Silicon Valley, March 31
An Indian engineer killed two of his children and three other relatives, including a toddler, before turning the gun on himself in a “horrific” shooting rampage in a posh Silicon Valley neighbourhood.

The lone survivor in the murder-suicide in Santa Clara area of California was the wife of the 42-year-old man who escaped with multiple gunshot wounds and collapsed in a pool of blood outside her home. She is fighting for her life at a local hospital, police said.

They said a neighbour called 911 at around 8.30 pm on Sunday to report an injured woman outside a house on Headen Way in the high-end neighbourhood of Rivermark.

The police arrived to find five bodies in the house, all shot dead. The suspected gunman was dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, local media reports said. “There’s no way to describe it other than horrific,” Lt Phil Cooke of the Santa Clara police was quoted as saying.

The youngest victim was an 11-month-old girl who was alive when police came but later died at a hospital.

Investigators said the man lived at the recently rented house with his wife and two children, aged 11 and 4.

The other victims — a young married couple and their daughter — had recently arrived from India and are believed to be relatives of the alleged killer’s wife. The identities of the victims were not being immediately released as authorities sought to contact relatives.

"We’ve been working with the Indian Consulate office in San Francisco," Lt Cooke said. Investigators was yet to ascertain the motive but said financial issues did not appear to be a factor.

Islamabad, March 31
Pakistan’s Supreme Court today stayed an earlier verdict disqualifying opposition leaders Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif from electoral politics, paving the way for the restoration of the PML-N government in the politically crucial Pakistan Punjab province.

A five-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Tassaduq Hussain suspended an apex court judgement of February 25 that barred the Sharif brothers from contesting polls and holding elected office.

A large number of PML-N workers broke into impromptu celebrations outside the Supreme Court soon after the bench gave its order.

“Shahbaz Sharif has not only been declared a member of the Punjab assembly but he will also take charge of the post of chief minister again today,” senior PML-N leader Raja Zafrul Haq told reporters outside the court.

“This is a victory for Pakistan, the democratic system and the leadership of Nawaz Sharif,” Haq said. “We are really very happy that the court has made a decision according to the constitution and the law of the land. Democracy will again be on the march.” Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani congratulated Shahbaz Sharif on the restoration of the PML-N government in Punjab.

Senior PML-N leader Khwaja Asif, a close aide of the Sharif brothers, said the onus for improving relations between the federal government and the PML-N was now on the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The PML-N would not be found wanting if the PPP worked with sincerity for national reconciliation, he said.

Following the apex court’s earlier order barring the Sharif brothers from electoral politics, President Asif Ali Zardari imposed governor’s rule in Punjab.

The PML-N then joined the lawyers’ movement in a countrywide protest that forced the federal government to reinstate judges who were sacked during the 2007 emergency.

Gilani persuaded Zardari to end governor’s rule in Punjab and the measure was withdrawn yesterday. The Pakistan Punjab assembly is scheduled to meet tomorrow. Though the session was earlier expected to elect a new chief minister, PML-N leaders said this would no longer be necessary, as the apex court had stayed the order barring Shahbaz Sharif from electoral politics. — PTI

Islamabad, March 31
Pakistan has been declared the first-ever "World Heritage Country" to mark April Fools' Day, according to a spoof in cyberspace.

“On 31st March, the United Nation has selected Pakistan as the world's first World Heritage Nation. In a glowing ceremony held at UN Head Quarter in New York, the UNO chief Osama Bin Laden has conferred this award to Pakistan,” reads a fictional news story on thespoof.com.

Pakistan has been a favourite target of spoof writers with about a dozen pages dedicated to the country. The latest spoof is a take on UNESCO's declaration of world heritage sites to protect and preserve them.

“In a short message on its website, UNO has stated that Pakistan is the birthplace of all jihadi movements taking place in different parts of the world. Also, he mentioned that Pakistan is the only country which gives highest civilian award to terrorists,” reads the story by “lostinrandomworld”.

“However, many countries have opposed this move of United Nations. These countries have contended that they should have looked at some other countries too, for example Iran, North Korea, and probably Libya.”

Spoof stories have been put out on almost all the goings-on in Pakistan. In a related story, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was purportedly quoted as saying that the country is not a failed state.

“You people are giving us 'F' for failed, which is totally unfair when we believe we are actually 'D minus' and I am the true ruler of our 'D minus' nation of which we are all very proud,” Gilani was quoted as saying in a spoof story.

In Pakistan’s “weekly progress report to the world”, the story said, “Not only are we not a failed state we are a past state and as a past state we are on full life-support and the US is still not pulling our plug”.

