News

Temple visit with Advani signals Uma Bharti’s return to BJP?

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Somnath, September 25: Senior BJP leader L K Advani visited the Somnath temple in Gujarat on Saturday along with former BJP leader Umar Bharti.

Even though the visit marks the 20 years of Advani’s historic rath yatra which he started from this very temple in 1990, the joint visit by Advani and Uma Bharti to the temple comes after top level BJP sources told NDTV in July that the party is seriously considering Uma’s return to the party.

In fact, sources have indicated that the process of Uma’s return to the BJP fold is on.

Bomb threat forces Pakistani plane to land in Stockholm

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Stockholm, September 25: Suspicions that a passenger had smuggled a bomb on board a Pakistan Airlines plane heading from Toronto to Karachi forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in Stockholm early Saturday, reported Swedish authorities.

Swedish media reported that a man who might have smuggled the suspected explosives on board had been detained. Initial reports had stated the suspect was female.

Shiv Sena hits back at Narayan Rane for attacking Uddhav

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Mumbai, September 25: The Shiv Sena Saturday hit out at Revenue Minister Narayan Rane for accusing its executive president Uddhav Thackeray for the shootout in which Swabhiman Sanghatana chief Nitesh Rane was allegedly involved.

“Rane is speaking out of frustration and unhappiness. Let him say anything, we are not bothered,” party MP and spokesman Sanjay Raut said here.

Advani favours verdict on Ayodhya suit without delay

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Somnath, September 25: BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani today urged the Supreme Court to pave the way for the immediate pronouncement of verdict on Ayodhya title suit by the Allahabad High Court instead of deferring it any further.
Addressing mediapersons here at famous Somnath temple complex, from where he launched his now famous Ramjanmabhumi Rath yatra, Mr Advani said ”We respect the order by the Supreme Court but it is a popular feeling that after the wait of almost 60 years, the judgement on the title suit should be delivered.”

Two-year-old crushed under school bus

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Hyderabad, September 25: A two-year-old girl playing outside her house was crushed under a school bus here Saturday, police said.

The girl was playing in front of her residence in Attapur neighbourhood when she came under the rear wheels of the mini bus that was reversing.

Eye witnesses said the bus driver failed to spot the little girl. She sustained serious injuries and succumbed before she could be shifted to hospital.

The child’s parents were inconsolable. The accident sent shock waves in the residential locality.

AIMPLB to move SC opposing Ayodhya verdict deferment

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Lucknow, September 25: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has said it will move the Supreme Court to oppose the application for deferment of the Ayodhya title suit verdict.

“In the past several efforts had been made to sort out the issue amicably, but they failed to give result. If required the AIMPLB would also move an application in the SC against plea of Ramesh Chandra Tripathi,” AIMPLB’s working committee member Qasim Rasool Illiyas told PTI.

He said the board was in favour of the verdict on the Ayodhya title suit.

FBI targeting anti-war movement

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washington, September 25: “The FBI is harassing anti-war organizers and leaders, folks who opposed US intervention in the Middle East and Latin America,” Minneapolis anti-war activists Mick Kelley told on Friday.

Early on Wednesday, the FBI raided eight homes in Minneapolis and Chicago as part of a terrorism investigation. They reportedly confiscated computer files, photographs, notebooks, and Kelley’s diaries.

‘US job bias against Muslims on rise’

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Washington, September 25: American Muslim workers have filed a record number of complaints in the first nine months of 2009, according to a new report.

According to the report released by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Muslim workers in the US have filed over 800 complaints of discrimination during the period, which shows a 20 percent rise comparing to the same period in 2008.

While only two percent of the US population is Muslim, one quarter of the job discrimination complaints with the government came from Muslims.

British PM’s baby sleeps in cardboard box

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London, September 25: British Prime Minister David Cameron’s baby daughter sleeps in a cardboard box as they didn’t have a cot with them when she was born during a family holiday.

David Cameron said that they were taken by surprise by last month’s early birth of Florence so his elder daughter Nancy, 6, came to the rescue.

“Nancy made her a cardboard box when we were in Cornwall as we didn’t have a cot and decorated it and she’s still in the cardboard box,” Daily Mail quoted Cameron as saying.

“She’ll be able to say I was brought up in Downing Street in a cardboard box.”

Ayodhya will have Ram temple: Advani

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Somnath, September 25: Expressing surprise over the Supreme Court’s decision on interim stay on the final verdict in the Ayodhya case, BJP leader LK Advani on Saturday voiced hope that the apex court will give a go ahead to the Allahabad High Court next week.

He also appealed to the people and the BJP workers to maintain calm and respect the courts.

Speaking to reporters after offering prayers at the famous Shiva temple here, the spot from where he took out the rath yatra to Ayodhya on this day 20 years ago, he said, “I am not able to understand the decision of the Supreme Court”.

Congress behind Ayodhya petitioner: BJP

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Lucknow, September 25: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Uttar Pradesh unit chief Surya Pratap Shahi Friday alleged that the Congress was behind retired bureaucrat Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, on whose petition the Supreme Court had stayed pronouncement of the much-awaited Ayodhya verdict.

“We are of the view that Congress is supporting Ramesh Chandra Triptahi as the party wants the judgment to get delayed,” Shahi told reporters at a press conference, but declined to answer how the Congress party would benefit from the delay in the Ayodhya verdict.

Iran open to new nuclear talks: Ahmadinejad

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New York, September 25: Iran and the United States both have said they were open to a new round of nuclear talks, but their fierce enmity was again revealed by a war of words over the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

US President Barack Obama and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were both in the spotlight — though they never met — at the UN General Assembly meetings, on a day of dueling rhetoric and diplomatic jockeying.

