9 IAF personnel killed in mid-air copter collision

    Two MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force collided in mid-air in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region on Thursday, killing all nine IAF personnel aboard. The collision occurred over Sarmat village, when the personnel were on a routine training mission. Each of the helicopters, which took off from the nearby Jamnagar airbase, carried a pilot, a co-pilot and two other trainees. One of them also carried a training officer practising target bombing. This is the first time two IAF helicopters collided in mid-air and fourth crash this year involving IAF aircraft. According to the Jamnagar Superintendent of Police, most of...

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11 arrested for “plotting terror in Karnataka”

The Central Crime Branch of the Bangalore police have arrested six men from the city, including an English newspaper reporter, and five from Hubli on charges of plotting a terrorist attack in Karnataka. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Director General and Inspector General of Police Lalrokhuma Pachau said the accused were plotting to assassinate prominent politicians, Hindutva leaders as well as some journalists (known for their virulent anti-minority columns). He dismissed earlier claims by police officers, who told reporters on condition of anonymity, that the Uttar Pradesh police were involved in the operation....

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India's 26/11 case gets a boost ahead of PM-Zardari meet

Tehran: With the Supreme Court on Wednesday upholding the death sentence on Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, India's case for action against others involved in the Mumbai terror attacks got strengthened ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari in Tehran on Thursday. The two leaders will confabulate on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit shortly after Zardari flies across from Islamabad. The scheduling problems for their second meeting since the Pakistani leader came to Delhi in April, have been resolved and they will meet at 7 pm IST. Terror remains high on the agenda and India's...

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Narendra Modi rules out apology for 2002 Gujarat riots

Washington: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has refused to apologise for the 2002 riots in the state. "One only has to ask for forgiveness if one is guilty of a crime. If you think it's such a big crime, why should the culprit be forgiven? "Just because Modi is a chief minister, why should he be forgiven. I think Modi should get the biggest punishment possible if he is guilty. And the world should know that there isn't any tolerance for such political leaders," he told The Wall Street Journal. He was asked whether he would apologise for the riots which his critics demand. Modi parried a question whether he sees himself as a...

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Strauss says ‘race is run' as he quits cricket

LONDON - England Test captain Andrew Strauss said his "race was run" as he announced his retirement from all professional cricket with immediate effect on Wednesday. And he insisted his decision to quit had nothing to do with the fall-out from the ongoing England exile of star batsman Kevin Pietersen. "After much thought over the last few weeks, I have decided to step down as England Test captain and announce my retirement from all forms of cricket," Strauss said in an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) statement issued ahead of a news conference at Lord's. "It has clearly been a tough decision to make, but I believe that it is both...

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Republicans haunted by ghosts of Katrina

Tropical Storm Isaac has passed Tampa, Florida, with no more than some heavy rain and high winds. There really was no need to cancel the first day of the Republican National Convention. But it is where the tropical storm is heading next, to a place of awful memory, that haunts them now. If organisers of this convention wake clammy in their hotel beds, sweaty hands clutching hearts that beat too fast, it is because they have had a very vivid, very specific nightmare of how this week could end in disaster if they mishandle a tragedy. A dream of presidential candidate Mitt Romney ripping into President Barack Obama,...

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Coalgate: Congress, BJP firm; Parliament to remain comatose

New Delhi: There seems to be little chance of Parliament being allowed to function for the sixth day in a row on Tuesday as the deadlock between the Congress and BJP over the CAG report on coal escalates. The government has said no to a trust vote claiming that it enjoys the support of Parliament even as the BJP is adamant that the Prime Minister should resign taking moral responsibility. A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly defended himself and dismissed the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) allegations as motivated, Congress President Sonia Gandhi will address her party MPs at the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting...

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Google reacts to Apple's US patent victory over Samsung

Google has said that it does not want the ruling in the Apple-Samsung patent lawsuit to "limit" consumers' access to Android devices. A US jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple over $1bn (£664m) on Friday after ruling it had infringed several of the iPhone maker's software and design innovations. Samsung said it intended to appeal. There has been speculation that the news could encourage handset makers to install the rival Windows Phone system. Google released its statement late on Sunday in the US. "The court of appeals will review both infringement and the validity of the patent claims," it said. "Most of these don't relate to the core...

