News

Home guards attempt to storm secretariat

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Hyderabad, September 15: Demanding that the State government immediately concede their long-pending grievances, the Home Guards working in the Police department, on Wednesday attempted to storm the Secretariat.

The Home Guards, who assembled at the Nizam College in the morning, went in a procession towards the Secretariat under the leadership of the State Bharatiya Janata Party president, Mr G Kishen Reddy. However, the police stopped the Home Guards’ rally resulting in heated arguments between Mr Kishan Reddy and the police officials.

Cong striving to be king maker, if not the king in Bihar

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Patna, September 15: Feeling an urgent need to play a vital role in government formation after the Assembly elections, the Congress has decided to present better candidates to enable it become a king maker, if not the king, in Bihar.

The Congress would announce names of its candidates on September 20-21.

The first major exercise for selection of probable candidates was completed with the party short-listing about 8,000 names after taking into consideration factors like their clean background and winning ability.

Ex-Guj minister Amit Shah hospitalised

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Ahmedabad, September 15: Former Gujarat minister Amit Shah, arrested in the fake encounter case of Soharabuddin Sheikh, was admitted to City Civil Hospital today after he complained of uneasiness.

“Shah has been admitted to G-6 ward of the City Civil Hospital,” Sabarmati jail officials said.

Shah was to be produced before the special CBI court here through video conferencing facility today on completion of his judicial custody period.

Show leniency towards Aamer, says Musharraf

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London, September 15: Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf Wednesday called for leniency for suspended Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Aamer saying that the 18-year-old may have acted under the influence of the senior players.

The tainted trio of Aamer, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt has been suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on spot-fixing charges during the last Test against England at Lord’s.

Musharraf condemned cheating but said Aamer should be pardoned, citing his youth, his talent and poor family background.

‘17 Sept neither independence nor liberation day’

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Hyderabad, September 15: A congregation was held by Study circle All India Majlis Tameer- e Millat on the subject ‘17 September neither independence nor liberation day’ at Gulzar Function Hall Panjeshah. Mr. Abdul Raheem Qureshi president Tameer e Millat presided over the function.

In his presidential speech Mr. Raheem Qureshi said “BJP has started the mischief of celebrating liberation day backed by VHP and RSS through which they want to create tensions among Hindus and Muslims.

Setback for Modi as high court dismisses his petition

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Mumbai, September 15: Suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi suffered a big blow Wednesday after the Bombay High Court dismissed his petition to reconstitute the disciplinary committee set up by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to probe the corruption charges levelled against him.

Modi had filed the petition in the high court asking for the recusal of Arun Jaitley and Chirayu Amin from the Disciplinary Committee on grounds that they were biased against him.

Jagan cancels Odarpu Yatra for a day after eye infection

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Ongole (AP), September 15: Congress MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy cancelled his ongoing ‘Odarpu yatra’ in Prakasam district for a day, after doctors advised him rest following an eye infection.

“Jagan has developed an eye infection. Doctors asked him to take rest yesterday but he continued with the yatra and the infection grew. Now they have advised him rest compulsorily,” Andhra Pradesh Mines Minster Balineni Srinivas Reddy told reporters here on Wednesday.

He said the yatra would resume on Thursday.

Make Kashmir LoC the international border: Faleiro

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Panaji, September 15: The Line of Control (LoC) should be converted into the international border in order to solve the Kashmir crisis for good, former union minister Eduardo Faleiro said Wednesday.

The veteran Congress leader also said that in his personal opinion, the United Nations-endorsed plebiscite could not be implemented in today’s day and age.

Yamuna flowing along Taj, providing a rare spectacle

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Agra, September 15: The Yamuna river in spate touching the foundation of the Taj Mahal is providing thousands of visitors a rare spectacle in Agra, “just the way the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan had wanted it to look.”

“The original conceptual framework of the Taj Mahal considered Yamuna as an integral part and not as a separate entity. Water of the river should flow touching the rear foundation of the monument to keep the structure in good health,” said Mughal historian R. Nath.

UP to set up temporary jails ahead of Ayodhya verdict

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Muzaffarnagar, September 15: The Uttar Pradesh government will establish temporary jails in every district of the state ahead of the Allahabad High Court verdict on Ayodhya title suit, officials said today.

Separate jails will be established for men and women in every district, DIG (Jail) A K Pandey said.

The district authorities have already identified some government buildings or colleges for establishing the jails in Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Bullandshar, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur and Bijnore districts.

Telangana lawyers continue protest

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Hyderabad, September 15 Work in the Andhra Pradesh High Court and courts across Telangana was paralysed Wednesday as lawyers from the region demanding 42 percent share in government-appointed posts in the judiciary continued their boycott for the second day.

Tension prevailed at the high court as lawyers from civil and criminal courts in the state capital and from courts in other parts of Telangana started arriving at the complex to express solidarity with three of their colleagues, on the third day of their indefinite hunger strike.

Maha ATS alerts UP over arrest of 2 LeT operatives

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Lucknow, September 15: After the arrest of two Lashkar operatives in Mumbai last week, the Maharashtra ATS have alerted their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh as the duo had visited some vital places in the state.

Mirza Himayat Baig (29), who allegedly heads LeT’s operations in Maharashtra and his aide Shaikh Lalbaba Mohammed Hussain alias Bilal (27) were arrested by Maharashtra ATS on September 7 from Pune and Nashik respectively for their involvement in Bangalore and German Bakery blasts.

