Mathrubhumi English Edition

Cyclone intensifies, likely to hit west coast

New Delhi: A cyclonic storm is intensifying in the Arabian Sea and is likely to move near south Gujarat and north Maharashtra and could bring with it strong winds to Goa, Karnataka and Kerala as well, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Tuesday. According to the IMD website, there is 'a depression over the Arabian Sea (positioned) latitude 13.50 (north) and Longitude 70.50 (east)'. The location was approximately 470 km from Mangalore, 420 km from Goa and about 700 km from Mumbai....

Raj Babbar drubs Dimple in Firozabad

Lucknow: Congress candidate and actor Raj Babbar was Tuesday elected to the Lok Sabha from Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, defeating Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Dimple by over 85,000 votes. Celebrations erupted on the streets of Firozabad, which adjoins the Taj Mahal district of Agra, as officials announced that Raj Babbar had beaten Dimple Yadav by 85,343 votes. The outcome was a huge blow to Mualayam Singh Yadav, who wanted his daughter-in-law to overcome the....

It's a victory for democracy and peace: Mamata

Kolkata: Upbeat over the Trinamool Congress's spectacular showing in the assembly by-elections which saw the CPI(M)-led Left Front losing in nine out of the ten seats it contested, party supremo Mamata Banerjee said the results indicated victory for democracy and peace. 'It is a victory for democracy and peace. It is also a victory of Ma, Mati, Manush,' Banerjee told PTI, referring to the slogan she coined in her crusade for ouster of the Left Front. The Trinamool Congress won all....

Sensex dips after four day high

Mumbai : After four day's profit, Indian stock market marginally dropped at close on Tuesday. Sensex dropped 58.16 points, while Nifty traded down 16.70 points, due to higher selling of shares in telecom, FMCG, realty, select power, technology and auto sectors. Buying in Reliance Industries, SBI, ICICI Bank, SAIL, Sterlite, TCS and Tata Motors, however, capped the losses tosome extent. Sensex closed at 16,440.56, down 58.16 points or 0.35%, after witnessing a swing of 305 points. Nifty lost 0.34%....

I will never direct myself: Farhan

New Delhi: Farhan Akhtar, who has tried his hands at filmmaking, acting and singing, is happy to explore various facets of his creativity but he has ruled out the possibility of directing himself in a movie. Farhan, who started his Bollywood journey as a filmmaker with his coming-of-age movie 'Dil Chahta Hai' where he directed Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan, is currentlyenjoying his stint as an actor and singer post the success of'Rock On!'. 'I enjoy doing what I do but....

Satinder Kumar gets Golden Whistle award

New Delhi: Satinder Kumar has become the first Indian hockey umpire to receive the International Hockey Federation's (FIH) Golden Whistle award for officiating in 100 international matches. The award is presented to umpires who have completed 100 official international matches. Satinder stood in his 100th match at the ongoing World Cup qualifier in Invercargill, New Zealand Monday. Satinder made his debut in 2000. He continued to impress and was selected on the world panel in 2002. Satinder....

China dissatisfied with India over Dalai visit

Beijing: Angry over the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, China on Tuesday said it was 'strongly dissatisfied' with India for allowing the Tibetan spiritual leader to travel to the state over which it lays claim. On the third day of the the Dalai Lama's visit to Tawang, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China 'firmly' opposed the trip which was 'separatist' in nature. 'The Indian side allowed the Dalai Lama to visit the disputed eastern section of the China-India....

Sreesanth recalled to Test Squad

Mumbai: Pacer S Sreesanth on Tuesday staged a surprise comeback into India's 15-member Test squad for the first two cricket Tests against Sri Lanka starting November 16 in Ahmedabad. Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan returned to the squad after recovering from a shoulder injury, which had kept him out of India's recent assignments. The team to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni also includes Tamil Nadu players opener Murali Vijay and middle-order paceman S Badrinath. Ashish Nehra, who did reasonably....

Jessica murder convict Manu Sharma back in Jail

New Delhi: Manu Sharma, serving a life sentence for the 1999 murder of model Jessica Lal, voluntarily returned to the Tihar Jail here Tuesday following the raging controversy over the Delhi government's decision to grant him parole for two months. 'He surrendered voluntarily before the Tihar Jail administration just before noon today (Tuesday),' a jail official told. 'However, the decision on cancelling his parole has not been taken yet,' he added. Before surrendering Sharma also left....

SC refers Mullaperiyar case to constitutional bench

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has referred the Mullaperiyar case to a five-member constitutional bench and allowed Kerala government to go ahead with the construction of a new dam. The Apex court made this order while hearing Tamil Nadu's petition against the dam safety law passed by the Kerala Government. The court also wanted both the states to inform the details of the subjects that should come under the consideration of the bench. Senior Advocate Rajesh Dhawan represented Kerala. Since....

