News

Homosexuals to get equal inheritance rights in Germany

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Germany, August 18: Homosexuals in civil partnerships can look forward to the same inheritance rights in Germany as heterosexual spouses, following a constitutional court decision published Tuesday.

The court announced that inheritance tax rules stigmatising gay and lesbian life partners contravened the principle of equality enshrined in German law.

The ruling was seen as a significant step towards equal recognition for gay and lesbian civil partnerships, and prompted demands for the abolition of income tax disadvantages experienced by homosexual couples.

Sharon Stone to attend Miss Italy final

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Rome, August 18: Hollywood actress Sharon Stone will be the guest of honour at the final of the 2010 Miss Italy beauty contest to be held next month.

The 52-year-old “Basic Instinct” star and former model will share the dias with presenter Milly Carlucci and Prince of Emanuele Filiberto, grandson of Italy’s last king, Umberto II, during the event in the northern town of Salsomaggiore.

Italy’s premier public TV network Rai1 will air the Miss Italy final Sep 11-13.

–IANS–

Now Women are equal rigts on Guardianship, RS approve

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New Delhi, August 18: A bill paving way for the women to get equal rights in guardianship and adoption of children was passed by the Rajya Sabha today.

The Personal Laws Amendment Bill, 2010 seeks to amend the Guardians and Wards Act (GWA), 1890 and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (HAMA), 1956.

It seeks to allow the mother along with the father to be appointed as a guardian, making the process gender-neutral. Besides, it aims at removing hurdles in the way of a married woman to adopt. She can give a son or daughter for adoption.

Iranian fighter jet crashes near nuclear plant

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Tehran, August 18: An Iranian fighter jet crashed Tuesday in southern Iran near the country’s nuclear power plant that is to start up over the weekend, a semi-official news agency reported. The two pilots ejected safely.

The Fars agency quoted local government official Gholam Reza Keshtkar as saying one of Iranian airforce’s F-4 planes crashed about four miles (six kilometers) north of the city of Bushehr. The city is located 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) south of the capital, Tehran.

Charges framed against 23 in Ayodhya case

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Faizabad, August 18: A special court here today framed charges against 23 accused, including two legislators and the then Faizabad District Magistrate, in the Ayodhya demolition case.

Special Judge (Ayodhya Prakaran) Virendra Kumar fixed August 23 for recording evidence in the case which pertained to the demolition of Babri mosque on December six, 1992.

The charges were framed against VHP leader Acharya Dharmendra Deo, SP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, BJP MLA Lalu Singh, then Faizabad District Magistrate R N Srivastava and others.

Suicides no solution, appeal kondandaram

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Hyderabad, August 18: The Telangana Joint Action Committee convener, Prof. Kodanda Ram, on Tuesday exhorted that only fighting right earnestly would pave the way for achieving Telangana state and not ending one’s life by committing suicide.

Talking to the media here, Prof. Kodanda Ram said that youngsters and students should not get disheartened and end their lives. Stating that their lives were very useful for the movement, he said that they should pool all their energies for achieving Telangana state.

Nizamabad court directs police to register case against seemaandhra ministers

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Nizamabad, August 18: The Nizamabad district and Sessions court has directed the police to register cases against Seemandhra ministers for calling those asking for separate Telangana as “anti-nationals”.

One Mr Rajender, an advocate, has filed a case in the district & sessions court against the ministers from the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions for reportedly calling the agitators of Telangana as anti-nationals. The court directed the police to register cases accordingly.

——NSS

Botsa urges Telangana, Seemaandhra leaders to shun harsh remarks

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Hyderabad, August 18: The Minister for Panchayat Raj, Mr Botsa Satyanarayana, on Tuesday appealed to the JACs and political leaders of both the Telangana and Seemandhra regions not to use “harsh and provocative language” over Telangana statehood that would cause hardship to 10-crore Telugu-speaking people in the State.

Islamist Militants, Not India, Main Threat to Pak: ISI

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Islamabad, August 18: Shedding its India-centric phobia, Pakistan’s main spy agency ISI has in its new threat assessment determined that Islamist militants, and not India pose the main threat to Pakistan.

In a recent internal assessment of security, the Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s most powerful military spy service has determined for the first time in 63 years that it expects a majority of threats to come from Islamist militants, Wall Street Journal reported quoting a senior ISI officer.

No one called KCR: Nagam

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Hyderabad, August 18: The senior Telugu Desam party leader, Dr Nagam Janardhan Reddy, has said that there was no need for any TDP leader to call on the Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief, Mr K. Chandrasekhara Rao, as he was publicizing.

Talking to newsmen here on Tuesday, Dr Reddy pooh-poohed the claim of KCR that every day he was receiving phone calls from TDP leaders, urging him to admit them in the TRS. He said that if KCR had courage, he should disclose the names of those who had called him.

BJP demands removal of KVP from public security chief post

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Hyderabad, August 18: The State BJP on Tuesday demanded that the government remove Dr K V P Ramachandra Rao from the post of Public Security Affairs Committee (PSAC) chairman. It alleged that the State was reeling under murders, dacoities, rapes and extremism leading to law and order problem due to failure of the government.

Speaking to the media here, the party’s official spokesperson, Mr N V S S Prabhakar, has urged the State government to remove Dr KVP from the PSAC chairman post owning moral responsibility for the failure of public security in the State under his tenure.

Malegon Blast: Demands for CBI Probe

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Mumbai, August 18: Madhya Pradesh High Court today directed the Assistant Solicitor General to seek CBI’s view on a petition demanding probe by Central agency into missing of Dilip Patidar, a witness in Malegaon bomb blast.

A division bench comprising Justices S Kemkar and Prakash Shrivastava asked the ASG Vivek Sharan to submit a detailed report on the issue after seeking CBI’s view.

