Before embarking on this assignment, perhaps these journalists were briefed by biased Canadian bureaucrats for whom “terrorist violence, such as bombings in public areas and on public transportation, occurs throughout India….attacks can take place anywhere and at any time in India…” Opposing the proposed civil nuclear deal between the two countries, John Ibbitson of the Globe and Mail, who is perhaps visiting India for the first time, says: “But India’s nuclear facilities have been placed on high alert, as evidence emerges that two men, one of them Canadian, might have scouted sites for the terrorist attack on Mumbai last year…”

Carrying his ridiculous argument further, he writes:“Does Canada really want to help sell nuclear technology to a country that is the midst of such a volatile region, a country that in the 1970s appropriated our first foray into building Indian nuclear reactors to help fashion nuclear weapons, a country whose nuclear reactors would be an ideal ground zero for jihadists?”

The incident that took place in Vindhyachal area of Mirzapur district, 60 kms from here, triggered protests by locals yesterday, who staged demonstrations outside the school following which the management of the institution shut it down.

ASP Mirzapur Sripati Mishra said the principal of Pt. Ramchandra Mishra Inter College Sunil Kumar Dube allegedly beat up Class II student Ajay Majhi when he was going out of the school premises during lunch time on November five. The child suffered multiple fractures due to the beating and was sent home by college authorities. The child was then taken to Mirzapur district where he succumbed to injuries yesterday.

“He told me his family wont agree to our marriage as I’m from a schedule caste and if I’m pregnant, it will be easier to convince the family. He later told me he was engaged to another girl but if I could give Rs 10 lakh as dowry like the other girl, he would marry me,” said Priyanka.

Priyanka says she had complained to the local police 15 days before the wedding, but it was to no avail. She wanted the police to prevent the marriage. But we have no powers in this case, as there was no marriage. If it was a second marriage we could prevent it. Now she has filed a case of forced sex and cheating. We have registered a case,” said City Police Commissioner, Shankar Bidari.

The terrified 25-year-old fled from the balcony window when he was caught in bed with the man’s wife at the married couple’s flat in Chengdu, central China.

For three days, the 4cm long sewing needle remained stuck in Prashant’s heart. Doctors in Jammu operated on him to take it out but they just couldn’t find it. Prashant was finally brought to the Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre (EHIRC) in the capital. There, doctors performed a tricky surgery, and even used a magnet, to extricate the needle out without damaging the heart.

His mother, Soma Devi, said, “We rushed him to the government medical college, but the doctors there gave us some medicines and said everything was fine. They asked us to return in three days as they were on strike.”

This week, after Mitterrand courted controversy by defending fugitive filmmaker Roman Polanski, political opponents headed back to the book and accused him of supporting the exploitation of young Asian sex workers. Mitterrand won the backing of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s chief of staff, but politicians from right and left, including members of Sarkozy’s rightwing ruling party, have demanded he step down or at least explain himself.

The minister has so far refused to address the charges, dismissing them as having been inspired by a far-right smear campaign, but was to appear on France’s main evening newscast on Thursday night. When the book, described by its publisher as a “novel inspired by autobiography”, was released, Mitterrand confirmed he had paid for sex in Asian brothels, but rejected rumours of paedophilia. “It’s not true,” he said in an April 6, 2005 television interview.

While most are going to make it a no-food affair, some have decided to follow the traditional ‘nirjal’ (without water) fast to pray for the long lives of their boyfriends. From applying home-made face packs to buying new clothes, they are going about it just like women. Says Dipak, a 29-year-old engineer, “I am going to fast for my boyfriend’s long life. Although I will not be applying henna on my hands, I will eat only after I see his face against the moon.’‘

With many of them hiding their true identities from the family, they are unable to follow the tradition completely. Jatin, who wants to do all the rituals, rues the fact that unlike women, who get a `sargi’, a platter of eatables and a few gifts from a mother-in-law, he will not get one. “Last year, I woke up before sunrise and ate what I had prepared the previous night. Although I keep a rigid fast, I wish I had a ‘sargi’.’‘ Jatin got an expensive branded watch last year as a Karva Chauth gift and Hitesh, who is fasting for the first time, is looking forward to the promised gold bracelet.

It is believed that every morning before Francis left home he would lock the door giving the impression that the family was away. The women were often denied food and fresh clothing. The windows had been boarded, denying them sunlight; they were prohibited from watching television, so much so that when the youngest daughter failed her college exam, the father hit her so hard that she suffered severe neck injuries.

