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SRINAGAR: A rights group has discovered several unmarked graves containing about 1,500 unidentified bodies in held Kashmir valley. Members of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) said that at least eight of the graves had more than one body likely of the innocent people killed by Indian paramilitary forces."We've found that at least eight are mass graves as they contain more than one body," the APDP’s lawyer, Pervez Imroz told media men here."We have found more graves of about 1,500 people buried as unidentified persons in three remote districts during our ongoing survey," Pervez Imroz, said.The latest report from the districts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipore is part of the APDP's ongoing survey of the northern parts of the held Kashmir . Last year, in a report titled, "Facts Under Ground", the APDP had reported discovery of unmarked graves of about 1,000 people near Uri in Baramulla district.After that report, the Amnesty I...

Friday, August 21, 2009 MUMBAI: Having lived the life of a politician before his big net a dreams were cut short, Sanjay Dutt is now all geared up to bring his political experience on-screen. All set to play the lead in his first political thriller ever, the actor will be bringing aboard his experience for a film that is touted to revamp his public image. Just returned to Mumbai from a long shoot in Cape Town the actor has set aside all his film projects to act in a film by director Mani Shankar of ‘Mukhbir’ fame.The untitled film based on the present political equation in the country will have no songs and will just have three main characters who never meet in the flick.As for the plotline the film like all political flicks will bring forth the laundering of trillions of dollars from India and being placed in unknown locations the world over. For his role Sanjay Dutt along with Irrfan Khan will play two government agents from different walks of life who come together to raise Rs 32,00...

Friday, August 21, 2009 LOS ANGELES: A film about Michael Jackson titled Michael Jackson THIS IS IT will be shown in cinemas around the world for two weeks starting in late October.Tickets should be available from 27 September, with the film opening in cinemas on October 28. The studio confirmed earlier reports that Kenny Ortega (High School Musical) would direct it. Ortega was also supposed to stage Jackson's comeback concerts planned for July in London. The singer died suddenly of heart failure in Los Angeles on June 25. In early August, a judge gave the go-ahead for a contract for the film between the studio, concert promoter AEG Live and Jackson's estate. The film is expected to contain video footage from Jackson's last concert rehearsals filmed shortly before his death. Friends and colleagues are also thought likely to appear. "It is a very private, exclusive look into a creative genius's world," Ortega said.

Friday, August 21, 2009 BHOPAL: Senior BJP leader Kailash Sarang on Friday demanded that the book on Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah by expelled party leader Jaswant Singh should be banned in the whole country. Talking to Indian news agency, Sarang said the book has already been banned by the Gujarat Government and hoped that a similar step would be taken soon by other BJP ruled states also. When asked if the Madhya Pradesh Government should also ban this book, Sarang hoped that it would be banned here also. Asked how he viewed Jaswant Singh's expulsion from the BJP, he said in his view this was "most appropriate step".

Friday, August 21, 2009 GUJARAT: Residents of Moti Paneli, an obscure village in Gujarat’s Rajkot district, which is the ancestral place of Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah have sought apology from Jaswant Singh, the author of “Jinnah-India, Partition, Independence” for denigrating Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Though these villagers take pride in the fact that M.A. Jinnah belonged to their village and also married here, they find it intolerable to see Sardar Patel, who was also a Gujarati and remembered for his role in the unification of India, be denigrated by anyone. These people have demanded an apology from BJP’s ousted leader Jaswant Singh. “Whatever Jaswant Singh has written is false. The allegations made by him against Sardar Patel are untrue. Sardar Patel was a great man and did some great things for India. Though Jinnah was from our village Paneli and we are proud of it… He grew up here and went to school…but Jaswant should apologise for whatever he has written,” said Manubha...

Friday, August 21, 2009 KABUL: President Hamid Karzai's campaign manager claimed victory on Friday in the country's presidential election, saying preliminary results showed there would be no need for a second round run-off. "Initial results show that the president has got a majority," Deen Mohammad told foreign news agency, although he said it was the duty of the election commission to announce the official results. "We will not got to a second round. We have got a majority." Mohammad said the estimate of victory was based on reports from nearly 29,000 monitors the campaign had at polling stations throughout the country. However, a spokesman for his chief rival, Abdullah Abdullah, dismissed the claim. Official preliminary results are not due for two weeks, but counting began immediately after polls closed on Thursday, and the 6,200 polling stations are required to post their results as they tabulate them. Polls conducted before the election showed Karzai in ...

