Mathrubhumi English Edition

Petroleum prices increase in Abu DhabiAbu Dhabi: The petroleum fuel producer and distributors in Abu Dhabi have decided to raise the prices of gasoline by 15 fils ($0.040) from next week.
The hike will be effective from coming Wednesday, they said, adding that the prices will be liberalised and increased gradually in the emirate, one of the seven that comprise the United Arab Emirates.

Hiking of gasoline prices by a small percentage is part of efforts to gradually reduce the accumulated and increasing losses underwent by companies,....

World has benign view of India's rise: ManmohanOn Board Air India One: The world takes a 'benign view' of India and is not worried about its rise, unlike the case of China, and India should take advantage of it, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday.

'The world takes a benign view of India. They want us to succeed,' Manmohan Singh told journalists on board his special aircraft Air India One while returning from an eight-day visit to the US and Brazil where he interacted with nearly 50 world leaders.

The prime minister said this when....

Dalai Lama wants to visit quake-hit in ChinaDharamsala: The Dalai Lama Saturday expressed his desire to visit earthquake-hit areas in China to provide solace to the victims and expressed satisfaction over the relief work carried out there.

'I am deeply concerned about the families of quake victims in Yushu region of Tibet. I am eager to go there myself to offer comfort to the injured and the families of victims,' an official statement, quoting the Nobel laureate, said here.

Over 1,000 people were killed and more than 11,744 injured....

European flight bans extended as volcano spews ashReykjavik/Berlin/London: The closure of European airspace widened Saturday as activity from an Icelandic volcano continued to play havoc with airline operations.
A flight ban was imposed in Romania, Ukraine and northern Italy, after similar action across the British Isles, northern and central Europe, the European air-traffic safety body Eurocontrol said.

The Meteorological Institute in Reykjavik said Saturday morning that it had observed no change to the activity of the volcano near the Eyjafjallajoekull....

Twin blasts outside Bangalore stadium, five injuredBANGALORE: An explosion took place at one of the gates of the M Chinnaswamy stadium here barely 45 minutes before the start of an IPL cricket match on Saturday, leaving five securitymen injured.

The blast, which occurred at 3.15pm, sparked panic in the area as the stadium was packed with nearly 30,000 spectators who had come to watch the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians.

The explosive material was hidden in a plastic bag and placed near the wall adjacent to....

Air India suspends Sunday flights to Europe, USNew Delhi: Air India Saturday said it has suspended all flights scheduled for Sunday to Europe, US and Canada following volcanic ash spreading over Europe.
According to a top Air India official, the disruptions are expected to continue till next week. The airlines has already cancelled all the eight flights to Britain, Europe and North America scheduled for Saturday.

'As the European airspace continued to remain closed following the volcanic eruption in Iceland, Air India has suspended all westbound....

Multiple blasts rock hydropower project in MyanmarYangon: Several bombs exploded Saturday at a hydropower project in northern Myanmar, but no deaths were reported, officials said.
At least three blasts were reported at the Asia World Construction hydropower site in Myitkyina, northern Kachin state, 'but no serious casualties reported so far,' an official who requested anonymity said.

'Several bombs that had not yet exploded were also found at various places in the site,' one local witness said.

It was not immediately known how much damage....

First Indian-origin PM of Trinidad bows out of politicsPort-of-Spain: Basdeo Panday, who became the first Indian-origin Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, used to say that if you see a lion and himself fighting, feel sorry for the lion. But now the 'lion' has formally bowed out of politics after a career spanning nearly three and a half decades.
Panday, a lawyer by profession, was prime minister 1995-2001, and eventually through his own follies surrendered the position. He stalked the political landscape of the country from 1976 to the dissolution....

Govt trying to destroy Milma: ChennithalaKochi: KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the state government is trying to destroy Milma. They are trying to wipe off Milma to favour some monopolies in milk supply. The congress will fight against this, he said.

Obama to visit India in August or October: ManmohanOn Board Air India One: President Barack Obama will visit India in August or October, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday.
Obama will come to India in August or October, the dates have not yet been finalised, Manmohan Singh told journalists when asked about the US president's visit to India.

The prime minister Saturday returned home after an eight-day visit to the US and Brazil where he participated in three multilateral summits and held over half a dozen bilateral meetings with world....

