Peter Graves, LOS ANGELES : Peter Graves, the tall, stalwart actor likely best known for his portrayal of Jim Phelps, leader of a gang of special agents who battled evil conspirators in the long-running television series “Mission: Impossible,” died Sunday.

Graves died of an apparent heart attack outside his Los Angeles home, publicist Sandy Brokaw said. He would have been 84 this week.

Graves had just returned from brunch with his wife and kids and collapsed before he made it into the house, Brokaw said. One of his daughters administered CPR but was unable to revive him. Graves’ family doctor visited the house and believed he had a heart attack, Brokaw said.

Although Graves never achieved the stardom his older brother, James Arness, enjoyed as Marshal Matt Dillon on TV’s “Gunsmoke,” he had a number of memorable roles in both films and television.

Normally cast as a hero, he turned in an unforgettable performance early in his career as the treacherous Nazi spy in Billy Wilder’s 1953 prisoner-of-war drama “Stalag 17.”

He also masterfully lampooned his straight-arrow image when he portrayed bumbling airline pilot Clarence Oveur in the 1980 disaster movie spoof “Airplane!

NEW DELHI INDIA: The standoff over the Women’s Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha ended on Thursday with the government announcing that the proposed legislation would be brought in the House only after consultations with all sections.

The breakthrough came after SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, RJD leader Lalu Prasad and JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, the three strong opponents of the bill, met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and DMK leader T R Baalu also attended the meeting.

In meeting, “some sort of assurance was sought on the progress of the Constitution Amendment Bill (Women’s Reservation Bill) before bringing it to the Lok Sabha. Government will complete the process of consultations with all concerned,” Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement in the Lok Sabha after his discussions.

“I think, this assurance would assuage the feelings of all members and the business would be conducted smoothly,” he said, when the House re-assembled after two adjournments on the issue.

The standoff over the bill prevented normal functioning of the Lok Sabha for the last four days as those opposed to it have been disrupting the House.

“I would like to inform members that it has been agreed to conduct smooth business of the House for the remaining period,” Mukherjee said.

“I would request colleagues to help the Chair to conduct normal business,” he said.

The statement by the Leader of the House came at 2pm after two adjournments following uproar over the bill. Normalcy was restored soon after and discussion on General Budget, which had got delayed because of acrimony, was taken up.

Earlier, after his meeting with Mukherjee, Sharad Yadav said the government had assured those opposing the bill that all sections of the House will be consulted before bringing the measure in the Lok Sabha.

Latest News About University of Kashmir,India Results j k, Kashmir University Results, Kashmir University Result: Washington, March 11: India has legalized state-sponsored terror in Kashmir, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director, Kashmiri American Council/Kashmir Center said here on Wednesday while speaking at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, Arlington Campus.

He said that  there are multiple ways by which the conflicts could be resolved.  The most pragmatic being through dialogue and negotiations.  The most prevalent perception about Conflict Resolution was that it was dependent upon the political process of negotiation, mediation, and other forms of non-violent dispute resolution.

NEW DELHI: The head of India’s Congress party said on Tuesday its ruling coalition was intact, despite a key ally breaking ranks to abstain as a bill to reserve a third of parliamentary seats for women was passed by the upper house.

Already under fire over issues such as food inflation and a proposed hike in fuel prices, the government has been hit by two days of turmoil trying to push through the legislation.

While the Congress-led coalition still has a majority, the stand-off may give the government less breathing room over key pending economic legislation.

Sonia Gandhi, seen as the country’s most influential politician, was asked by reporters whether she was confident in the stability of the government.

“I think so. One can never tell. I am not not an astrologer. I wish our former partners remained with us,” she said, according to the Press Trust of India.

The bill was passed in an evening vote after a raucous day in the upper house of parliament, but it still needs the approval of the lower house.

“It is a historic occasion, which calls for celebration,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in the upper house where the bill was supported by a majority of opposition parties.

Two regional parties pulled their support on Monday, and on Tuesday the Trinamool Congress party, one the government’s most influential allies, abstained to protest at Congress’ handling of the bill and said it would do the same in the lower house.

The Trinamool Congress party, whose leader, Mamata Banerjee, is the railways minister, said Congress had not properly consulted its ally on pushing through the bill in the upper house in the face of strong opposition from some regional parties.

Detractors say the legislation will be passed at the expense of other disenfranchised minorities such as Muslims, or benefit women already in privileged classes.

Trinamool faces an election in its stronghold state of West Bengal next year where about 20 percent of voters are Muslims.