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eventeen Afghan partygoers beheaded by Taliban

Women voters line up to take part in Afghan elections in 2010: rights have improved since the reign of the Taliban but the country remains one of the most repressive in the world for women.  Fifteen men and two women have been found beheaded in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province. Officials said the victims were killed by Taliban insurgents as punishment for attending a mixed-sex party with music and dancing. The bodies were found in a house near the Musa Qala district, 46 miles north of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, on Monday, said the district governor Nimatullah, who goes by only one name. "The victims threw a late-night...

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Govt begins moves to hold 2G spectrum auction in Nov

New Delhi: The Department of Telecom (DoT) today issued the much-awaited Information Memorandum (IM) on the proposed auctions in 1800 Mhz and 800 Mhz bands. A notice inviting applications (NIA) has been promised within a month. An IM informs all potential bidders about the rules and eligibility criteria for the auction so that they can plan their auction strategy as well as the business case for the spectrum to be auctioned. A senior DoT official explained that the IM has been issued  early to make sure that auctions happen on time but the IM is still subject to the Supreme Court agreeing to the government’s proposal to extend...

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Coal row: Manmohan rejects CAG report; BJP blames him for revenue loss

Dubbing CAG's computation of loss of Rs. 1.86 lakh crore in coal block allocation as "flawed" and "misleading", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday took thebattle to the Opposition camp, blaming it for thwarting the Centre's effort to shift to competitive bidding. Making a statement in both Houses of Parliament amid uproar created by BJP members, Singh refused to be on the back foot, declaring that he takes "full responsibility" for the decisions taken as he contended that CAG's "observations" are "clearly disputable".With BJP creating disruptions, he read out a few portions of his four-page statement before laying...

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Palestine's first women racing team finds freedom behind the wheel

Ramallah: With her bright orange pedicure, Michael Kors handbag and skinny jeans, Maysoon Jayyusi hardly looks like a Palestinian speed racer -- until she gets behind the wheel.The minute she starts up her SUV, she's off -- coursing ahead of the rest of the traffic, weaving among bewildered locals in the crowded streets of the West Bank city of Ramallah.It's easy to see why the team she heads -- the Middle East's first female speed racing team -- has been dubbed the "Speed Sisters".  The group of six women, Muslims and Christians from their 20s to mid-30s, have battled sceptical parents, the realities of the Israeli occupation...

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‘Ek Tha Tiger’ thunder continues; earns an enormous Rs. 210 cr in 11 days!

New Delhi: Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif’s Independence Day release ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ is still running strong in movie theatres worldwide, bagging oodles of money since Day 1 of its release. The film easily managed to enter the Rs 100 crore club within five days of hitting the 70 mm and fresh news from trade insiders has it that the movie has already crossed the Rs 200 crore mark!Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted, ““#EkThaTiger 12-day total of *approx* Rs 175 cr nett is from India alone. #EkThaTiger India + Overseas combined biz *after 2nd Weekend* is Rs 210 cr +. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER…”. He also added, “India Rankings TOP 3:-...

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Ek Tha Tiger becomes second biggest grosser after 3 Idiots

Salman Khan's Ek Tha Tiger has not only crossed Rs. 150 cr in India, the film is now the second biggest grosser after 3 Idiots. The movie has also beat the lifetime business of Salman's another film Dabangg. "As you read this, #EkThaTiger has *crossed* 150 cr nett in India *today*. Now the 2nd biggest grosser of Hindi cinema, after #3Idiots," tweeted trade expert Taran Adarsh. "#EkThaTiger *actuals* Wed 10.45 cr. Total: 147.60 cr nett. Crosses lifetime biz of #Dabangg [147 cr]. AMAZING!" Adarsh tweeted. "#EkThaTiger *Australia* Wed A$ 15,227. Total: A$ 494,248 [Rs 2.87 cr]. Ranks amongst the biggest grossers in Australia," he added. ...