Big B to work in Mohanlal's film for freeNew Delhi: Amitabh Bachchan will work for free in a forthcoming film starring Malayalam superstar Mohanlal.
'Mohanlal, great exponent of his art and craft, one of the finest actors of the country, from Kerala and Malayalam cinema had come over to finalize dates and schedules for the film he is making directed by Capt Ravi,' Amitabh posted on his blog bigb.bigadda.com

'It's a small guest appearance and I had agreed. They had come over to officially sign me on and make payments etc...Payments?....

Manmohan Singh returns homeOn Board Air India One: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday returned to New Delhi after an eight-day visit to the US and Brazil where he participated in three multilateral summits and held over half a dozen bilateral meetingS with world leaders.

I-T department gives clean chit to PCACHANDIGARH: Virtually giving a clean chit to Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), Income Tax sleuths, who carried out a survey at PCA stadium, on Saturday said that nothing 'incriminating' was found in their books of accounts of IPL.

'Everything is fine (in the accounts books) during our survey operations at PCA as nothing incriminating has been found so far,' a senior official of Income Tax Department said.

Though the Income Tax sleuths did not confiscate anything during their entire operation,....

President calls for affordable justice for India's poorGuwahati: President Pratibha Patil Saturday called for affordable and accessible justice for India's poor and said a large number of pending cases at various levels of the judiciary was a matter of serious concern.

'Litigation is not an inexpensive option. For the poor and disadvantaged sections of society, approaching courts without legal aid is not possible. We must look at how to make justice more affordable whether it is in terms of court fees or lawyer's fees,' the president said while inaugurating....

CM urges people to co-operate with census surveyThiruvananthapuram: Chief minister V S Achuthanandan requested all people to cooperate with the census procedures. People should furnish the right information with the census officials. The census is being taken with an aim to provide unified identity card to all, he said. He was speaking to mediapersons after participating in the census program.

38 killed in twin blasts in PakistanIslamabad: At least 38 people were killed and dozens injured in two back-to-back blasts near a refugee camp in northwest Pakistan's Kohat district Saturday, officials at the spot said.
According to local officials, one blast occurred at the registration point while the second took place 10 minutes later when people gathered at the spot.

Both the blasts were suicide attacks, Xinhua reported quoting locals.

Gunshots were heard soon after the blast in the camp, witnesses said, adding that several....

Japanese woman gangraped in BiharPatna: A Japanese woman was allegedly gangraped in Bihar by four people, including an autorickshaw driver, police said Saturday. The four accused have been arrested.
The tourist was on her way from Bodh Gaya to the Gaya railway station when she was raped Friday night, police said.

A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged in the Bodh Gaya police station and police arrested the four culprits.

BCCI keeps Modi out of informal meet on Kochi franchise rowLalit Modi's powers are set to be curtailed considerably as the move to clip his wings gained momentum at an informal BCCI meeting in Dharamshala where the Board's top brass discussed the Kochi franchise ownership row.

After Modi's public spat with Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on the matter turned into a
political storm and an income tax nightmare for the IPL, the Board officials held an informal conclave in the picturesque
hill-town of Dharamshala.

It assumes importance....

Naxals fire at security personnel of former BSF DGNaxals dressed in CRPF uniform on Saturday fired at the securitymen of former BSF Director General E N Rammohan, who is in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district to inquire into circumstances that led to the massacre of 76 security personnel by Maoists.

Official sources said the Naxals fired a few random shots at the securitymen comprising CRPF and local police personnel guarding Rammohan at Chintalnar in Dantewada district. No one was injured in the firing.

Sources said the Naxals opened fire as....

Kochi IPL to play in Gujarat ?New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram: Shattering the IPL dreams of Kerala, the Gujarat lobby had started its play to regain the franchise by holding its grip tight in the higher level management of the Rendezvous Consortia. It is suspected that by appointing Harshad Mehta as the chairman of the franchise, their move is to claim for Ahmadabad as home ground instead of Kochi. They will demand the claim citing that the Kerala Cricket Association do not have a ground in the state. The lobby is trying to have....

Lavlin: No evidence of any financial transactions, says CBIKochi: The CBI has informed the special court that there are no evidences on any financial transactions between CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijay and the middlemen in the SNC Lavlin case. The CBI filed a statement as per the direction of the court on a petition filed by Crime magazine editor T P Nandakumar.