A few months ago, Francis’ second daughter along with the help of an NGO managed to escape the clutches of her father. While the social workers managed to rescue her, the other 3 women were too scared to leave the house with them, fearing that Francis would successfully hunt them down. Fortunately, on Tuesday morning social workers belonging to the NGO Anand Rehabilitation Centre along with the police rescued the three women from the house, while Francis was away. The police now have Mumbai’s psycho dad Francis Gomes in their custody, after local resident in Vasai, Mumbai informed the police about his whereabouts following reports in the media.

Alcywn Jenkins, 72, was standing at a game at the St Helen’s ground in Swansea, south Wales, on Saturday when he died after being hit by a ball, which Britain’s Press Association said it understood was thrown by a fielder. Jenkins, who lived in the Sketty area of Swansea, was airlifted to a nearby hospital but died shortly afterwards.

The First Division match between Swansea and Llangennech in the South Wales Cricket Association (SWCA) was later abandoned.

Labourer Mithai Lal, 45, and his wife Chandrasena, 42, named their seven children after the political leaders as they believe that this would bring them good fortune. The couple expects one more child later this year and hopes it will be a girl so that it can name her after UP CM Mayawati. The family lives in Jalalpur town in UP’s Ambedkar Nagar district, 180 km from Lucknow. “As I firmly believe names can change one’s destiny, I named my six sons and one daughter after popular politicians of the country,’’ Mithai Lal said.

While 18-year-old Mulayam is the eldest son, the youngest, Bal Thackeray, is just five months. The others sons—Kalyan Singh, Zail Singh, Rajnath Singh and Manmohan Singh—are 16, 15, 13 and five, respectively. Jayalalitha is eight years old. “Despite coming from a Dalit community, but braving all odds, Behenji (Maya) emerged as one of the most powerful politicians of the country. We too belong to the community and want to have a daughter who could make her parents feel proud like Mayawati,’’ Chandrasena said.

Grandmaster Vladislav Tkachiev arrived for Thursday’s match against India’s Praveen Kumar in such an inebriated state that he could hardly sit in his chair and soon fell asleep, resting his head on the table, The Hindustan Times newspaper reported.

Indian papers carried pictures of the world No. 58 sleeping and the organisers’ futile attempts to wake him up. The game was awarded to the Indian on the technical ground of Tkachiev being unable to complete his moves within the stipulated time of an hour and 30 minutes, the paper said.

“We thought it was true so we printed it without checking,” associate editor Hasanuzzuman Khan told the AFP news agency. “We didn’t know the Onion was not a real news site.” The article said Mr Armstrong had told a news conference he had been “forced to reconsider every single detail of the monumental journey after watching a few persuasive YouTube videos and reading several blog posts” by a conspiracy theorist. The truth is that Neil Armstrong never gave such an interview. It was made up.

“It took only a few hastily written paragraphs published by this passionate denier of mankind’s so-called ‘greatest technological achievement’ for me to realise I had been living a lie,” the fake article “quoted” Mr Armstrong as saying. The made-up quote went on to say that although the journey had felt real, in fact “the entire thing was filmed on a sound stage, most likely in New Mexico”. “I suppose it really was one small step for man, one giant lie for mankind.”

People in the border villages feel that the broadcasts should not make casual remarks about Indian gods. People living in villages are quite religious-minded and any attempt to tarnish the image of Gods would make them angry. Everyone knows presently Pakistan is faced with political turbulence, challenge from Taliban and fundamental forces. The U.S. is exerting pressure to take visible actions to root-out extremism.

Listeners on the Indian side of the border feel that, despite its own house lying in so much disorder, Pakistan is finding out nothing but throwing mud on feelings of people in India to create communal tensions. But will Radio Pakistan ever learn?

Heuhotels (‘heu’ is German for hay) offer exactly what their name suggests. For as little as eight euros ($11) a night backpackers, couples, families and, in the case of one “hay hotel” in central Germany – ‘groups of up to 60’ – can rest their heads in a way nature intended. With private bedrooms and the option for “real” beds, the ‘Zum Alten Marstall’ is at the “luxury” end of the market. It also takes advantage of its position at the foot of the 11th century Castle Guttenberg by adopting medieval styling throughout. Here staff wear embroidered tunics and woolen cloaks and male guests are referred to as “Knights.”

While not all hay hotels provide such elaborate extras, many offer a range of activities. These typically include horse riding, canoeing, mountain biking and archery. Foodies will also get the chance to buy fresh meat, cheeses and other farm produce on site.

It is also mandatory for the dog owners to register each pet at the dog cell, when the dog is four months old. Two photographs of the dog have to be pasted on the form with the details of its age, colour, breed and vaccination record. The cost of registration is Rs.200-500. The corporation will issue a metal chip in return and the owner has to tie the chip to the collar band of the dog.