Shiv Sena men would have made 'tandoori' of Azmi: Bal Thackeray

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has held Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi 'responsible' for Monday's mayhem in the Maharashtra assembly and said his party men would have made a 'tandoori' or roast of somebody like Azmi for having hurt Marathi pride. In an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna, Thackeray said that though elected from Maharashtra, Azmi took the oath as legislator in Hindi and not Marathi, and therefore he was beaten by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) lawmakers. Stressing....

Seven dead in J and K bus accident

Jammu: At least seven people were killed and 25 critically injured Tuesday when the bus they were travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, an official said. The driver of the bus, which was said to be overloaded, lost control around 11 a.m. at a sharp curve along the hilly road in Cheechbatian, about 245 km north of Jammu. The vehicle rolled down into a 300-feet-deep gorge. Seven people have died and the injured are being shifted to Jammu,....

Congress wins both seats in Assam

Guwahati: Assam's ruling Congress party Tuesday won both assembly constituencies that saw by-elections three days ago, defeating opposition candidates by convincing margins. Wajed Ali Choudhury defeated Asom United Democratic Front's (AUDF) Abdur Rahman Ajmal, son of party chief Badruddin Ajmal, by more than 6,000 votes in the South Salmara seat in western Assam. Bhimananda Tanti won from Dhekiajulu, defeating Asom Gana Parishad's (SGP) Shib Charan Sahu by more than 21,000 votes.

'Kaminey' couple breaks up

The Kaminey couple, Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, has reportedly split their ways. According to media reports, it was Shahid who wanted to quit from the relation citing the differences in each other's inherent attitudes. Shahid said that Priyanka was not the type of girl he prefers in his life. It is said that Shahid's reserved nature clashes with Priyanka's party going one. Shahid and Priyanka's love blossomed on the set of 'Kaminey'. The film later became a mega hit and the couple....

Sensex climbs 179 points in opening trade

Mumbai: Maintaining its four-day bull-run, the BSE benchmark Sensex rose nearly 179 points in opening trade today, riding high on positive sentiment following the various measures adopted by Sebi to encourage SMEs to launch public issues and on firm global cues. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 178.81 points, or 1.1 per cent to 16,677.53 points in opening trade with all sectoral indices trading in positive zone with gains of up to 1.44 per cent. The BSE barometer gathered a hefty 1,093.78 points....

Liverpool escapes with a draw

London: Steven Gerrard equalized with a disputed penalty as Liverpool drew 2-2 with Birmingham to fall 11 points behind Premier League leader Chelsea. Liverpool trailed 2-1 in the 71st minute at Anfield yesterday when striker David Ngog went down in the area after a challenge by Lee Carsley, although the Birmingham midfielder clearly made no contact and afterward accused the French striker of cheating. 'He went past me and I was nowhere near (him). It's a joke,' Carsley said. 'I didn't touch....

Maoists blow up school building in Jharkhand

Maoists blew up a school building at Banbirua in Jharkhand's Latehar district, a senior police officer said on Tuesday. A group of armed Maoists stuffed dynamites and triggered the blast late last night in the school at Banbirua, Superintendent of Police Kuldip Diwedi said in Latehar. There was no loss of life in the incident, he said. Maoists blew up the structure to prevent the security forces from using it as a make-shift camp during the ensuing five-phase assembly elections starting on November....

Six killed in Tripura militant attack

Agartala: At least six villagers were killed and another injured by tribal separatists in a daring raid Tuesday in India's northeastern state of Tripura, officials said. A police spokesperson said heavily armed militants of the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) attacked Bhandirama village early Tuesday, about 140 km north of state capital Agartala. The victims were all family members of some NLFT militants who had surrendered before authorities in the past few days. 'The....

I-Tauthorities to question Koda today

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda will be questioned by the Income Tax department in connection with the Rs 4000-crore money-laundering scam on Tuesday. Koda, who spent around a week in hospital evading taxmen, was discharged on Sunday. On Monday, Devendra Mukhia, an alleged aide of former Jharkhand Chief Minister surrendered before the Income Tax department in Ranchi. IT department sources said in New Delhi that Koda will be questioned on the 'concealment of income and illegal investments....

Korean warships clash at sea

Seoul: Warships belonging to North and South Korea clashed off their west coast Tuesday, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a defence official in Seoul. A North Korean patrol ship crossed the Northern Limit Line, the countries' disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea, prompting a naval vessel from the South to fire warning shots, the unnamed official told Yonhap. The North Korean ship returned fire near Baekryeong Island, he said, adding that while it apparently was damaged,....

