Washington, March 1 – President Barack Obama has chosen the son of an Indian migrant couple from Bihar to help bridge the cultural divide in US relations with Muslims inside and outside America’s borders. As Obama’s new special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Rashad Hussain, both a Quran scholar and an ardent North Carolina Tar Heels basketball fan, will be the face of the president’s new approach to engage the Islamic world. At a time when the US is fighting two wars in Muslim nations, changing perceptions will take time, says Hussain, 31.
February 28, 2010 / Comments Off / Read More
Bangalore, March 1 – Various agencies have begun revisiting laws and updating data on high-rise buildings in Bangalore to prevent a repeat of the Carlton Towers fire tragedy that claimed nine lives. There is no clear estimate of the number of high-rise buildings in the city although the fire department has issued the No Objection Certificate to around 1,500 such buildings in the last 10 years. Buildings of 15 metre high or those with ground floor plus four floors are treated by the Bangalore authorities as high-rise buildings.
February 28, 2010 | Filed under Defence / Terrorism | Read More
Riyadh, March 1 – India and Saudi Arabia signed the Riyadh Declaration late Sunday night to put their seal of approval on rapidly growing ties that are moving towards a strategic partnership covering security, economic, defence, technology and political areas and including joint combat of terrorism. The ‘Riyadh Declaration – A New Era of Strategic Partnership’ was signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz at a ceremony at the Al Rawad Palace here. ‘The two leaders reviewed the status of implementation of the historic Delhi Declaration signed in 2006, and expressed their satisfaction at the steady expansion of Saudi-India relations since the signing of the Delhi Declaration,’ the new declaration read.
February 28, 2010 | Filed under Defence / Terrorism | Read More
Mumbai, March 1 – Oscar-winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty says he was inspired to start his own NGO as he was inundated with requests for financial help after he won the Academy Award. ‘Over the last one year, so many things happened in my life. I received a huge number of letters from across the country, seeking financial help because many people thought that A.R.
February 28, 2010 | Filed under Cinema | Read More
Washington, March 1 – President Barack Obama’s doctor has given him an excellent bill of health but has obliquely asked him to cut down on those cheese burgers he sneaks off to eat once in a while. ‘The president is in excellent health and ‘fit for duty,” Dr. Jeff Kuhlman, a Navy captain and physician to the president wrote in his report after Obama’s first check-up Sunday.
February 28, 2010 | Filed under Health / Medicine | Read More
Washington, March 1 – ‘My Name Is Khan’ has set a new all-time career record for Shah Rukh Khan by becoming the Bollywood star’s top-grossing film in North America with total sales of $3,635,000 after 17 days of release. The film Sunday surpassed Khan’s old record of $3,597,372 for 2007′s ‘Om Shanti Om’ and continues to play in 119 theaters across the US and Canada in its third week of play. On Feb 22, after only 11 days of release, ‘My Name Is Khan’ also became the highest grossing film ever for director Karan Johar beating the $3,275,444 of 2006′s ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ which starred Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta and Abhishek Bachchan.
February 28, 2010 | Filed under Business | Read More
Vancouver, March 1 – Canadians in red (wearing their maple leaf symbol) broke in celebrations from coast to coast on the last day of the 21st Winter Olympics after the hosts clinched the ice hockey gold by beating arch rivals United States. The host victory also brought the curtain down on the 17-day sports extravaganza, with colourful ceremonies at the BC Place here Sunday night. The rivalry between Canada and the US in ice hockey is as intense as the India-Pakistan rivalry in field hockey.
February 28, 2010 | Filed under Sports | Read More
Washington, March 1 – US President Barack Obama was judged to be in ‘excellent health’ but still smokes too much and suffers from some knee pain, according to his first routine physical examination since becoming president. Obama is ‘fit for duty,’ White House physician Jeffrey Kuhlman declared Sunday after the traditional periodic presidential exam conducted at the National Naval Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland, outside the nation’s capital. Kuhlman urged Obama to continue his efforts to quit smoking and recommended ‘nicotine replacement therapy, self use’ – which may have been music for First Lady Michelle’s ears after she has launched health initiatives like fighting childhood obesity.
February 28, 2010 | Filed under Politics | Read More
Washington, March 1 – The US government has reported that a 7.0 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Japan. The earthquake occurred at 0201 IST Saturday and was centred 81 km east of Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, the US Geological Survey reported. USGS initially estimated the magnitude at 7.3.
February 28, 2010 | Filed under Accident / Crime / Disaster | Read More
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