Thursday, 29 September 2011

US citizen arrested for planning to blow up Capitol building, Pentagon


A 26-year-old US citizen has been arrested for plotting to attack thePentagon and the Capitol building with a large remote-controlled aircraft filled with explosives.
Rezwan Ferdaus, the Northeastern University physics graduate, has also been charged with attempting to supply materials to Al-Qaeda and aid attacks on US soldiers.
Ferdaus was arrested in Boston following an undercover investigation by the FBI, the BBC reports.
Authorities said he designed and supplied undercover operatives with a total of eight mobile phone detonators intended to be used by Al-Qaeda operatives to set off bombs in the Middle East.
During a June 2011 meeting, Ferdaus was told that his first phone detonation device had killed three US soldiers and injured four or five others in Iraq.
According to the report, Ferdaus then began speaking to the agents about his desire to organise anattack on the Pentagon, home of the US military, and the Capitol building in Washington DC.
Posing as accomplices, they then supplied him with C-4 explosives, a remote-controlled plane and arms.
The FBI said Ferdaus was arrested on Wednesday immediately after putting the newly delivered weapons in a storage container.
If convicted, Ferdaus could face up to 15 years in jail for providing support and resources to a foreign terrorist organisation and up to 20 years in prison for attempting to destroy national defence premises, the report said. 
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Al-Qaeda blasts Ahmadinejad's 9/11 conspiracy theories


 Al-Qaeda has issued a stern message for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, asking him to stop 'spreading 9/11 conspiracy theories,' and claiming that the September 11 terror attacks were actually carried out by the US government.the threat was taken quite seriously
In the latest issue of the Al-Qaeda English-language magazine "Inspire", an author has slammed the "ridiculous" theory spread by Ahmadinejad that the US government carried out the 9/11 terror attacks in order to provide a pretext to invade the Middle East.
According to ABC News, the author further claimed that Iran sees itself as a rival to al Qaeda when it comes to anti-Americanism and was jealous of the 9/11 attacks.but still no confirmation is there about this topic.
"For them, Al-Qaeda was a competitor for the hearts and minds of the disenfranchised Muslims around the world," the article said.
"Al-Qaeda... succeeded in what Iran couldn't. Therefore it was necessary for the Iranians to discredit 9/11 and what better way to do so? Conspiracy theories," it said.
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Honda launches Brio at Rs 3.95 lakh



Honda today launched its entry level hatchback Brio India. Starting at a price of Rs.3.95 lakh, the Brio is available in four trims.
  • Honda Brio E - Rs 3.95 lakh
  • Honda Brio S - Rs 4.35 lakh
  • Honda Brio S Option - Rs 4.9 lakh
  • Honda Brio V - Rs 5.1 lakh
The Brio is powered by the same 1.2-litre i-VTEC engine that powers the Jazz. In the Brio, this engine delivers 88bhp of power and 109Nm of torque. The Brio S Option and V will get ABS, airbags and USB/aux-in audio system with steering mounted controls. The V also gets alloy wheels, fog lamps and a different seat trim.

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Mahindra launches XUV 500 at a killer price


Mahindra has launched its new global sport utility vehicle XUV 500 at a staggering price of Rs 10.80 lakhs. The company will begin bookings from Saturday.


  • Mahindra has launched its new global sport utility vehicle XUV 500 at a staggering price of Rs 10.80 lakhs. The company will begin bookings from Saturday.
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Amazon’s Kindle fire launched for $199


Bangalore: Amazon launched its much awaited Kindle fire tablet for $199, the latest--and possibly biggest--challenger to Apple Inc.'s dominant iPad.The $199 device that will run on modified version of Google's Android operating system has a 7-inch screen nd can access Amazon's app store, streaming movies and TV shows.
The tablet will go on sale from Nov 15 and the pre-orders will start from today.
Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos said, "We asked ourselves, Is there some way we can bring all of these things together [web service, Prime, Kindle, instant video and its app store] into a remarkable product offering customers would love. Yes there is Kindle Fire," during the launch.
The cheapest new Kindle will cost $79, and dispenses with the keyboard the Kindles have carried since the first model launched in 2007. Previously, the cheapest Kindle cost $114.
Amazon is also bringing out the first black-and-white Kindle with a touch screen. It will cost $99 and is reminiscent of Barnes & Noble's latest Nook. A version with access to AT&T's cellular network for book downloads will cost $149.
Bezos said that most of the content is backed up in the cloud, and that the device features wireless synching. The specifications are however lower when compared to higher end tablets in the category. Though it has a dual core processor and is 3G enabled, it lacks other features like camera and a microphone. Fire includes an IPS display, an ultra-wide viewing angle, and fast dual-core processor
On the e-reader front, Bezos said the Kindle Touch e-book includes an advanced E Ink display, infrared touch interface, extra long battery life, access to millions of e-books, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, Audible integration, and more, including a feature known as X-Ray, which shows the "bones" of a book, or details Amazon thinks a reader would find interesting.
It would be interesting to see how it survives in an already crowded tablet market. So far Apple's iPad has been the most popular tablet for its ease of use, elegant design and selection of over 90,000 apps. The iPad has sold 29 million versions since its introduction, owning more than two-thirds of the market.
So far, iPad rivals like HP's touchpad, Research in Motion's Playbook, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.'s Galaxy Tab and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.'s Xoom have failed to attract mass audiences.
For Amazon, its relationships with its users could be its biggest advantage and also the smart pricing might help them.
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Less famous star kids