G. Diwan, medical officer health (MOH) of the corporation, told IANS: “We have made these laws to make things more streamlined and to curb the menace of dogs in Chandigarh. We have got the approval from the department concerned and these by-laws have been notified by the administration. “We had been working on these by-laws for a long time and we had kept in mind various parameters while drafting them.”

Clarifying that marriage laws had not changed, the apex court refused to stay gay marriages. Any interim order for staying gay marriages or their registration would be considered after hearing the Centre and other parties concerned. The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by astrologer SK Kaushal challenging the Delhi High Court judgement on Section 377.

While mentioning the petition, the counsel, appearing for the astrologer, said that since the high court verdict, there have been seven cases of gay marriages, and raised several questions, which, he claimed, were likely to affect the institution of marriage, reported PTI. However, the SC Bench said, “We have not changed the definition of marriage.”

Built by Raja Jai Suria, the temple was once a must stop over for pilgrims going to the Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas. The temple was for long run by a local association of Kashmir Pandits headed by Pandit Radha Krishen. After his migration from Kashmir in 1989, the temple became a property of the state archaeology, archives and museum department and a protected monument. While leaving, Pandit gave the charge of the temple to his friend Abdul Bhat, a Muslim, and asked him to keep the gates of the temple open. Keeping the promise, Bhat took care of the temple till his transfer from the area in 2004. After that Mohammad Abdullah and Ghulam Hassan were entrusted with the task of maintaining the temple.

Researchers say the idea is to replace explosives in small hand grenades with a certain variety of red chilli to immobilise people without killing them. The chilli, known as Bhut Jolokia, is said to be 1,000 times hotter than commonly used kitchen chilli.

And the powder will also be spread on the fences around army barracks in the hope the strong smell will keep out animals.

The passer-by, 66-year-old Lai Jiansheng, had been fed up with what he called Chen’s “selfish activity,” Xinhua said. Traffic around the Haizhu bridge in the city of Guangzhou had been backed up for five hours and police had cordoned off the area.

“I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish. Their action violates a lot of public interest,” Lai was quoted as saying by Xinhua. “They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities’ attention to their appeals.” Xinhua said Lai was “taken away by police” but did not elaborate.

Women in the audience immediately and loudly protested Al-Razine’s statement, and were shocked to learn the remarks came from a judge, the newspaper reported. Al-Razine made his remark as he was attempting to explain why incidents of domestic violence had increased in Saudi Arabia. He said that women and men shared responsibility, but added that “nobody puts even a fraction of blame” on women, the newspaper said. Al-Razine “also pointed out that women’s indecent behavior and use of offensive words against their husbands were some of the reasons for domestic violence in the country,” it added.

Saudi women’s rights activist Wajeha Al-Huwaider told CNN that Saudi women routinely face such attitudes. “This is how men in Saudi Arabia see women,” she said in a telephone interview from the Saudi city of Dahran. “It’s not something they read in a book or learned from a friend. They’ve been raised to see women this way, that they’re less than a person.”

Valentina Kirilova was trying to give the animal a banana at Rostov Zoo, but instead of taking the food Otello grabbed her hand.

After dragging her into the cage, the chimpanzee began to try to rape her, reports The Sun.

Valentina said of the attack: “I have spent a lot of time around the primates but I’d never imagined that a lonely chimpanzee could see me as a sex object.”

The ape broke the keeper’s wrist as he pulled her into his cage and began to attack her.

The girl, Komal (name changed), has yet to come to terms to the fact that she now is a mother. A rag picker, she used to live on the roadside in Hasanpura. “The girl and the baby were brought to the hospital in the wee hours of Wednesday. Both are in good health. The girl appears to be around 12 years old and it’s amazing that she had a normal delivery,’‘ said Dr Bhanwar Singh Meena.

She claimed she was “married’‘ to a boy of her age group, Jeetu, who stayed with her for nearly 45 days a few months ago. Her father has a different tale to tell, though. “She used to live with a guy till some time ago, but we are not sure if this is his child. She never told me that she felt different. It was only last night that she complained of pain and it was only when she gave birth to the child that the situation became evident,’‘ said her father.

They said some neighbours who were horrified at the sight of the girl being beaten up by her own parents, brought it to the notice of the police. When a police party reached the spot, they found the girl’s body neatly wrapped in a piece of cloth which her parents were apparently planning to dump at some unidentified place.

The couple were arrested as the girl’s elder sister told the police that their father had found that an amount of Rs 1,000 he had kept in his wallet missing.

The offer was made by Qureshi in the absence of Rubina’s mother during a sting operation by the British weekly, News of the World, to expose child exploitation in Mumbai. Rubina’s uncle, Rajan More, was present at the meeting.

Rubina Ali, who played younger Latika in Slumdog Millionaire, lives in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum with her family.