Rahul’s Ayodhya remarks reflect aspirations of youth: Congress

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New Delhi, September 25: The Congress said Friday that party general secretary Rahul Gandhi had reflected the aspirations of a very large section of the youth by his suggestion that there were more pressing concerns in the country like education and infrastructure than the Ayodhya dispute.

Responding to queries about Gandhi’s remarks on Thursday during a closed-door session with students at IIT Guwahati, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said that the party leader had “contextualised” the dispute.

Pak arrests chief of banned Sipah-e-Sahaba group

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Islamabad, September 25: Pakistani authorities today arrested the chief of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba group at Jhang in Punjab province and took him away to an undisclosed location.

Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi, who also heads the Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat, was first taken to the local circuit house from the Markaz, the secretariat of the Sipah-e-Sahaba, by some police officials on the pretext of holding discussions with him.

He was later arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order law, which allows authorities to detain persons for up to 90 days without formally charging them.

CRPF man, Maoist killed in encounter in Jhargram

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Jhargram (WB), September 25: A CRPF personnel and a Maoist were killed in an encounter between the joint forces and rebels at Bandarboni and Cheraboni areas near Jhargram town of West Midnapore district.

The encounter which began last night was still continuing.

Police said the joint force surrounded Bandarboni, Cheraboni and Tetuldanga areas last night after getting a tip-off that Maoists had taken shelter in those areas after triggering a series of violent incidents in Jhargram recently.

Jama Masjid email traced to Norway: Chidambaram

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New Delhi, September 25: The server from which an e-mail was sent a few hours after Sunday’s Jama Masjid firing incident has been traced to Norway, Home Minister P Chidambaram said.

“The e-mail that came a few hours after the firing has been traced to a server in a foreign country– Norway,” Chidambaram said.

In an interview to media, the home minister said the investigators have found that it was a SIM card purchased and put in a GPS activated mobile phone from which the e-mail, owing affiliation to terror group Indian Mujahideen, was sent.

Jagan continues Odarpu yatra in Prakasam district

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Hyderabad, September 25: Congress MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy today continued his ‘Odarpu yatra’ in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, highlighting the welfare measures like reservations for minorities and free power initiated by his father.

He consoled the family of Alivelamma at Kolalapudi village and unveiled the statues of his late father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy at several places.

“Rajasekhara Reddy has occupied a permanent place in our hearts. He initiated such welfare schemes that benefited all.

PM agreed to probe Azad’s death: Swami Agnivesh

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Srinagar, September 25: Swami Agnivesh, who has offered to be a moderator for talks between the Centre and Naxals, claimed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had accepted his demand for an inquiry into the killing of Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad but government had backed out later.

“I met the prime minister on July 20 (to discuss Azad’s encounter). He listened to me compassionately for 20 minutes. He then said it should be inquired into,” Agnivesh claimed.

OBC quota for Muslims

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Kolkata, September 25: The West Bengal government Friday issued notification to increase reservation in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category from seven percent to 17 percent by introducing a ‘more backward’ classification to benefit the Muslim communities.

UNICEF rushes relief to flood-hit Indian states

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United Nations, September 25: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is helping India in rushing relief supplies to millions of people uprooted from their homes in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttarakhand by heavy floods.

The agency has supplied tarpaulin sheets, jerry cans, water purification tablets and mosquito nets, among other items, to more than 8,000 displaced families in Uttar Pradesh. It has also pre-positioned its supplies in 10 high-risk districts to help 10,000 families.

Pak Taliban warns of struggle to free Dr Aafia

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Islamabad, September 25: Pakistani Taliban has vowed to bring back Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a US-trained Pakistani neuroscientist accused of firing at US soldiers and FBI agents in Afghanistan in 2008 as she tried to escape from their custody by force. Dr Aafia was handed a 86-year sentence by a federal court in Manhattan, US, on September 23.

Kcr Meet With Industrialists Is A Threat: Tg Venkatesh

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Hyderabad, September 25: The senior Congress leader and Kurnool MLA, Mr T G Venkatesh, has said that the Telangana Rashtra Samiti supremo, Mr K Chandrasekhara Rao, convening a meeting with industrialists was meant to serve an ultimatum to them.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Friday, Mr Venkatesh said that the TRS would have to taste a bitter lesson if that party’s supremo did not stop his tactics of criminal intimidation.

Special Law Soon To Punish Love Maniacs: Sabita

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Hyderabad, September 25: The Home Minister, Ms Sabita Indra Reddy, has said that the State government has proposed to bring out a new legislation to take stringent action against love maniacs.

Talking to the media here on Friday, Ms Sabita said that the government would take strong action against those who indulge in ragging. Stating that it has become a very bad practice, she said the students should know that they should not exceed their limits and turn a funny act into a tragedy.

Protests in Pak against Aafia Siddiqui’s sentence for prison

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Islambad, September 25: A series of protests hit the streets of Pakistan on Friday after a U.S. court in New York on Thursday issued Pakistani scientist Aafia Siddiqui a prison sentence of 86 years for attempted murder, local media said.

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi, although most of their anger was reportedly directed to Pakistani officials for not intervening in the case.

Sri Lanka court frees ex-army chief’s aides

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Colombo, September 25: The magistrate’s court of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo ordered the release of four aides of the former army chief Sarath Fonseka who was convicted of corruption and conspiring to topple the country’s government.

Two retired Major Generals, a Brigadier and a journalist were also charged with conspiracy to topple the government while associating with Fonseka. However, the court ordered their release Friday on advice of the attorney general who dropped charges against them, Xinhua reported.