News

In democracy all have the right to speak: BJP

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With Team Anna continuing its attack on Parliamentarians on the issue of corruption, the BJP on Saturday said everyone has the right to speak in a democracy but no one should cross the limit.

“In a democracy everyone has the right to speak. Civil society and the government also have the right to speak. They are using their right. But no one should cross the limit,” BJP Spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.

Rahul will do “very well” in govt or Cong: PC

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Amid clamour for a larger role for Rahul Gandhi, Home Minister P Chidambaram has said that the young leader will do “very well” in government as well as the Congress.

“Why not? Gandhi can accept an office in government or in the party or in the House. I am sure that he will do very well in any of these places”, Chidambaram told a Malayalam news channel.

He was asked for his reaction on demand of several Congress MPs that Rahul be made the Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha.

Short skirts cause women harassment: Trinamool lawmaker

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Bengali actor and Trinamool Congress legislator Chiranjeet aka Dipak Chakraborty Saturday contended that short dresses worn by women were one of the main reasons behind the increase in incidents of harassment of women in his constituency in the North 24 Parganas district.

“Eve-teasing is a very old thing. It has been going on for ages. One of the reasons behind the increase in incidents of eve-teasing is short dresses and short skirts worn by women. This in turn instigates young men,” said Chakraborty, who represents Barasat.

LeT financed Abu Jundal’s stay, operations in Saudi Arabia: Police

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Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba financed the procurement of work permits by Mumbai terror attacks suspect Abu Jundal for the ‘recruited’ Indian youths in Saudi Arabia, according to investigators.

“Jundal’s main job was to recruit Indians in Saudi Arabia and he got work permits for them as soon as they were indoctrinated,” said a police officer privy to the ongoing interrogation of Jundal by Mumbai crime branch today.

The work-permits helped the youths to avoid coming under the scanner of Saudi authorities, the officer said.

Effect of Siasat’s news about Agricultural University mosque – letter written to Collector

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A detailed report of the uninhabited mosque situated within the campus of the Agricultural University at Rajenderanagar was published in Siasat on 14th July.

Based on this report, Anjuman Tahaffuz-e-Masajid and Quboor has reacted immediately and wrote a letter to Collector Ranga Reddy District. In addition to two mosques, there is another mosque and a Dargah of a Muslim Saint located within the area of Agricultural University Campus which the University authorities tried to conceal.

Yam Times (English) Daily celebrates its 14th Anniversary on 31st July

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English Daily Yam Times published from Hyderabad is celebrating its 14th annual funtion at 5 PM on 31st July at Mahboob Hussain Jigar Hall, Siasat compound. Mr. Zahid Ali Khan Editor, Siasat will preside over the function. Mr. Vinay Veer, Editor, Hindi Milap will be the Chief Guest. Mr. A. Lakshman, Member, Press Council of India, Justice E. Ismail, former member of AP State Human Rights Commission, Mr. Zia Quadri, Printer, Publisher, Rashtriya Sahara, Prof. S.A. Shukoor, Secretary, Urdu Academy, Mr. Ajaz Farukh and Mr. Kabeer Siddiqui, Present, Alami Urdu Conference will be guests of honour.

Central and State Governments failed to stop communal riots in Assam and Barailey – Muslim Sunni Board

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Maulana Syed Hamid Husain Shuttari, Spokeman, Maulana Mohammed Khaleelullah Quraishi, Dr. Syed Kazim Hussain, Mr. Mohammed Farooq Ali Khan and Maulana Abdul Wasay, President of Muslim Sunni Ulema Board in a press statement issued yesterday stated that both the Central and State Governments have failed to control communal riots in Assam and Baraily. They said that Ramazan is a pious month in which the Muslims offer prayers and observe fasting.

Beware of cameras while smoking in Shanghai

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In a bid to make people abide by the ‘no smoking’ rule at public places, police in China’s Shanghai city have increased the number of surveillance cameras to catch lawbreakers.

The step has shown good results with more smokers inside internet cafes being caught and fined in the second quarter (April to June) of this year compared with the previous quarter, Shanghai Daily reported.

Mamata warns against politics over Assamese refugees

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Wishing that peace returns to riot-torn Assam, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday warned those who were trying to play politics over the influx of refugees into the state.

“They (refugees from Assam) are my brothers and sisters, it is our duty to give them shelter and provide them with food and other necessities. I strongly condemn and warn those who are trying to play politics at the cost of those who have taken refuge in Bengal,” Banerjee said at a railways’ function in Burdwan district.

Organised public transport a must, says AP speaker

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A safe and organised public transport system would help in tackling the problem of traffic congestion, Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar said here today.

“Traffic congestion has become a menace. Eighty-eight per cent of vehicles plying on city roads are four- and two- wheelers, which is nothing but a failure of public transport,” the Speaker said.

Manohar inaugurated a conference on ‘Sustainable Solutions to Tackle Congestion for Better Livable City’ here, organised by Institute of Town Planners India (ITPI).

This is a time for healing, PM tells Assam violence victims

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Assuring that causes of the ethnic violence in lower Assam will be addressed, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday announced a Rs300 crore relief package for the affected districts.