The incident allegedly occurred on Wednesday when Shannoo failed to recite the English alphabet in class. Angered by this, the teacher allegedly hit Shannoo’s head against the table and made her stand in the sun for over two hours. Unable to stand the heat, Shannoo fainted and was found unconscious by her younger sister, who studies in the same school. The girl then informed their mother, Rihanna, who rushed Shannoo to Maharshi Valmiki Hospital.

Shannoo’s father, Ayub Khan, who works as a waiter in a catering company, was away in Haryana for work. “I returned at 9.30pm when my younger daughter told me about the incident. Doctors at Maharshi Valmiki hospital told me that Shannoo’s condition was critical and she might not survive,” said Khan. The 11-year old was shifted to the paediatric ICU of Lok Nayak Hospital on Thursday afternoon.

“She was brought to our hospital in a critical condition. We have examined the child and her blood pressure is very low due to which she remains in a state of shock. Her pulse is very weak too. She is on a ventilator and we can comment on her condition only tomorrow,” said Dr A P Dubey, head of the department, pediatrics, Lok Nayak Hospital. “The child was admitted in with severe seizure and her condition further deteriorated before she slipped into a coma. She was shifted to LNJP in critical condition,” said Dr K K Deuri, medical superintendent of Maharshi Valmiki hospital.

The drunk 26-year-old burst into a neighboring room in his hostel Tuesday and used karate moves to kill the pair, state investigator Eduard Abdullin said by telephone from Kazan, a city 700 km (430 miles) east of Moscow.

“He literally beat them to death with his hands and feet,” Abdullin said. “The family were poor and drank a lot. He blamed them for infecting his wife and the entire corridor with lice.”

Police said following the shootings Saturday that Richard Poplawski, 22, would be charged with three counts of homicide, aggravated assault and other charges. Poplawski, who was shot in the leg during a four-hour standoff with police, was hospitalized at an undisclosed location, police said. Details of the incident were included in the police complaint seeking an arrest warrant for Poplawski. The complaint says Margaret Poplawski called 911 about 7 a.m. Saturday to report that her son was “giving her a hard time.” She told police she awoke to discover that “the dog had urinated on the floor,” and awakened her son “to confront him about it.” The two had an argument, and Margaret Poplawski told her son she was calling police to remove him from her home, according to the complaint. When officers Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo III arrived, she opened the door and let them in.

“Mrs. Poplawski reported that as the officers entered approximately 10 feet into the residence, she heard gunshots, turned and saw her son about six feet away with a long rifle in his hands, at which point she fled downstairs after asking him, ‘What the hell have you done?’” the complaint said. Margaret Poplawski reported she stayed in the basement during the standoff, and heard her son yell, “Yeah, I’ve been shot,” and “I’m standing down, come in and help me,” according to the complaint.

Police Chief Nathan Harper identified the dead officers as Eric Kelly, Mayhle and Sciullo. Kelly was a 14-year veteran of the department; the other two had worked there for two years each.

The matter came to light when a 35-year-old exporter from Powai, Sayyed Ahmed, complained to the Sion police that his wife and her parents had been blackmailing him for two years.

It was learnt that the trio would visit star hotels in and target businessmen. Kausar Begam would befriend them and put up a marriage plan. After marrying the man, she would leave his house with valuables and lodge dowry complaint against him and in-laws.

According to scientists from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, sadomasochistic (S&M) activities like spanking, bondage, and flogging increase relationship closeness.

“The latrine was of the same design as we use in third world countries — a dry latrine — and we formed the longest queue this morning,” UNICEF spokesman Benoit Melebeck said. “The Guinness Book of Records told us we needed to get at least 500 people in the queue to get the record,” he said.

Melebeck said the event was to raise public awareness of the need and eventually funds for more pumps, wells, latrines and hygiene education for children in third world countries.

A fuel-gauge malfunction was partly to blame but prosecutors also said the pilot succumbed to panic, praying out loud instead of following emergency procedures and then opting to crash-land the plane instead trying to reach a nearby airport.

Another five employees of Tuninter, a subsidiary of Tunisair, were sentenced to between eight and nine years in jail by the court, in a verdict handed down on Monday.

more at IIT Kharagpur Student Death

Models draped in black, grey and deep purple sashayed down the catwalk at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, a five-day event in which 103 designers vie for the attention of 175 domestic and international buyers.

“We are in the heart of recession, and it’s fashionable,” said designer Kiran Uttam Ghosh, whose “Frugality is the new Black” collection was inspired by the global downturn.

“I’ve combined high-street cheap leggings with luxe jackets, T-shirts with luxury shawls,” she said. “You can be frugal, sensible, spend less and yet you can be fashionable.”