“…all our vital functions are now somewhat functioning and so long as the world gives us highly-sophisticated weaponry, trillions of dollars and a blank cheque Pakistan could continue with its charade of being an ally on the war on terror,” the story read. — PTI

London, March 31
Britain today introduced a new visa regime for Indian and other students of non-European Union countries to prevent fraud and to provide for more stringent immigration checks.

Home secretary Jacqui Smith said the new arrangements as part of Tier 4 of the points based system would make the visa process simpler, more objective and more transparent for applicants and prevent abuse of the immigration system. From today onwards, all British education providers (schools, colleges, universities) who recruit international students need to be registered with the UK Border Agency.

More than 2,100 universities, independent schools and colleges have applied to be licensed sponsors. The institutions are responsible for ensuring that international students comply with the conditions of their visas while they are in the UK.

Before a student makes a visa application, he needs to ensure that he has an unconditional offer of a study place from a licensed education provider.

The student also needs to show that he has sufficient funds to cover course fees and living costs during his studies. The student will be issued with a visa for study at a particular institution, and for the full duration of his course if degree level or above. — PTI

London, March 31
Varun Gandhi was never a student at the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE), a spokesman for the university said yesterday.

“He was never an LSE student and he does not have an LSE degree,” the spokesman said, commenting on reports that Varun had a law degree from the LSE. The spokesman, however, said Varun might have studied under a University of London external students programme, a distance-learning course.

“These are not held in the colleges, but the LSE and other institutions contribute to the curriculum and courses,” the spokesman explained.

The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), another prestigious London institution of higher learning, refused to comment on reports that Varun had done his Masters from the school.

“For data protection reasons, the school can neither confirm nor deny any information about the person named in your enquiry,” said the school’s Mary O’Shea.

When pressed, she said journalists would have to write to the school and formally request information under the Freedom of Information Act.

Meanwhile, the LSE spokesman said an online petition seeking to dissociate the LSE and SOAS faculty, staff, students and alumni “from the values recently expressed by” Varun Gandhi had no official sanction. “It is up to individuals to sign such petitions,” he added. — IANS

Johannesburg, March 31
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty says she has "learnt a lot" from her former “Celebrity Big Brother” housemate Jade Goody who died of cancer March 22.

“Two years ago we were bickering and fighting on television and now when I look back it all seems so futile because she’s not even there,” Shilpa told www.thetimes.co.za. here when asked how she felt about Goody’s death.

“Life is so unpredictable, may her soul rest in peace. I have no grudges, we patched up and became great friends,” added the winner of the British reality TV show.

At the time of Shilpa’s win, many had said it was because she had won sympathy from voters after being seen as the victim of alleged racism. In the video interview to the South African website, Shilpa also spoke about her impatience with long cricket games and being stopped at an Indian airport because there was a criminal charge against her pending for kissing Hollywood star Richard Gere in public.

“The funniest thing was, I was leaving the country and they stopped me at the Indian airport because I had a criminal case! I don’t want to give it too much importance. It’s still pending. There are so many cases it takes time for the case to be heard,” she said

Calling the pending case in a Rajasthan court the work of “a lunatic fringe”, the actress said Gere would still be her first choice as co-star if she had to choose someone from Hollywood. “I’ve always liked Richard. I like him more as a person. I'd take his name first.”

The actress was here over the weekend to support her Rajasthan Royals team for the Indian Premier League (IPL) which starts in South Africa April 18. Refusing to name a favourite player, Shilpa said: “Whoever makes the most runs and gets the most wickets for the Rajasthan Royals becomes my favourite player. It gives them some incentive!” — IANS

BRIEFLY

Truck bomb blast kills 7
IRAQ: As many as seven people were killed, including four police officers, when a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden truck into the compound of a police station in northern Iraq on Tuesday, a police official said. About 17 people were wounded in the explosion in the volatile northern city of Mosul, where Al-Qaida and other insurgent groups are making a stand as violence across the rest of Iraq begins to recede six years after the US invasion.

Ministers’ office attacked
ATHENS: Unidentified assailants attacked the offices of two deputy ministers and four politicians with gas canisters and petrol on Monday, the police said. The attacks against Deputy Interior Minister Konstantinos Gioulekas and Deputy Culture Minister Ioannis Ioannidis caused minor damage but no injuries, the police said. No body was in the offices at the time of the attacks. The disturbances were provoked by the fatal police shooting of a 15-year-old and fuelled by anger at youth unemployment and economic measures.

Smuggler pigeons
SAO PAULO: The Brazilian police has intercepted two trained homing pigeons that were being used to carry mobile phone parts into a prison in Sao Paulo state. The birds were found near the prison with cloth sacks tied to their backs containing parts and components for cellphones, as shown by police representatives to Globo television. — Source: Agencies