Abha, August 17: A senior Ministry of Islamic Affairs official has claimed mosques in Baha province are not aligned correctly with the Qibla.
Nasir Badran, director general of the ministry’s Baha branch, said there was no cause for concern. “These are not major errors. Our department has so far not identified any mosques with serious discrepancies to the point of making prayers invalid,” he said.
Kochi, August 17: Describing PDP leader, Abdul Nasser Madani, an accused in the 2008 Bangalore blast case, as a ‘habitual terrorist’, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international president, Ashok Singhal, today said those not allowing him to be arrested ‘want to perpetrate terrorism’.
‘Madani is a habitual terrorist and those not allowing him to be arrested. What do they want?. They want terrorism to perpetrate’, Singhal told reporters at the sidelines of a function here.
More and more problems are being created in the country as terrorists are being allowed to have a free hand, he said.
Jerusalem, August 17: A former Israeli soldier posted photos on Facebook of herself in uniform smiling beside bound and blindfolded Palestinian prisoners, drawing sharp criticism from the Israeli military and Palestinian officials.
In the above photo, she is sitting with her legs crossed beside a blindfolded Palestinian man who is slumped against a concrete barrier. His face is turned downwards, while she leans toward him with her face upturned.
Uttar Pradesh, August 17: Curfew was clamped in parts of Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district on Monday after communal violence broke out, police said.
According to Bareilly Deputy Inspector General of Police N.K. Srivastava, a number of neighbourhoods under Fareedpur police station and Fatehganj (East) police station were put under indefinite curfew.
No casualties were reported, even as the situation continues to remain tense.
Srinagar, August 17: Security forces smashed a militant hideout and recovered five kgs of Improvised Explosive Device in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, police said today.
The hideout, located in Budhal forest area, 215-km from here, was busted by the security forces last night, they said.
Five kgs of IED, two Chinese hand grenades, a wireless set, a radio set and 12 pencil cells were recovered from the hideout, police said.
—Agencies
Srinagar, August 17: Good relations between India and Pakistan are imperative for peace and development and both countries should join hands to fight terrorism and help cultivate peace for larger interests of people, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said.
Asserting that the state always had been a recipient of the dividends of thaw in Indo-Pak relations, Omar underlined the need for free trade and travel across the LoC to enhance economic activities and broad-base people’s interactions.
Chandigarh, August 17: Shankar Singh, 22, lost his eyesight a decade ago. His younger brother, Visakha Singh, who had no vision problem when he was born, too, lost his sight as he grew up. Welcome to Dona Nanka, a village on the Indo-Pak border where children are going blind apparently after drinking contaminated water.
At least a dozen children were either born blind or have been gradually losing sight within a few years of birth. “I started losing my sight when I was studying in the fifth standard. Gradually, I turned completely blind,” Shankar says.
Stockholm, August 17: Julian Assange, the founder of whistleblower WikiLeaks, told that the site will not tolerate threats from the US’ department of defense.
During an interview with Associated Press, Assange revealed that WikiLeaks will release the remaining 15,000 war documents. He also explained that some of the documents were redacted because innocent informants are under threat.
“This organisation will not be threatened by the Pentagon or any other group. We proceed cautiously and safely with this material,” said Assange.
New Delhi, August 17: I feel blessed to have been born in free India and to be a part of a country where the average age of citizens is 25. Being a sportsperson, I feel I have a tremendous duty and responsibility towards my nation because in a non-war scenario, the sporting heroes are the real heroes of any nation.
I, as a citizen of free India, carry the tricolour on my sleeve. I do not need a special day to celebrate it. For me, the biggest celebration is when I win a medal and the tricolour goes up.
Hyderabad, August 17: Unfurling the national flag at the Independence Day parade for the first time as the chief minister of the state, K Rosaiah today tried to drive home the point that his administration was stable and the official machinery was working vigorously to provide better governance.
Islamabad, August 17: Their forecasts, based on studies of other natural disasters such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami, suggest 1,400 people will die from water-born infections as hundreds of thousands more contract illnesses beyond the reach of aid agencies.
Dr Guido Sabatinelli, the World Health Organisation’s representative in Pakistan, said aid workers were facing a “second crest” of fatalities.
“This is something that is very, very huge and we are lagging behind in where we need to be in terms of aid,” he told The Daily Telegraph yesterday (MON).
Hyderabad, August 17: Stepping up his attack on TDP, TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao today wondered why the TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu was silent on the breaking of the sluice shutters of a project that provides water to Mahabubnagar district in Telangana region.