Maha ATS alerts UP over arrest of 2 LeT operatives

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Lucknow, September 15: After the arrest of two Lashkar operatives in Mumbai last week, the Maharashtra ATS have alerted their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh as the duo had visited some vital places in the state.

Mirza Himayat Baig (29), who allegedly heads LeT”s operations in Maharashtra and his aide Shaikh Lalbaba Mohammed Hussain alias Bilal (27) were arrested by Maharashtra ATS on September 7 from Pune and Nashik respectively for their involvement in Bangalore and German Bakery blasts.

Police shoot dead two protesters in Kashmir

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Srinagar, September 15: Police in Indian Kashmir shot dead two protesters and wounded several others on Wednesday when they opened fire at the latest violent demonstration in the region.

Officers fired at a separatist rally in the southern town of Mendhar, a Muslim settlement in the Hindu-dominated Jammu region, about 450 kilometres (280 miles) from the summer capital Srinagar.

Gaza rocket hits near Israeli coastal city

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Jerusalem, September 15: A rocket fired by militants from the northern Gaza Strip overnight struck near the southern Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, police and the army said on Wednesday.

“Last night, the Palestinians fired a rocket at Ashkelon,” police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told AFP.

“It exploded in a field without causing any injuries or damage.”

The Israeli military confirmed that a rocket had hit just to the south of Ashkelon, and that two mortar rounds had also been fired during the morning.

Musharraf eyes return to Pakistan political life

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HongKong, September 15: Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday he would launch a new party on Oct. 1, as the retired general plots a return to the frontlines of the country’s turbulent politics.

Musharraf also accused Afghan President Hamid Karzai of lacking “legitimacy” but urged the West to stay the course against the Taliban and not to abandon the restive region.

Musharraf backs cricketer accused in betting scam

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Hong Kong, September 15: Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday called for the 18-year-old star at the centre of cricket”s spot-fixing scandal to be shown compassion as the player is from a poor family.

Hyderabad ready to host New Zealand Test

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Hyderabad, September 15: Kanpur may not be ready and Kolkata unwilling, but Hyderabad has thrown its hat into the ring as a possible venue for the second Test between India and New Zealand from November 12 to 16.

The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, on the eastern outskirts of Hyderabad, has staged three ODIs since 2005 and was conferred Test status by the BCCI and the ICC in June this year.
Kanpur was scheduled to host the second Test between India and New Zealand but threw up its hands saying that its 10,000-seater ‘students’ stand’ was incomplete.

Italian Police seize ‘mafia assets’ worth $1.9 bn

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Palermo (Italy), September 15: Italian Police have seized assets worth 1.5 billion euros (about $1.9 billion) from a Sicilian businessman who is suspected of having ties with the mafia.

It was the country’s biggest property seizure in the war it has declared against organised crime networks like the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the Camorra from Naples.

“It was (Italy’s) biggest seizure of assets,” Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said Tuesday in a TV interview on “Mattino Cinque”, a breakfast show on media-tycoon Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Canale 5.

PETA offers Pakistan cricketers ad for makeover

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London, September 15: The British arm of Animal rights charity People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has offered Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz, who are embroiled in a match fixing controversy, to generate public goodwill by starring in a PETA ad.

PETA wants them to promote spaying and neutering of dogs and cats in a new ad.

“Many of us here at PETA are big cricket fans, so we were saddened to hear the allegations regarding match-fixing.

Indian Muslims condemn desecration of churches

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New Delhi, September 15: Prominent leaders of India’s large Muslim community have vehemently and unequivocally condemned the desecration of churches in Punjab and Kashmir.

In a written statement signed among others by All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat President Syed Shahabuddin, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Milli Gazette Editor Zafarul Islam Khan, they said: “Desecration of any sacred scripture or vilification of any religious personality or attack on any religious place, anywhere in the world… is a despicable and uncivilized act.”

Miandad meets Zardari, suggests measure for PCB reforms

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Karachi, September 15: PCB Director General (Cricket) Javed Miandad is pushing for radical changes in the way the Cricket Board functions in the wake of spot-fixing scandal and has made some suggestion to Pakistan President Asif Zardari in this regard. Zardari, who is also chief patron of the PCB, met Miandad and gave him a patient hearing, sources said.

Serial killings in Malaysia

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Kuala Lumpur, September 15: The killings of 17 people, including four ethnic Indians, are being linked to last week’s sensational murders of four people in Malaysia for which two lawyer brothers have been detained.

The lawyer brothers have been detained over the gruesome murder of businesswoman Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.

Makkah Masjid blast case: CBI failed to proceed any further

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Hyderabad, September 14 (Siasat News): As CBI failed to make any headway in tracking down the two prime accused in Makkah Masjid bomb blast case which occurred on 18 May 2007, the prime probe agency today sought 90 days time from the court for completing their investigation and filing charge sheet against Lokesh Sharma and Devendar Gupta.

The bomb blast had claimed nine lives and five people were killed in police firing.

No riots over Babri verdict

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Mumbai, September 15: The Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi controversy verdict is finally expected to be delivered at the end of this month by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad court.

In 1992, after the demolition of Babri Masjid by Karsevaks, Mumbai was the worst affected as riots erupted that left nearly 900 dead and thousands injured. And as the verdict approaches, Mumbaikars want to play it safe.