chaudhary Charan Singh Amausi airport.

New Delhi: Anna Hazare went to Rajghat, on Monday, and sat in the lawns in front of Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi. The impromptu visit to Rajghat on Independence Day was unscheduled, and visitors were surprised to see the veteran social activist in their midst, sitting in front of the samadhi amid light rain. The authorities too were taken by surprise.

Nadiad, Gujarat: In a veiled attack on Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that it was a shame that some politicians still visit homes of the poor for photo-ops.

Mumbai: A mission to refloat the MT Pavit, on Monday, was successful. The ship which had run aground on Mumbai's shores, is now being taken to Gujarat.

New Delhi: Controversial yoga guru Ramdev, who along with his supporters faced police crackdown during their agitation at Ramlila Maidan on June 4, wrote to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday on Monday, asking him to exercise "self restraint" and ensure that similar action was not taken against Anna Hazare and his team.

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New Delhi: At a packed press conference at Constitutional Club, in the national capital on Monday, social activist Anna Hazare said, ''I am starting my fast tomorrow. It is just the start of a struggle for change. We have to fight a long battle. It's going to be a fight to bring about change in India.''

New Delhi: After attending a flag-hoisting ceremony at party headquarters, Rahul Gandhi met Dr Manmohan Singh for an hour to discuss the Anna Hazare crisis. Mr Hazare is planning to begin his indefinite fast in the national capital tomorrow.

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New Delhi: A defiant Anna Hazare will go ahead with his proposed indefinite fast on August 16. However, on Monday evening he had Delhi Police totally by surprise. Mr Hazare made an unscheduled stop at Rajghat to meditate just hours after he was denied permission for his protest fast at a Delhi park for Tuesday. A big crowd gathered around him as he sat near Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi to meditate. (Read: Anna's surprise visit to meditate at Rajghat)

New Delhi: Former Commonwealth Games (CWG) chief Suresh Kalmadi, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi and former Communications Minister A Raja celebrated Independence Day with thousands of inmates at the Tihar Jail on Monday.

Mumbai-Doha flight gets bomb threat call

Mumbai: A bomb threat call received for a Mumbai-Doha flight turned out to be a hoax on Monday. Just minutes before the Qatar-bound Jet Airways flight 9W 552 was to take off from the Mumbai airport at 8.25 pm, "an anonymous note, sighting a non-specific security threat was found by a guest aboard the flight," said a Jet Airways spokesperson.

New Delhi: Delhi government on Monday night has decided to allow use of Chhatrasal Stadium in Model Town in North Delhi for keeping the supporters of Anna Hazare in the event of their arrest.

"We have decided that people of Anna Hazare team and his followers will be kept in the Chhatrasal stadium in case they are arrested," Delhi Home Secretary Arvind Ray told PTI. The stadium belongs to the Delhi Government.

New Delhi: The Government has justified Delhi Police rejecting permission for Anna Hazare's planned fast here from Tuesday, Aug 16, saying a major gathering cannot be allowed in present day circumstances if it is "uncontrolled."

Kolkata: Many of us do not know that our national anthem was only one of the five stanzas, composed and penned by Rabindranath Tagore. Below are the five stanzas in their entirety - the original Bengali version coming first; followed by its English translation. (Watch: How Rabindranath Tagore wrote the Jana Gana Mana...)

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New Delhi: The Delhi Police detained social activist Anna Hazare early on Tuesday morning. Yesterday, the 74-year-old Gandhian had said he will begin his second indefinite fast at Jai Prakash Narain Park today despite being denied permission.

New Delhi: With the confrontation between Anna Hazare and the government reaching a crescendo with the former's detention today ahead of his second indefinite fast, the Opposition is now mulling its options to corner the government over what is fast becoming a major political issue.

Detention is beginning of second freedom struggle, says Anna in message to nation

New Delhi: Describing his detention by police as the beginning of the "second freedom struggle", Anna Hazare today asked people to participate in a "jail bharo" agitation.

"My dear countrymen, second freedom struggle has begun and now I have also been arrested. But will this movement be stopped by my arrest? No, not at all. Don't let it happen," Hazare said soon after being detained by police.

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New Delhi: At 7.30 am on Tuesday morning, minutes before Anna Hazare was to set out for his fast against corruption, about a dozen policemen in plain clothes detained him at the Supreme Enclave in Delhi's Mayur Vihar, where he was staying. They tried to whisk him away in a white Innova car, but hundreds of angry protesters ensured that the car could barely move for over an hour. (Read: Who is Anna Hazare)

Monday, August 15, 2011

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