Rome: A film is being made on the controversial career and disputable life of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. He has always been in the public eye and for his various corruption scandals, "bunga bunga" parties. To be made by Paolo Sorrentino, the working title for the movie is said to be 'Loro', meaning gold.
Obama nominates first Muslim to federal judiciary
Washington: Pakistan-born Abid Qureshi could be the first Muslim to be a federal judge of the US if the Senate confirms his nomination. President Barack Obama nominated Qureshi for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, continuing with his efforts to diversify the ethnic composition of the country’s judiciary. Obama has only four months left in the office, and it is unlikely that the Republican-controlled Senate will schedule the confirmation process. The Republicans have refused to consider Obama’s judicial nominees for several months now, including one to the Supreme Court. Obama has been persistent throughout this tenure to bring people of various ethnic origins on to benches at all levels.
Bangladesh arrests militants trying to flee to Pakistan
Dhaka: Two couples belonging to Bangladesh's neo Jamaat-ul Mujahideen have been arrested over suspicions that they were planning to flee to Pakistan, police said. Acting on tip-offs, the Rapid Action Battalion arrested the two couples during raids at Dhaka and Narayanganj, RAB media wing assistant director ASP Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan said, adding the four were preparing to flee because of the crackdown by security forces. Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of RAB legal and media wing, said, “The documents that were recovered from the driver prove that they were preparing to flee to Pakistan.” He said the three of the four arrested were active members of the militant outfit while the fourth, wife of one of the two men, had recently joined the group.
25 killed, 50 injured in Bangladesh factory fire
DHAKA: At least 25 people were killed and 50 others injured when a boiler explosion at a packaging factory triggered a massive fire in the industrial area just north of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The fire broke out due to boiler explosion at the four-storey Tempako Packaging Factory in Bisic industrial area of Tongi, said Gazipur Fire Service and Civil Defence Deputy Assistant Director Akhtaruzzaman. A part of the building collapsed as the rage of the blaze spread despite frantic efforts of the fire fighters. Officials said 15 bodies are now in the Tongi hospital, four at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and two more at the Adhunik Medical College Hospital at Dhaka's Uttara. Thirteen of the 21 dead have now been identified.
`Inspired' by IS, 22-year-old stabs man in Australia
Sydney: A man “inspired” by the Islamic State group was charged with committing an act of terror over a stabbing attack that Australian police called the “new face of terrorism.” Wayne Greenhalgh, 59, was stabbed several times in Sydney's Minto area by the suspect, Ihsas Khan, 22. He also attempted to stab a police officer before he was arrested. Greenhalgh is critical. Khan was charged with committing a terrorist act and attempted murder. The stabbing episode comes two days after a teenage boy was charged for threatening the Sydney Opera House. Both the incidents follow an IS call to target high-profile Australian sites.
Facebook co-founder donates $20 mn to defeat Trump
NEW YORK: A co-founder of social media giant Facebook, Dustin Moskovitz, said he was donating $20 million to help ensure the defeat of Republican candidate Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential elections. “If Donald Trump wins, the country will fall backward, and become more isolated from the global community," the American internet entrepreneur said in a blog post. The 32-year-old multi-billionaire said the real-estate magnate's policy proposals were "so implausible" that they spark concern his White House run may be nothing more than a con game aimed at winning the election and boosting his brand, EFE news reported.
Indian billionaire's mansion to be demolished
MELBOURNE: A 70-million-dollar unfinished mega mansion dubbed 'Taj Mahal on-the-Swan' owned by controversial Indian billionaire businessman Pankaj Oswal in Australia's Perth is set to be torn down by the city council, amid allegations of unpaid taxes and violation of building code. Pankaj and wife Radhika Oswals had planned to build the Indian-style mansion in Perth. Had it been finished, the palace would have included seven domes, a temple, gym, swimming pool and parking for 17 cars. Its construction stopped in 2010 when Oswals' fertilizer empire collapsed and they left Australia amid allegations of unpaid taxes. They are now locked in a legal battle against the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group for allegedly undervaluing shares of their company Burrup fertilisers to recoup millions of dollars in loans.
Indian-American CEO charged for ill-treating servant
Washington: An Indian-American CEO of an IT staffing and consulting firm has been charged in the US with callous treatment of an Indian domestic worker. The Department of Labor alleged that Himanshu Bhatia, CEO for Rose International and IT Staffing, paid her domestic service worker $400 a month (around Rs 26,554) along with food and accommodation. The maid worked for 15 1/2 hours a day, all seven days a week, at Bhatia’s home in San Juan Capistrano and her other residences. According to a complaint filed by the US Labor Secretary, the domestic service worker identified as Sheela Ningwal was subjected to physical and verbal abuse.
Obama pledges sanctions against N Korea after N-test
Washington: US President Barack Obama pledged new sanctions against North Korea in response to its nuclear tests, while promising the “full spectrum of US defence capabilities,” including deployment of an American missile shield for its allies Japan and South Korea. In a statement that conspicuously ignored the nuclear proliferation by China and Pakistan that enabled Pyongyang to cross the nuclear threshold, Obama condemned the latest North Korean test, calling it a grave threat to regional security and to international peace and stability. “The US does not, and never will, accept North Korea as a nuclear state,” Obama said in a statement, adding, “the nuclear test, a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions, makes clear North Korea's disregard for international norms and standards for behaviour and demonstrates it has no interest in being a responsible member of the international community.”
Pakistani MPs pay ridiculously low income tax
ISLAMABAD: Many Pakistani parliamentarians pay very low income tax that "do not match their princely lifestyle", according to the tax directory of MPs. Going by their income tax returns, Senator Taj Muhammad Afridi is the richest MP in Pakistan and Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf the poorest. The directory released by finance minister Ishaq Dar gives some insight into their wealth, based on the tax paid by the rich and the not-so-rich members of the National Assembly and the Senate, the daily said. "But the lifestyle and daily expenditures of many of them are in stark contrast to what the income tax declarations indicate," it added.
US not planning to impose sanctions on Pak
Washington: The Obama administration said it was not considering sanctions against Pakistan despite implicitly conceding the country remained a terrorism-sponsoring entity. State department spokesman Mark Toner referred to “very frank conversations with Pakistan's leadership about the need to focus more efforts on all the terrorist groups operating from within their territory,” leaving little doubt that the country was still using terrorist proxies in the neighbourhood. “Our basic point in all of these conversations is that Pakistan must target all militant groups, including those that target Pakistan's neighbours, and eliminate all safe havens,” Toner said, amid questions from the press corps about US forbearance for Pakistan-backed terrorism.
US likely to sell Guardian drones to India
WASHINGTON: The US is likely to respond positively to India's request for 22 unarmed high-tech multi-mission Predator Guardian drones for maritime surveillance, especially in the Indian Ocean, sources have said. The move comes after India was designated a ' major defence partner' of the US in June. Within weeks of that designation, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Barack Obama at the White House in early June, the Indian Navy had sent an official letter of request (LoR) in February to Department of Defense towards purchase of 22 Predator Guardian UAVs. The US government has not made a formal decision on it yet, but is believed to have started an inter agency process on the Indian request.