The CBI also questioned Nasar who acted as a middleman in the Lavlin deal. They also sought the help of Interpol to question Dileep Rahulan. The investigation so far had not revealed any....

Hundreds stranded as US, Britain flights cancelledMumbai: Around 900 passengers were stranded at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Saturday as flights to several places in Europe were cancelled following volcanic ash clouding the flight path.

All flights from Mumbai to London, cities in the US and Canada have been cancelled and flights to India are also delayed indefinitely, officials said.

'Our flights to London remain cancelled Saturday too,' said Prakash Mirpuri, spokesperson of Kingfisher Airlines.

Harried passengers had....

Mystery woman left Modi's office before raid: ReportIn a shocking revelation, the CCTV camera footage showed a mystery woman leaving IPL Commissioner Modi's office at 4 Seasons Hotel, 30 minutes before the Income Tax officers questioned him, according to media reports.

Reportedly, I-T officials have said that the woman was seen leaving Modi's office with laptop and files.

Meanwhile, Sunanda deal gets murkier as reports have emerged which say that the Kochi franchise deal sees her get full share of profit and only 1% loss, the remaining 99% of....

PM on Tharoor row: Politics has ups and downsOn Board Air India One: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday chose to tread carefully on the Indian Premier League (IPL) row involving Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.
'Politics has its ups and downs,' is all that the prime minister said on board his special aircraft when asked about his take on Tharoor's alleged links with the Kochi IPL franchise.

Tharoor had Friday clarified that he had not misused his official position and his 'mentoring' the Kerala consortium of the....

Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta under scanner: ReportNEW YORK: Prosecutors are examining whether Goldman Sachs Group director Rajat Gupta gave inside information about the Wall Street bank to Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, the Wall Street Journal said on, citing people close to the situation.

'Mr. Gupta is unaware of any examination of any such issue and has done nothing wrong,' a spokeswoman for Gupta said in a statement responding to the report.

Rajaratnam has pleaded not guilty to criminal insider trading charges. He faces....

LDF urges people to support strike against price hikeThiruvananthapuram : Extending support to the nationwide strike by the Left Parties, the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala urged people to make the proposed agitation against the UPA government's failure in taking steps to contain the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities a success in the state.

Talking to reporters after a LDF liaison committee meeting here yesterday, its convener Vaikom Viswam said though the Left parties had held a nation-wide agitation on April eight....

Kuwait sets minimum wage for private sectorKuwait has decided to set a minimum wage of 60 Kuwait dinars (Rs 9,191.53) for workers in the private sector, the country's social affairs and labour minister has said.

'The decision states that no employee of the private sector would be hired below the KD 60 wage,' a ministry statement said.

According to the social affair and labour minister, Mohammad Al-Afasi, the decision reflected the continuous cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities.

The new labour....

Terror groups may plan attack in India, US warns its nationalsWashington: Terrorist groups may be planning attacks in India and it could be at places 'where US citizens or Westerners are known to congregate or visit', the US warned its nationals in its latest advisory.
The Department of State has alerted its citizens to ongoing security concerns in India and said that the US government 'continues to receive information that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in India'.

'The February 2010 bombing in Pune and the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai provide....

Osama ordered satellite TV dish to watch 9/11 attackLondon: Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden ordered for a satellite TV dish to be set up at his hideout so that he could watch the 9/11 terror attack in the US, but he couldn't watch it as he was unable to get a signal in the mountainous terrain, his former bodyguard has said.
Nasser Al Bahri, former bodyguard of the elusive Al Qaeda chief, said: 'He asked for satellite TV to be able to follow the bombing.'

Al Bahri guarded the Al Qaeda leader for three years before being arrested in Yemen ahead....

Hit and run case: Police trace car ownerKozhikode: The police nabbed the owner of the hit and run case, in which three youth were killed near Malabar Christian College on Vishu morning. During the preliminary investigation, the traffic police found that the car was overspeeding in the wrong direction. The car is owned by Sudheer from Mankavu.

Police traced Sudheer at a private hospital while he was taking treatment after the incident. Police said that as many as five people were in the car and were returning from a shop after buying....

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