Kabul, August 17: Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to disband all foreign and domestic private security companies by next year, his chief spokesman said Monday.
“The government of Afghanistan has decided that the security companies have to go. That will be done within coming four months,” Waheed Omer told a press conference in Kabul.
A presidential decree expected to be issued late Monday would detail the process to eliminate private security firms.
Romania, August 17: Three infants were killed and eight others seriously injured Monday when a fire broke out in a Bucharest gynaecology and obstetric clinic, local reports said.
The injured babies were in life-threatening condition, with burns over 50 percent of their bodies.
The blaze broke out after an explosion in the incubator room. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast, but some reports point to a faulty air conditioner.
The Giulesti clinic for women is regarded as one of the top hospitals in the country and has recently been renovated and re-equipped.
–IANS–
London, August 17: Strikes that threatened to paralyse air traffic in Britain at peak holiday time were averted late Monday after airport operator BAA and the union came to an agreement.
Details of the deal between BAA and union Unite would be made public Tuesday.
If the strikes had gone ahead, two of London’s main airports, Heathrow and Stansted, would have been affected, as well as Southampton and three Scottish airports – Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
United Nations, August 17: Nearly 3.5 million children in Pakistan’s flood-ravaged areas are at risk of contracting fatal diseases such as cholera and dysentery, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has warned.
Diseases like cholera and dysentery present the illnesses of greatest concern. Hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever pose another significant risk, the Unicef said in a statement Monday.
Hyderabad, August 17: The Osmania University Joint Action Committee here on Monday called upon the student community to boycott the Telugu film “Badmash” directed by the noted music director ‘Vandemataram Srinivas,’ as it depicted scenes insulting the Telangana students.
In a statement here, the JAC termed the director, Mr Srinivas, as a traitor of Telangana.
Hyderabad, August 17: The State government on Monday issued a GO extending ban on the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and its frontal organizations — the Radical Youth League (RYL), the Rythu Coolie Sangham (RCS), the Radical Students Union (RSU) and the Singareni Karmika Samakhya (SIKASA) for one more year under the Andhra Pradesh Public Security Act, 1992.
Hyderabad, August 17: The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, is likely to effect major and drastic changes in his cabinet soon after his discussions with the Congress High Command during his visit to New Delhi from August 19.
Hyderabad, August 17: Senior Congress MLA DL Ravindra Reddy on Monday opined that the deal between the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation and the Emmar Properties is not legally valid since it was not approved by the Board of Directors before it was signed and it was struck without the knowledge of Chief Minister K Rosaiah.
Talking to media persons at Assembly premises, Mr Ravindra said that the deal was struck by two senior officials behind closed doors and powerful persons with very influential connections were behind the ‘scam’.
Vijayawada, August 17: An employee of the Sri Durgamalleswara Swamivarla Devasthanam on Indrakeeladri was on Monday arrested for siphoning off the money from the hundi collections.
According to police, Ramarao was entrusted with the task of counting the money in the hundi.
He had allegedly pocketed around Rs eight thousand while carrying out his task. Ramarao attempted to avoid the frisking operations after the counting was completed.
This roused the suspicion of the temple authorities who then proceeded to search him and discovered the ill-gotten gains.
Anantapur, August 17: Senior Congress leader and MLA JC Diwakar Reddy on Monday denied making any comments against former chief minister late YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
Chennai, August 17: Addressing a press conference at Satyamurthi Bhavan, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee headquarters, here on Monday, state Youth Congress president M Yuvaraj alleged that Karti P Chidambaram, son of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, was creating rifts in the organisation. He said a complaint has been filed with the youth wing in-charge of the state, Kiran Kumar Reddy, who, he claimed, has promised action against erring members.
Ayodhya, August 17: With the Purulia police, along with the Central forces, intensifying the operation in the Ayodhya Hills the villagers are fleeing the area. Apprehending harassment by the security forces, they are moving to East Singbhum district in neighbouring Jharkhand.
The Purulia police intensified the operation in the area following the arrest of Nandakumar alias Ananda Kumar, area commander of Maoist outfits, along with five of his aides from the Ayodhya Hills on Wednesday.
New Delhi, August 17: The Union government should not clear Vedanta’s bauxite mining project in the Niyamgiri hills of Orissa as it violates the environment and forest law, according to a panel set up to investigate the proposal.
“The Vedanta Company has consistently violated the Forest Conservation Act [FCA], the Forest Rights Act [FRA], the Environment Protection Act [EPA] and the Orissa Forest Act in active collusion with the State officials,” said the report of the four-member panel, headed by Planning Commission member N.C. Saxena. The report was submitted on Monday.