Oil lower in Asia as Hurricane Ida worries ease

Singapore: Oil fell in Asian trade on Tuesday as investor worries over the potential threat posed by Hurricane Ida to petroleum installations in the Gulf of Mexico subsided, analysts said. A firmer US currency, which makes dollar-priced crude more expensive for holders of foreign units, was also a factor in pushing oil futures lower, they said. New York's main contract, light sweet crude forDecember delivery fell 40 cents to USD 79.03 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for December delivery....

Kiwis survive Aamir scare to win ODI series

Abu Dhabi: New Zealand survived Mohammad Aamir's explosive half-century to clinch the series against Pakistan with a narrow seven-run victory in the third one-day international here. Aamir, 17, hit an unbeaten 73 for his maiden half-century-- the highest score by a number ten batsman in a one-day international -- to bring Pakistan, chasing 212, close to an unexpected victory after they were 101-9. Pakistan were bowled out for 204, giving New Zealand asensational 2-1 victory in....

Trinamool makes clean sweep, CPI-M draws blank

Kolkata: Riding the winds of change, Trinamool Congress and ally Congress on Tuesday bagged 8 of the 10 seats in the assembly bypolls in West Bengal, handing out another humiliating defeat to Left Front major, CPI(M), which drew a blank. Trinamool Congress, which fielded candidates in seven seats, made a clean sweep winning all of them. Congress, which contested three, won only one when it retained Sujapur assembly seat in Malda. Even the red citadel of Belgachia East in the metropolis,....

Peoples' victory, says Chandy

Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition leader Oomen Chandy said that the UDF victory in the Alapuzha, Ernakulam and Kannur Assembly seats belong to the people. The CPM's move to disrupt the electoral process and subvert the democratic values have been defeated by this UDF victory. The chief minister had said that the byelections would evaluate the LDF regime. The CPM will find it difficult to get justice now, Chandy said.

Hurricane Ida: 3 US states declare emergency

Washington: Governors of Florida and Alabama followed Louisiana's Indian American chief executive Bobby Jindal in declaring emergency as hurricane Ida weakened to a tropical storm but still dangerously churned toward the US Gulf Coast. Forecasters warned of heavy rainfall when Ida comes ashore near the Mississippi-Alabama state line. Although the forecast track does not show Ida making a direct hit on Louisiana, Jindal said, residents should be alert and prepared for the possibility of flooding,....

Dalai Lama has right to go wherever he wants: US

Washington: In the face of Chinese protests over the Dalai Lama's visit to a region near India's border with Tibet, the US has backed the Tibetan spiritual leader's right to free movement. 'I don't think we have a position necessarily on his decision to travel to this area,' State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Monday, when asked to comment on the Dalai Lama's visit to the remote Tawang monastery in Arunachal Pradesh state, which China claims as its own. But the Dalai Lama 'is....

3 labourers crushed by speeding car in Noida

Noida: A car driven by a youth allegedly in an inebriated condition mowed down three labourers of a family sleeping on a footpath and injured as many here last night. The labourers, engaged for laying cables by Reliance, were sleeping on the pavement at Sector 39 near the district hospital at around 2300 hours, police sources said. The three deceased were identified as Ram (30), Sumara (26) and Ashok (6). The injured -- Bobby Sharma, Rajesh and Bhure Sharma -- were taken to the....

Manmohan, Obama to take India-US ties to new level

Washington: When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits the US this month, he and President Barack Obama will create a framework to take their already 'comprehensive partnership of mutual trust and confidence' to 'a new level', according to the Indian ambassador here. 'We are at an exciting moment of hope and opportunity as Prime Minister Singh and President Obama prepare to build on the progress we have made to take the relationship to a new level,' Meera Shankar said in a keynote address at the....

Netanyahu wants peace with Palestinians 'soon'

Washington: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he is committed to peace negotiations with the Palestinians without preconditions and that he wanted to complete an accord 'soon.' Netanyahu spoke hours ahead of a closed door evening meeting with President Barack Obama, who has seen his effort to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks flounder. Netanyahu and Obama have also sharply differed over settlements in a rare public dispute between the US and Israeli leaders. Speaking to a....

Congress, BJP bag one seat each in Himachal

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday bagged one seat and the opposition Congress one in the assembly by-elections held last week. Congress candidate Sujan Singh Pathania won the Jawali seat by 5,249 votes, whereas the BJP's Khushi Ram Balnatah won from Rohru by a margin of 8,473 votes, state chief electoral officer Anil Khachi told IANS. Pathania got 25,168 votes while his nearest rival Baldev Raj Chaudhary of the BJP polled 19,919 votes in Jawali. In Rohru,....