Don't mistake him for Ranbir Kapoor. Boney Kapoor's son Arjun has a striking resemblance to Ranbir. Arjun Kapoor is 20, and is interested in working behind the camera like his dad.


Jackie Shroff's son Tiger Shroff is set to debut in Sajid Nadiadwala’s next film.

Malhar -Nana Patekar's son.

Harshwardhan Kapoor - Anil Kapoor's son.

Mimoh Chakraborty - Mithun Chakraborty's son.





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The mystery of Sonia Gandhi’s illness


Why isn't anyone telling us what's wrong with Sonia Gandhi? That's the question an opinion piece in The Hindu is asking after India's most powerful politician returned from a US cancer hospital.
Nirupama Subramaniam writes: "That the Congress should be secretive about Ms Gandhi's health is not surprising. What is surprising, though, is the omertà being observed by the news media, usually described by international writers as feisty and raucous. On this particular issue, reverential is the more fitting description. Barring editorials in the Business Standard and MailToday, no other media organisation has thought it fit to question the secrecy surrounding the health of the government's de facto Number One."
Omerta refers to a 'code of silence', when people in the know conspiratorially refuse to discuss a matter of importance in public.
The Telegraph, UK, quoted sources as saying Sonia had been suffering from cancer for eight months. There is no official word on it yet, and a reclusive Sonia has been busy mediating between Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram on the 2G note controversy.
The law frowns on the unauthorised disclosure of medical details, so why should anyone be curious? Nirupama Subramaniam argues citizens should know, since Sonia's health determines the fortunes of the nation. She writes: "True, politicians are entitled to privacy in matters of health. But this right to privacy cannot hold if it impacts on their work. Ms Gandhi has led the Congress for more than a decade; her party's election victories are credited to her leadership. The argument that Ms Gandhi does not hold high office, is not the head of the government, and therefore her illness is not a matter of public importance, hardly holds. Since 2004, she has been seen universally as the main power centre in the UPA. Clearly, several matters of national importance ride on her health, including her ability to lead the party into the next election, and the issue of succession in the Congress leadership, should this become necessary. These are not private matters."
In the absence of an aggressive tabloid culture, details of politicians' illnesses don't quickly make it to the headlines in India. But many celebrities use their situation to draw attention to a disease, and canvass for research. After a horseriding accident that left him confined to a wheelchair, actor Christopher Reeve campaigned on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries.
NewsX reported Sonia has a benign skin cancer, and no dire illness. Squamous skin cancer, a doctor who came on the show said, is common in the West, and is handled easily. Manmohan Singh, Vajpayee and other leaders have also benefited, says The Hindu, from the omerta of the press.
In India, several politicians have thrived even when they were in physical distress. Jayaprakash Narayan inspired the movement against the Emergency from a hospital bed, while M G Ramachandran and M Karunanidhi, both crippled by severe diseases, have ruled Tamil Nadu well into their late years. Rajinikanth recently came back from Singapore, and his problem remains undisclosed to this day, but his fans remain steadfast.
The question of whether it is ethical to publish details of a newsmaker's illnesses remains, but the illness itself is no big deal in India. Politicians have such tenacity that they can swing things in the world out there even when they lie motionless in hospital beds or sit breathless in wheelchairs.
While the media in India may hush up problems afflicting our leaders, The Telegraph, UK, shows no confusion when it comes to medical stories. Late last week, it published this story with a heading guaranteed to startle those used to the feeble medical coverage in the Indian papers: Shoaib Akhtar's genital warts keep him out of Pakistan's World Twenty20 squad.
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