News

Tagore songs in great demand this Durga Puja

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Kolkata, October 03: The timeless magic of Rabindra Sangeet is set to dominate the special album releases this Durga Puja.

The melodies composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose 150th birth anniversary celebrations began in May, have left all other genres of music behind in West Bengal this year.

“This year, we have brought out 15-20 albums on Rabindra Sangeet only. The number of such albums has surpassed all previous records,” Music 2000 proprietor Swarup Pal told IANS.

We will build Ram temple at the earliest: VHP

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New Delhi, October 03: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has now come into auto mode after gaining partial victory in the court regarding the dispute of the Ram Janmbhoomi and Babri Masjid issue.

The VHP has got mileage in its prime agenda of building a grand temple at the Ram Janmbhoomi site in Ayodhya and it will keep the issue alive till the temple is constructed.

“Aur Ek Dhaka Telangana Pakka”: KCR

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Hyderabad, October 03: “Aur Ek Dhaka Telangana Pakka” (Another one Push; Telangana sure), Decision for formation of Telangana will be announced on December 9th and task ahead is to implement the decision after 31st December” said Mr. K. Chandrasekhar Rao, President, Telangana Rashtra Samithi here today.

He said and asked the people to be firm and alert from all sorts of controversies and baseless campaign against movement as well as leaders. Mr. Rao said this in a centenary celebrations of State Electricity Department.

US military base attacked in north Iraq

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Baghdad, October 03: A missile was fired on Saturday afternoon from southern Kirkuk in the direction of the US forces’ al-Hurria airbase, a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“Policemen arrived at the scene and removed the launch pad, which turned out to be home-made,” he said, adding that it was not clear where the projectile landed.

Seven US soldiers died in September, bringing the death toll for US troops in Iraq to 4,424 since 2003, according to an AFP tally.

Musharraf rallies supporters in Britain

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London, October 03: Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf rallied supporters Saturday in the British city of Birmingham, saying he wants to end his London exile and begin efforts to return to power in Pakistan, the BBC reported.

Musharraf, who ruled the country for nine years, Friday launched a new political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, asking the nation to forgive him for past mistakes.

He said though it was unclear when elections would take place, he would return to Pakistan for them. He has previously said he fears assassination if he returns.

‘Mamata trying to forge deal with GJM for electoral gains’

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Darjeeling, October 03: Mamata Banerjee’s recent visit to Darjeeling and her discussions with hill outfits, including the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has caused panic among the CPM leaders who are apprehensive about its impact on the forthcoming polls for 12 Assembly seats in the Darjeeling-Dooars-Terai region.

Nepali-speaking voters will play a decisive role in these constituencies and Banerjee’s tacit understanding with the hill leaders may swing the poll result in her favour, feel the CPM leaders.

Modi drags Bapu in: ‘Ayodhya verdict will lead to Ram Rajya’

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Ahmedabad, October 03: Mahatma Gandhi may have devoted his life to the cause of communal harmony but, not one to be deterred, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dragged him into the Ayodhya dispute.

Kickstarting the BJP’s campaign for the civic polls in Saurashtra on Gandhi Jayanti day, Modi said the Allahabad High Court’s verdict on Ayodhya title suits would help realise the Mahatma’s ‘Ram Rajya’.

Sania to skip Commonwealth Games opening ceremony

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New Delhi, October 03: India’s woman tennis star Sania Mirza will skip the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games here Sunday to keep herself fresh for the mixed doubles first round tie the next day.

The second seeded pair of Leander Paes and Sania are scheduled to take on Saint Lucia’s Stacey Nykita Roheman and Alberton Richelieu in the first round.

RTC to introduce 1,540 eco-friendly CNG buses

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Hyderabad, October 02: The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) will construct 20 bus depots and 152 bus stations on the Outer Ring road (ORR), according to P Narayana Swamy, executive director of the Greater Hyderabad zone.

Speaking on the occasion of attaining superannuation, Narayana Swamy said 1,540 new buses had been allocated to the city under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and 1,392 buses were already sanctioned.

Cases registered against 3 TTD ex-board members

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Tirumala, October 02: The Two Town police of Tirumala today registered criminal cases against three former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust board members and 21 others in the multi-crore Arjita Seva ticket booking scam.

Cases under Sections 420, 408, 467, 468, 427, 471, 477 and 120 (B) of IPC were registered against them. The police action follows a complaint lodged with them today by TTD chief vigilance and security officer N K Singh. It was the first time that the TTD CVSO lodged a police complaint against former board members.

‘Why VHR not declared anti-part y?’

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Hyderabad, October 02: Even as former minister K Surekha shot off another letter to PCC president D Srinivas asking why the party has been ‘sparing those who are harming its interests and harassing those sincerely working for its growth’, the PCC served a showcause notice on Nellore DCC president Y Gopala Reddy for making an appeal to the party cadre to participate in big numbers in YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Odarpu Yatra.

Ayodhya dispute matter of heritage: Venkaiah

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Hyderabad, October 02: BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member M Venkaiah Naidu today welcomed the Allahabad High Court verdict on Ram Janmabhoomi and urged both the contesting parties to settle the issue out of court without continuing the controversy further in the larger interest of the nation.

“All petitioners, without going back into the history, should move forward to find an amicable solution by holding consultations,’’ he said at a crowded press conference at the party’s state headquarters here.