The bench has asked Sharan to get CBI’s view on the petition demanding central agency probe into Dilip’s mysterious disappearance, petitioner’s counsel Bhuwan Deshmukh told reporters.

9/11 terrorist tapes found under CIA desk

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Washington, August 18: The CIA has videotapes of Sept. 11, 2001 plotter Ramzi Binalshibh being interrogated in a secret overseas prison. Discovered under a desk, the recordings could provide an unparalleled look at how foreign governments aided the U.S. in holding and questioning suspected terrorists.

The two videotapes and one audiotape are believed to be the only remaining recordings made within the clandestine prison system.

Babu’s silence on RDS damage shows TDP commitment to T: Aruna

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Hyderabad, August 18: Mahabubnagar district In-Charge and Small Scale Industries Minister DK Aruna on Tuesday said that the silence of Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu over the damage to the sluice plates is clear indication of his commitment to the Telangana statehood issue.

Talking to media persons at the CLP Office, Ms Aruna reminded that the TDP president had raised the Babli Irrigation Project issue just before the by-elections to 12 Assembly seats in Telangana region. She dared Mr Naidu to comment on the RDS instead of sitting mum.

California gay marriage case hangs on technicality

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California, August 18: Same sex couple Terese Rowe (C) and Kristin Orbin wait to receive a marriage license… Enlarge Photo Same sex couple Terese Rowe (C) and Kristin Orbin wait to receive a marriage license…

The next stage of California’s gay marriage court battle rests on a procedural issue that could halt the case, leaving same-sex unions legal in California without a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to guide the country.

Constable held, no clean chit to Solanki

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Ahmedabad, August 18: The Ahmedabad Police’s Crime Branch on Tuesday claimed to have cracked the Amit Jethava murder case with the arrest of a Junagadh police constable, but refused to give a clean chit to BJP MP Dinu Solanki yet.

The Crime Branch said so far investigations show that it was a case of contract killing. They arrested police constable Bahadursinh Vadher, who they said has confessed to giving Rs 11 lakh to two contract killers for Jethava’s murder.

‘Israel must strike Iran in next 8 days’

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Jerusalem, August 18: Israel has to strike Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power facility within the “next eight days” if it wants to foil Tehran’s nuclear ambitions as Russia will load a shipment of atomic fuel into the plant’s core this week, a former US envoy to the UN said.

John Bolton made the comments in an interview to the Fox Business Network, a week after Russia announced that it will begin loading the Bushehr reactor with uranium fuel from August 21.

Shoe thrower Ahad Jan released

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Srinagar, August 18: Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Omar Abdullah said he has forgiven a police Head Constable who threw a shoe at him on Independence Day and has ordered his release.

Sources told Agence India Press that Abdul Ahad Jan held a meeting with the chief minister Omar Abdullah at his official residence in Srinagar.

“The meeting was about ten to five minutes and then Chief Minister ordered his immediate release,” sources said.
They said Jan was flown to Ajas in Bandipore district in a State helicopter.

Karkare killing: Bombay HC issues notice to Centre, state

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Patna, August 18: The Bombay High Court today issued notice to the central and state government on a petition seeking high-level probe into the killing of Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare and two other higher police officers during the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai in 2008.

Veteran socialist and three-time MLA from Madhepura in Bihar, Radhakant Yadav, had approached the High Court on August 6. The court heard his petition today and issued notice to the governments asking them to reply within four weeks to the petitioner’s demand for a competent authority into the killing.

Maoist leader Kishenji suggests ceasefire, talks

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Kolkata, August 18: Two days after the President and the Prime Minister asked the Maoists to abjure violence and come to the discussion table, top Maoist leader Kishenji on Tuesday night suggested a three-month ceasefire by both sides and talks for a peace process.

“The President and the Prime Minister, in their Independence Day speeches, have appealed to the Maoists to abjure violence. We are never for violence but the government has instigated us to take up arms,” Kishenji told PTI from an undisclosed destination.

Chiranjeevi gets emotional on meeting partyworkers from T’gana

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Hyderabad, August 17: Praja Rajyam president K Chiranjeevi turned emotional as over 150 party workers from the ten districts of Telangana region came to the PRP headquarters for an interaction with him here today.

It was after a gap of over eight months that any party worker from Telangana stepped into the Praja Rajyam office after the party changed its stand in favour of a unified Andhra Pradesh.

The PRP became virtually non-existent in Telangana, barring Hyderabad city, as the sentiment for a separate state ran deep in the region.

Law officers asked not to talk to media on sensitive issues

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New Delhi, August 17: Peeved at law officers giving independent advice to various departments without consulting the law ministry and talking to media on sensitive issues, the law secretary today shot off letters to them asking them to be careful in their approach.

While the attorney general and solicitor general were sent the letters yesterday, the legal department today issued a similar communication to all the additional solicitor generals.

Sangakkara under scanner for no-ball controversy?

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Dambulla, August 17: Sri Lankan cricket board was examining stump microphone audios to determine whether captain Kumar Sangakkara or any of his teammates had played a role in coaxing Suraj Randiv to bowl a ‘no-ball’ to prevent Virender Sehwag from scoring a century. Sources said that SLC had sought the tapes from the related stories

Former players criticise Randiv for deliberate no ball
official broadcasters to investigate as what transpired between the bowler and his teammates during the fag end of the tri-series match.

Shortfall of 1,350 IPS officers

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New Delhi, August 17: There is a shortage of 1,350 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, parliament was informed Tuesday.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha that the annual intake of IPS officers has been raised to 150 to tackle the shortage.

The government was planning a limited competitive examination to recruit 70 officers each for seven years from amongst deputy superintendents and assistant commandments in the police and captains and majors in the Army with a minimum of five years’ experience, the minister said.