The women’s bill is a test for Congress, which sees the quota as a cornerstone of its election-winning platform of inclusive growth, but which might lose some political capital needed to push economic reforms and maintain high growth.

The bill, which was first introduced in 1996, is intended to speed up women’s empowerment in a country where women lag far behind on many social and health indicators. Women lawmakers and activists shouted “we have made it” outside parliament.

Seven lawmakers were suspended on Tuesday and physically evicted from the house, and the sessions adjourned several times as those against the bill besieged the speaker of the house to shout slogans and stall the debate.

INDIA NEW DELHI: Socialist lawmakers forced India’s parliament to adjourn twice Tuesday as they tried for a second day to block passage of a historic bill to increase the number of female lawmakers across the country.

On Monday, angry legislators in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, rushed to the chairman’s seat as he presided over the session, tore up copies of the bill and tried to grab his microphone.

The house suspended seven lawmakers on Tuesday because of their behavior the day before, but they refused to leave the chamber, again stalling debate on the proposal and forcing parliament to adjourn twice.

The bill to reserve one-third of legislative seats for women has faced strong opposition since it was first proposed more than a decade ago, with many political leaders worried that their male-dominated parties would lose seats.

The proposal is an attempt to correct some of the historical gender disparities in India, where women receive less education than men and are weighed down by illiteracy, poverty and low social status.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, the leader of a socialist group, said Tuesday a portion of the women’s quota should be set aside for minorities and lower castes, which have been socially and economically disadvantaged as well.

However, the main opposition parties, including right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party and communist groups, already have announced their support for the legislation proposed by the ruling Congress Party.

The bill would raise the number of female lawmakers in the 545-seat lower house to 181 from the current 59. It would nearly quadruple the number of women in the 250-seat upper house. The bill would also apply to state legislatures.

The uproar in the Indian parliament continued today, while the membership of some seven MPAs has been suspended for tearing copies of the Women’s Reservation bill on Monday in the Rajya Sabha, upper house of Indian parliament, when it was tabled in the House.
The bill seeks to provide 33 percent reservation to women in Parliament and state legislatures. Of those suspended 4 belonged to Samajwadi Party (SP) 2 to JUD and one an independent. The session has been adjourned till 2:00pm.
On the other hand, SP’s chief Mulayam Singh Yadav maintained that Congress government has not taken any of the ally parties in confidence regarding the bill. Meanwhile, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad, and Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today to demand amendments in the bill.

MELBOURNE: A 23-year-old Indian man was today charged over the death of an Indian toddler, whose body was found three days ago in a Melbourne suburb.

Dhillon Gursewak has been charged with manslaughter due to criminal negligence and is appearing in an out-of-sessions hearing at St Kilda Road Police complex, local media reports said.

He is not expected to apply for bail. The man, who has been charged with murdering the three-year-old Gurshan Singh Channa from Punjab who was in Australia on a vacation with his parents, is not a relative, but did live in the same house in David Street, Lalor as Gurshan, the reports said.

Channa’s body was found by a council worker on Thursday night, six hours after he disappeared from a rented property shared by his parents with friends and family here. A total of 12 people lived in the house.

At least 10 people were killed and eight others sustained injuries as a suicide blast rocked Tal Bazaar in Hangu, Dunya News reported on Friday. According to sources, a suicide bomber rammed an explosives laden vehicle into a security forces convoy near a petrol pump. Contradictory reports are being told about the death toll. Commissioner Kohat said that 12 people have been killed in the blast while 10 casualties are confirmed by the hospital sources.
Security forces cordoned off the area after the blast. Injured have been shifted to CMH where condition of some of the victims is stated to be critical.

MOHMAND AGENCY: At least 30 terrorists have been killed in the shelling of the security forces on a house in the area of Pandyali in Mohmand Agency, official sources confirmed.

The two gunship helicopters of Pakistan armed forces targeted the house in the area after the security forces got the information of the presence of the terrorists there.

Three key Taliban commanders including Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, Qari Zia-ur-Rehman and Commander Fatih were among the killed terrorists.

Keyshia Cole Gives Birth Breaking news :- The R&B songstress has given birth to her first child.

Keyshia Cole went into labor last night and has finally delivered the baby. While we there is no word of the sex of the baby or the name we do know that both Keyshia Cole and the baby are doing fine. According to Keyshia Cole’s bestfriend forever, Monica:

“Wanted u guys to know I give KC all of your messages & she ALWAYS graciously thanks u. Sending her my love especially tonite. That’s my girl”