CAT to hear Gautam Kumar’s plea on October 29

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Hyderabad, October 02: The hearing on the petition filed by principal secretary (Home) P Gautam Kumar in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) seeking dismissal of K Aravinda Rao as director general of police, has been posted to October 29.

Simultaneously, CAT has given three weeks time for the respondents to file their petitions.

‘Regularise water connections before October 30’

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Hyderabad, October 02: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) has extended regularisation of illegal connections up to October 30. The Water Board had introduced the scheme to regularise illegal water supply and sewerage connections for consumers. Previously, last date of closure of the scheme was September 30.

Just 12 answers will get you a driving licence!

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Hyderabad, October 02: The qualifying mark in the Learner’s Licence test has been reduced by the transport department officials in consideration of ambiguity to answers in the existing question bank.

Officials said that out of 20 questions, the applicant is expected to clear 12 questions to get himself qualified for the next level. Till now a candidate had to answer 16 questions correctly or score 80 per cent to be eligible for the next round.

OUJAC Telangana-cycle yatra from Octber 19

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Hyderabad, October 02: The Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee (OUJAC) would be embarking on yet another yatra of the 10 Telangana districts before launching their struggle for separate statehood after December 31, if necessary. The JAC leaders will seek the support of the people of Telangana for their struggle and also console the families of those who laid down their lives during the movement.

SC issues notice to Ramalinga Raju on CBI’s plea

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New Delhi, October 02: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to B Ramalinga Raju, founder of Satyam Computers on a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking cancellation of his bail granted by the AP High Court in the multi-crore rupee accounting scam.

7 more MMTS trains on Sundays

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Hyderabad, October 02: In order to cater to the public demand for MTTS trains, the South Central Railway will run seven more MMTS train services on Sundays with effect from October 3.

Accordingly, the trains scheduled are FL7 Falaknuma (10:35 hrs)-Lingampalli (11:50 hrs), LF8 Lingampalli (12:00 hrs)- Falaknuma (13:15 hrs), FL8 Falaknuma (10:55 hrs)- Lingampalli (12:30 hrs), LF9 Lingampalli (12:40 hrs) – Falaknuma (13:55 hrs) and HL13 Hyderabad (13:05 hrs)- Lingampalli (13:45 hrs).

Tulasi Reddy to head 20-point programme panel

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Hyderabad, October 02: Former Kadapa MP N Tulasi Reddy has been appointed chairman of the Committee on 20-Point Economic Programme. An order was issued today by the general administration department.

It is the second significant political appointment made by chief minister K Rosaiah after he stepped into the shoes of the late chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. The first appointment was the nomination of S Sivarama Subrahmanyam as chairman of APIIC.

The state government is also making appointments for the posts of chairmen of market and temple committees.

Aid to kin of Telangana martyrs flows from today

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Hyderabad, October 02: Determined to regain the lost ground in Telangana belt, the Congress high command has apparently given the go-ahead to the party leaders in the region to begin the process of going to the rescue of those who died for T-cause from tomorrow.

Though officially it has not been declared as a Congress programme it has the backing of Sonia Gandhi. The party does not want to own the programme lest it might rankle the leaders in the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema belt that it was siding with Telangana protagonists.

Telangana cases: State to withdraw proceedings

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Hyderabad, October 02: The Andhra Pradesh government has initiated the process to withdraw cases against students and others who participated in the agitations for and against separate Telangana state last year, Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy said on Saturday.

She told reporters here that the process for withdrawal of cases has begun at the district level.

The cases would be reviewed over the next 15 to 20 days and the number of cases to be withdrawn would be known only after the process is completed. “The government will issue an order withdrawing the cases,” she said.

Hi-tech autowallahs hack digital meters!

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Hyderabad, October 02: The digital meters were supposed to be tamper-proof. However, it has come to light that they can be cleverly tampered by auto wallahs. This means you always end up paying more than what you should according to the meter charge. It came to light after Legal Metrology department officials revealed they have booked 923 cases in 2010-11 against errant auto drivers using tampered meters. They had booked 681 cases last year.

Israel must halt settlements for talks to resume – PLO

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Gaza, October 02: Israel must halt settlement building on occupied land if peace talks are to resume, a senior Palestine Liberation Official said on Saturday after a meeting of the body’s executive committee.

“The leadership confirms that the resumption of talks requires tangible steps, the first of them a freeze on settlements,” Yasser Abed Rabbo said after a meeting in Ramallah.

“The Palestinian leadership holds Israel responsible for obstructing the negotiations,” he added, reading a statement issued after the meeting.

—Agencies

Sehwag falls after breezy fifty as Oz fight back with late strikes

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Mohali, October 02: Virender Sehwag slammed a quick-fire half-century as India breezed past hundred runs in 21 overs after Zaheer Khan’s five-for restricted Australia to 428. India finished Day 2 at 110/2 with Rahul Dravid on 21 and night-watchman Ishant Sharma on naught.

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir gave India a fine start as they put on a breezy 81-run opening stand to post a fitting reply to Australia’s first innings total of 428.

Nigeria hunts militants after deadly attack

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Abuja, October 02: Nigerian authorities hunted oil militants on Saturday who claimed responsibility for two car bombs that killed at least 15 people near independence celebrations in the first such attack in the capital.

Friday’s car bombs near where Nigerian leaders and foreign delegations had gathered escalated militant group MEND’s “oil war” and came despite a lull in attacks after thousands of rebels signed up to an amnesty programme last year.