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Russian capsule carrying US tourist docks with ISS
US Consulate in Mexico attacked
Pak faces serious internal threat,
says minister Indian origin woman, daughter murdered in Toronto |
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Three killed in Nepal blast
Zubin Mehta eyes Kashmir peace concert
Cambodia issues ultimatum to Thailand
Indian model held for possessing heroin
Russia transfers island to China
Hurricane Norbert kills 4
106-yr-old Obama
supporter
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Russian capsule carrying US tourist docks with ISS
Moscow, October 14 “The Soyuz capsule yesterday docked automatically at 12:26 Moscow time (8:26 GMT),” the spokeswoman for the space control centre in the town of Korolyov near Moscow said. With the completion of the docking, the astronauts from the Soyuz capsule are expected to open a hatch and enter the ISS at around 2:00 pm (10:00 GMT), Russian news agencies quoted officials as saying. Apart from Garriott, who is paying $30 million for his 10-day journey in space, the capsule is also carrying Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov and US astronaut Michael Fincke. Garriott is the son of former US astronaut Owen Garriott, who in 1973 spent two months aboard Skylab, the first orbiting space station. On the ISS, Garriott will meet a member of the world’s other space dynasty, Sergei Volkov, the son of former Soviet cosmonaut Alexander Volkov. The arriving trio will replace Volkov and the rest of his crew including, South Korea's first astronaut, Yi So-Yeon, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, who are due to return to earth on October 24.
— AFP
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US Consulate in Mexico attacked
Monterrey, October 14 No one was injured. The consulate issued a statement saying that two men launched the attack around midnight on Saturday, when the consulate was closed. Six spent .45-caliber casings were found at the scene. It was not clear if the attack was related to a wave of violence by drug gangs and no evidence it was related to political terrorism, though fears persist that international terrorists might use Mexico to attack US interests. Officials were analysing the consulate’s security video, but had no suspects and had not determined
a motive. The consulate increased security and expressed “profound concern.” Offices were closed today because it was Columbus Day in the US, but two police pickups were stationed outside the building. A guard on duty said he was at the consulate when he heard the shots fired. He ran to the front, but the assailants already had fled. The guard, who wasn’t authorised to give his name, said the grenade didn’t go off because the pin wasn’t removed. Alleged drug hit men threw grenades into a crowd of Independence Day revellers on September 15, killing eight in the western city of Morelia. The attack heightened fears that drug cartels were expanding their violent campaign against a Mexican government crackdown.
— AP
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Pak faces serious internal threat, says minister Islamabad, October 14 She said the Taliban, ‘jehadi’ and militant groups in Pakistan had links with the Afghan Taliban and groups in Jammu and Kashmir. Rehman made these remarks during a special joint session of Parliament, which was again adjourned today as opposition lawmakers wanted answers to posers raised by them on the causes of sudden upsurge in militant strikes in Pakistan. The session was deferred yesterday as well following the untimely death of National Assembly member from Jackobabad Nasrullah Khan Bijarani, who died of a cardiac arrest. After her briefing, the information minister did not reply to the questions posed by the opposition, with Speaker Fehmida Mirza ruling that the in-camera session was only meant for the briefing and a debate and questions were not on the agenda. The Speaker adjourned the session till tomorrow, when a debate on the government's anti-terror policy is likely to be held. — PTI
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Indian origin woman, daughter murdered in Toronto Toronto, October 14 65-year-old Saramma Varughese and her daughter Susan John (43), hailing from Kerala, were killed in the incident which took place yesterday. Sara John, the 20-year-old student of York University who was the granddaughter of Varughese, was seriously injured and is recovering in a hospital, neighbours said. The Toronto police arrested a suspect in the double murder and identified him as Nathaniel O'Brien (31). O'Brien has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, The Toronto Police Service said in a statement today. Investigators said the suspect is the women’s next-door-neighbour. The police did not confirm if the victims were stabbed to death, but there were reports that a knife was recovered. Post-mortem examinations are scheduled for tomorrow. Emergency crew was called to the women's home in Rotary Drive in Sheppard Avenue, yesterday morning, where they found the bodies of the deceased with apparent stab wounds. The police was looking into the possibility that the deaths were a result of a “break-in” gone wrong. Shocked neighbours said the women had moved into the two-storeyed house about two years ago and were nice, friendly and liked by everyone on the street. “I don’t know what to say,” Bobby Harrilal, said who lives three houses away. “They were such good people.” Harrilal was woken up by a blood-curdling scream yesterday morning. She rushed to the front window but didn’t see anything. “I thought I had a nightmare,” she said. — PTI
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Three killed in Nepal blast At least three from a same family, a woman and two minors, died and four other sustained injuries on Tuesday when a bomb went off at Chandranigahapur Chowk in Rautahat district in central Terai. According to Shiva Puri, a local correspondent of The Kathmandu Post, a leading English Daily in Nepal, the blast occurred near the bus park at around 4 pm, killing the three on the spot. The local administration identified the deceased as Shila Sinjali, 24, her two-year-old daughter Sristi Sinjali and three-year-old nephew Jivicha Thapa. The victims were waiting for a bus to head home, at Chandranigahapur Chowk, when the blast occurred. The eyewitnesses said the bomb was planted in a fruit stall on the roadside. Following the incident, irate locals obstructed the traffic along the east-west highway and vandalised Chandranigapur market. The home ministry said security personnel have been deployed in the area. Meanwhile, an armed outfit identified as Terai Tigers has claimed the responsibility for the blast.