Friday, August 21, 2009 KABUL: Vote counting in Afghanistan's second-ever direct presidential election is under way after polls closed on Thursday, officials have said.A runoff, if required, would be held within two weeks after the official results are announced.Despite candidates' calls for Afghans to defy the Taliban's warnings of violence and come out to vote in the presidential and provincial-council elections, the effort appears to have been only partially successful.However, Taliban attacks and threats deterred many in the southern and southeastern Pashtun-populated regions from going to polling stations. The development could undermine incumbent President Hamid Karzai's bid for another five-year term, at least in the first round, due to his dependence on the votes of fellow Pashtuns in those regions. Twenty-six civilians and security-force personnel were killed as a result of election-day attacks, according to Afghan security officials, who also claimed to have p...

Friday, August 21, 2009 CAIRO: The Arab League has welcomed the release of a terminally ill Libyan convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, it was reported today."The Arab League welcomes the Scottish court decision to release (Abdel Baset al-) Megrahi, taking into consideration his serious health condition," assistant secretary-general Ahdmed Bin Hilli was quoted as saying.He said the decision came after lengthy Libyan diplomatic efforts. Bin Hilli voiced hope the release "would constitute a new page in the Lockerbie crisis and that Libya would receive compensation for its suffering during the years of ongoing sanctions as a result of this crisis". In 2003, Libya agreed to pay $US2.7 billion in compensation to Lockerbie relatives, paving the way for a thawing of relations with the West. Megrahi, the only person ever convicted over the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people, arrived home today just hours after being freed on compassionate grounds. The Libyan has...

Friday, August 21, 2009 LONDON: Four British Bangladeshi men have been sentenced to prison for their involvement in the supply of class A drugs in Slough, Berkshire, England. They were among 36 people charged with drugs offences after one of the largest pre-planned intelligence-led drugs operations held by Thames Valley Police. The members of a London-based gang, known as the 'Naz Network', were jailed for their involvement in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine in the town using a network of hire cars. They were sentenced in Reading Crown Court on Aug 12. Code-named Operation Chester, the crackdown included a series of drugs raids at homes in Slough in July 2008, aimed at disrupting suspected major drugs networks operating in the area. Of the four British Bangladeshis sentenced in the case, Tauseef Ahmed, 24, of Spackmans Way, Chalvey, was jailed for two-and-a-half years for conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin. Akik Miah, 25, of Duckett Street, London, was jailed ...

Friday, August 21, 2009 QATAR: The moon of the holy Islamic month of Ramazan has not been sighted on Thursday in countries Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt so there will set-in the Ramazan on Saturday in aforesaid countries, Geo news reported on Thursday night.According to an Arab television, the meeting on the sighting of Ramazan moon in the Gulf courtiers is underway at the moment.

Thursday, August 20, 2009 BERLIN: The 12th World Athletics Championships concluded its fifth day on Wednesday, producing gold medals in four events, men's discus throw, men's 1,500m race, women's 100m hurdles and women's 800m race. Robert Harting of Germany won men's discus title, with an overjoyed host audience at Berlin's Olympic Stadium. The 24-year-old, a silver medalist of the last world championship in 2007, threw a best distance of 69.43 meters only in the sixth and last attempt. "I was shaking my head during the competition because I was not satisfied with my throws," Harting told reporters following the competition. "I owe the last meter of my sixth attempt to the audience." Piotr Malachowski of Poland had led from the first round, but he finally lost the title and took silver with 69.15 meters. Defending champion and Olympic gold medalist Gerd Kanter of Estonia did not perform well and only took bronze with 66.88 meters. The men...

Friday, August 21, 2009 CINCINNATI: World number one Roger Federer was nearly blown off track by blustery winds, while Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal steered a steady course into the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Masters. Swiss top seed Federer rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Spain's David Ferrer, conquering not only the world number 19 but also blustery winds to line up a meeting with Aussie Lleyton Hewitt.Despite the difficult conditions, the top four seeds all advanced to the quarter-finals. Murray, whose run to the title in Montreal last week saw him seize the world number two ranking from Nadal, defeated Czech Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-1. Nadal, the second seed despite his current No.3 world ranking, downed France's Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5, 6-2, and fourth-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic advanced with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over France's Jeremy Chardy. In Friday's quarters, Federer will face an old rival in Australian veteran Hewitt, who overcame American Sam Querre...

Regulations aimed at making credit card policies clearer may reveal higher fees, rates NEW YORK :: The rules your credit card company operates by will start getting much clearer on Thursday. But just because you'll know what they're up to doesn't mean you're going to like what you learn. Regulations aimed at reining in practices like unexpected interest rate increases and credit limit cuts start with two rules. Consumers will now be given advance warning of any major changes to the terms of their accounts, and get more time to pay their balance after receiving a bill. These small changes come ahead of more sweeping regulations that will take effect starting in February. Those touch on matters ranging from mandating reviews every six months of accounts that have had rate hikes to limiting the credit that can be offered to students. Card companies have been gearing up for the new landscape for months, mailing consumers a spate of warnings about fee and interest rate chang...