“Yes, a proper enquiry will be held into the tragic circumstances…we will address the causes of the conflict. If it is instigated, the guilty will be punished,” Singh said after visiting the violence-hit areas and meeting the affected people taking shelter in relief camps.

He also said, “the ethnic conflict is unacceptable and must come to a stop.”

Al Hamad becomes first female Qatar Olympian

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Two points away from reaching the women’s 10m air rifle final, Bahya Mansour Al Hamad still made history by becoming the first female Olympian of Qatar.

The 20-year-old, dressed in headscarf, who carried the flag of Qatar in the opening ceremony, continued to steal the limelight in the first Olympics medal awarding event, reports Xinhua.

Al Hamad struck a nine to start her competition and scored 395 points to miss the chance for the final eight spot.

Three Ambedkar statues vandalised in UP

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Two days after a statue of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati was vandalised here, three statues of Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar were damaged in Azamgarh district, police said Saturday.

Broken pieces of a statue were found in the morning in a field at Katat-Chakkatat village in Azamgarh, some 270 km from here, police said.

Two other Ambedkar statues were vandalised and thrown in the fields of the Nayi Palia and Jiyasath villages, said Superintendent of Police (SP) Mirza Manzar Beg.

Counselling date for Engg seats to be taken today

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Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha has said that a final decision would be taken on Sunday on the dates of counseling for Engineering seats.

Damodar said that a meeting with the officials concerned would be held tomorrow to finalize the dates for Engineering counseling. The government was planning to start counseling from August 6, he said, adding that counseling was delayed for finding a permanent solution to the fee issue.

—NSS

Conference of medical students in Hyderabad from Aug 31

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Over 1,000 medical students from across the country will attend ‘OSMECON 2012’, a national conference to be held at the Osmania Medical College here.

The three-day conference beginning on August 31 will present interesting clinical cases and research papers and also features debate on cannabis, a medical quiz and workshops on basic life support skills and surgical skills.

—PTi

Asset details of AP MLAs to be made public

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For the first time, Andhra Pradesh will made public the details of the assets held by Members of Legislative Assembly by displaying the information on website.

The MLAs have been asked to furnish details of their assets and liabilities to the Speaker within the next 15 days so that it can be put up on website.

“For the first time, we will display full details of the members’ assets and liabilities on the Legislature’s website, www.aplegislature.org.

—PTi

TDP party of the poor: Naidu

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TDP is the party of poor and the party is striving for the welfare and prosperity of poor. TDP supremo Mr. Chandrababu Naidu told this while addressing backward classes. He told that TDP’s priorities are to work for development of all sections of population and to provide equal status to backward classes.

OIC to discuss problems facing Muslim nations

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Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will attend an extraordinary two-day summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation to be held in Saudi Arabia next month to discuss problems facing Muslim nations.

The summit has been convened by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to discuss the current situation in the Muslim world, including the threats of “fragmentation and sedition”.

Pakistani officials confirmed that Zardari would represent Pakistan at the summit to be held in Makkah during August 14-15.

Cab explosion in Kashmir claims 2 lives, injures 6

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Two persons were on Saturday killed and six others injured in an explosion in a cab in Bijbehara in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

The explosion took place at Bijbehara, 45 km from here, resulting in the death of two women and injuries to six others, official sources said.

They said four of the injured have been referred to a hospital here in critical condition.

Police is investigating the cause of the explosion.

—-PTI

TN fishermen return home

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The 23 Tamil Nadu fishermen, set free by a court in Sri Lanka after being detained by the island navy on the charge of poaching, arrived at Mandapam coast near here on Saturday.

The fishermen, taken into custody on July 22 when they were fishing near Katchatheevu, were released by a court in Mannar on Friday after India made an appeal to Sri Lanka.

Japan to accept patients from disputed islands off Hokkaido

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Japan will accept two patients from two of the four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido at hospitals on the northernmost Japanese main island as part of its support programme for Russian residents of the disputed islands, the Japanese Foreign Ministry has said.

The hospitals will accept the two female patients in their teens from Kunashiri and Etorofu islands, one of whom is suffering from a bone disease and the other from a hearing impairment, from July 30 through August 17, the ministry said yesterday.

Japan has accepted patients from the islands since fiscal 1998.

It’s time for healing: PM tells Assam victims

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Sharing the “pain” of Assam riots victims, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said it was now “time for healing” and assured them of government help to meet their needs.

Manmohan Singh, who reached Kokrajhar earlier in the day to visit relief camps for victims of the clashes between Bodos and Muslims, also appealed to the people of the state to shun recriminations and to help efforts for rehabilitation and to foster peace.

Govt not breaking Team Anna’s unity: Narayanasamy

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Slamming Team Anna, Union Minister V Narayanasamy on Saturday said there was lack of unity among members of Anna Hazare’s team and dismissed the charge that government was trying to break it.

“There is already no unity among the members of Anna Hazare’s team. So, there is no need for us to break their unity, as someone alleged,” the Minister of state in the PMO told reporters at the airport here.

Narayanasamy’s remarks come in the wake of charge by Hazare in the backdrop of his meeting with Law Minister Salman Khurshid that the government was conspiring to split his team.