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Zubin Mehta eyes Kashmir peace concert
Tokyo, October 14 Mehta (72) said he wanted to bring people together, “especially in times of crisis.” “I don’t want anybody to forget the power of this music. We are only the servants of this,” he said. “I would love, if I had the time and the sponsors available, to just do music to bring the people of Kashmir - the Hindus and the Muslims, who are at odds with one another - together,” the Mumbai-born conductor said. Mehta, holding a joint press conference with other recipients of this year’s Praemium Imperiale award, contrasted himself with the title character in Puccini’s opera “Tosca”. “Tosca sings an aria called, ‘I live for art and I live for love.’ I am afraid for me it’s not enough,” said Mehta, who has led philharmonic orchestras in Berlin, New York, Tel Aviv and Vienna. Mehta recalled that just two months ago, he put on a concert of music by Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky to some 1,000 Israelis and 500 Palestinians. “At least for those two hours, there was a certain peace in the audience,” Mehta said. Mehta and the other recipients will receive the Praemium Imperiale at a ceremony tomorrow. Each winner receives $143,000, making it one of the world's most lucrative art prizes.
— AFP
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Cambodia issues ultimatum to Thailand
Phnom Penh, October 14 Cambodian army commander Brig-Gen Yim Pim said all Thai troops had retreated and were back inside their camp about 1km from the contested territory. “The tense situation has now eased,” Yim Pim said. Earlier today, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had warned Thailand to pull back 84 troops from the area by noon. He accused the troops of having crossed into the Cambodian territory in a disputed stretch of jungle near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, which has been a source of enmity between the two countries for decades. “They must withdraw,” Hun Sen said during a speech at an economic conference in the capital, Phnom Penh. “I have set the timeline for them to withdraw by 12 o’clock noon in Cambodia.” “At any cost, we will not allow Thai troops to invade this area. I would like to be clear about this,” Hun Sen said, adding that he had ordered Cambodia’s army chiefs to “take full responsibility over this area.
— AP
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Indian model held for possessing heroin
Kathmandu, October 14 The police had seized 750 gram of white heroin from a pack of five books she was supposed to dispatch to Spain from Kathmandu, the police said. However, the girl denied the charges and said she was unaware of the fact that the narcotics were hidden inside the cover of her book. She said the person who handed over the book had deceived her. The girl, a master’s degree holder, participated in the ramp modelling training in the search of a suitable job. Lagam said she was given Rs 20,000 Indian currency for bringing the book from India and this was not the first time she brought it from her country. Senior superintendent of police Hemanta Malla, however, said she was arrested as all proof was against her. A case has been registered against her and if found guilty she may face five to 15 years of imprisonment and a fine ranging from Rs 5 lakh to 25 lakh under the Nepalese law.
— PTI
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Russia transfers island to China
Moscow, October 14 The transferring ceremony of the island of Tarabarov and a part of the Bolshoi Ussuriisky was held near the border city of Khabarovsk in the east of the country, Interfax reported. The total size of these territories is 340 sq km. Some 170 sq km were given to China, while the Russian side retained control over the territory of the same size. New border pillars were erected on the land portion of the state border. Russia has withdrawn its border guard unit from the Chinese part of the Bolshoi Ussuriisky island. A fortified area of the Far East Military District on the Russian part of the island was also dismantled and disbanded. All the movable hardware has been withdrawn, leaving behind only the empty barracks, residential housing and a club.
— PTI
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Hurricane Norbert kills 4
Mexico City, October 14 Norbert hit mainland Mexico as a Category 1 hurricane with winds near 140 kmph after crossing the Baja California Peninsula.
— AP
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106-yr-old Obama
supporter
Rome, October 14
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Scribes face trial for exposing corruption 5 Indians sent to jail
for murder N.Korea lifts ban on UN inspectors Sikh film fest concludes Oldest human footprints 
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