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New queen bee?

Rajiv Vijayakar speaks to the only actress currently giving Kareena Kapoor a run for her money — Katrina Kaif — on her spate of hit blockbusters, her growth as an actress and her experience with some of the heavyweights of Bollywood.The bimbette of Boom has transformed — and how! Though her earlier films saw her essentially as a Barbie brand of eye candy, Katrina Kaif has moved fast since her debut with that Hinglish film in 2003 to become a frontline star today. Her Hindi debut, in Sohail Khan’s Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya (2005), saw her override her Westernised features and British accent to show that she has what it takes to be a successful...

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Coalgate: Deadlock in Parliament likely to continue, Speaker may call all-party meet

New Delhi: In all likelihood, the deadlock in Parliament over coal block allocations will continue on Monday. It is, however, expected that the Lok Sabha Speaker would call an all-party meet to discuss the matter, if the Opposition doesn't allow Parliament to function on Monday. Sources say that the Congress is hoping for a change of heart within the BJP. However, if that doesn't happen, sources say the all-party meet would be called in, where the Congress would reiterate its offer to discuss all scams and controversies. Sources also say that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will clarify his stand on the coal allocations through an address...

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Congress, other parties have corruption-blackened hands: Anna Hazare

Ralegan Siddhi: The Congress and other political parties have their hands "blackened" with corruption, Anna Hazare said on Sunday and added that only people with honesty and integrity should be sent to Parliament. Addressing reporters at his village in Ralegan Siddhi as members of India Against Corruption (IAC) in New Delhi were holding protests against corruption, Hazare said: "The Congress's hands are blackened, every party has blackened hands, and each is accusing the other of corruption." He was referring to the stand-off between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Government over the official auditor's report on allocation...

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BJP unrelenting, stand-off to continue

A worker carries coal to load onto a truck at a coal depot in Guwahati. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj called up leaders of the opposition parties individually and informed them of the BJP’s stand. She called off a formal interaction with them proposed for Monday.     Hopes of an end to the Opposition-Congress stand-off on the CAG report on coal vanished on Sunday with the BJP reiterating that it would not allow Parliament to function until its demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is met. Mindful of the concerns among the other opposition parties, including the Left, over...

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When older celebs date younger women

These celebs are not just famous, they are still hot. And there are a lot of women who fall head over heels in love with them even when there is an age difference of more than ten years. Our list of celebs who have, or are still dating women way younger than them. When Salman Khan started dating Katrina Kaif there were a lot of people who pointed out the difference in their ages. But then, Salman changed Katrina's destiny and even now, after their break up, they are supposed to be one of the best jodis of Bollywoo...

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It's Shah Rukh vs Ajay Devgn this Diwali

Two top super stars of Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan and Ajay Devgn, may not have come head-to-head in recent times, but this 'Diwali' is about to witness an interesting clash between them in the form of their upcoming films, 'Son of Sardar' and Yash Chopra's upcoming love story...

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Won't form a political party or fight poll, says Anna

New Delhi: 8.50 pm: The Mumbai police on Sunday registered a case against over 40 volunteers of India Against Corruption (IAC) for unlawful assembly. A group of people led by IAC city head Mayank Gandhi had gathered in suburban Andheri for protest over coal block allocation issue for which they had not sought permission, police said. According to police, the IAC volunteers were carrying flags, placards and shouting slogans. 7.57 pm: Accused by erstwhile Team Anna of being hand-in-glove with Congress on the coal block allocation issue, BJP on Sunday warned that any attempt to target the opposition parties might dilute the war against...

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Happy days are back for Team India: Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin celebrating with teammates, the wicket of New Zealand cricket captain Ross Taylor during the fourth day of the first test match between India and New Zealand at the Rajiv Gandhi International cricket stadium in Hyderabad. Photo: S.S. Virk Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who returned with his career-best, match-winning haul of 12 for 85 against New Zealand in the first Test match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday, says he is pleased that the happy days are back again not just for him but for the entire Indian team. “Well, for the whole team it was a tough one year so far. This is the best...

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