Rahul Gandhi’s rookies eye AICC roles

New Delhi, June 16: After a skewed representation of states and castes in the Union cabinet, the Congress is reportedly working towards a balanced reshuffle in the AICC.

While Team Manmohan had only a token representation of Congress’s young faces, the AICC is expected to have a stamp of the party’s poster boy Rahul Gandhi.

Mixed response to VHP bandh call in Surat

Ahmedabad, june 16: The “Surat Bandh” call given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in protest against the alleged gang rape of a minor school girl, received mixed reactions from the people on Monday.

No untoward incident was reported from the art silk and diamond city.

Minister of State for Home Amit Shah, camping in the city for the last two days to keep a watch on the situation, said the bandh was a “flop,” but the VHP claimed that the call received “overwhelming support.”

I feel sorry for Dhoni: Smith

Nottingham, June 16: South Africa captain Graeme Smith offered his support to under-fire India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday after the defending champions crashed out of the World Twenty20.

India`s three-run defeat to England at Lord`s on Sunday sparked an avalanche of criticism aimed at Dhoni with his tactical thinking coming under fire from the country`s demanding fans.

Hundreds of thousands join protest rally in Tehran

Tehran, June 16 : Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched towards Tehran University and the Iranian capital’s Enqelab (Revolution) Square Monday despite the interior ministry’s ban on the gathering, eyewitnesses said.

“We had warned you, if you cheat, we make hell in this city,” the protestors who support opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi shouted. Moussavi also joined the rally but stayed in his car for security reasons.

Setbacks in Middle East weigh on USleader’s policy

Washington, June 16: President Ahmadinejad’s victory in Iran and the harsh tone of Israeli PM Netanyahu’s speech on the peace process are likely to slow progress on the US President Obama’s ambition of changing the landscape across the Mideast

The re-election of Iran’s hard-line president and a tough speech by Israel’s hawkish prime minister signaled an increasingly difficult road ahead for President Barack Obama’s hopes for ending Tehran’s nuclear threat and brokering peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Satyam’s Losing Job Staff Has Legal Options

Hyderabad, June 16: With their internet connections snapped, their office access cards to be taken away and all entitlements and reimbursement of expenses discontinued, Satyam employees who have been moved to the virtual pool are now considering moving the court to challenge the company’s decision to force a huge chunk of the workforce to sit at home.

Employees who spoke to this newspaper said that some of them had already approached lawyers to consider their legal options that they could use against the firm.

Racial Attack Victim Advised To Indians, Don’t Come Australia

New Delhi, June 16: Twenty-year-old Sunny Bajaj has made up his mind. He will leave Australia for good. The Shalimar Bagh boy, who studied at Sachdeva Public School in west Delhi and is pursuing accounting at Deakins University for the past one-and-a-half years now, has been left badly shaken by the attack on him at Melbourne on Friday night when he was racially abused and bashed up, leaving him with bruises and a fractured finger.

Mixed response to VHP bandh call in Surat

Ahmedabad, June 16: The “Surat Bandh” call given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in protest against the alleged gang rape of a minor school girl, received mixed reactions from the people on Monday. No untoward incident was reported from the art silk and diamond city.

Minister of State for Home Amit Shah, camping in the city for the last two days to keep a watch on the situation, said the bandh was a “flop,” but the VHP claimed that the call received “overwhelming support.”

Forgive me, says Chand; Fiza willing but apprehensive

Lucknow, June 16: Even though more than 36 hours have passed since Chander Mohan alias Chand Mohammad returned home, the former Assistant Advocate General of Haryana Anuradha Bali alias Fiza Mohammad is still unsure whether her husband deserves a pardon.

“Even as I want to forgive him on the insistence of my mother, I am apprehensive of his statements, considering the experience I have had over the recent past,” said the 37-year-old law graduate, while addressing a press conference outside her flat in Sector 48-C on Monday.

Russian veto ends UN mission to Georgia

United Nations, June 16: What’s in a name? Enough to anger Russia, which exercised its veto power in the UN Security Council and brought an end Monday to the nearly 16-year-old observer mission monitoring a cease-fire between Georgia and its breakaway Abkhazia region.

Russia’s veto late Monday toppled a Western plan to extend the life of the UN mission for another year, or even two more weeks, to work out a compromise. The vote was 10-1 with four abstentions — China, Vietnam, Libya and Uganda.

Speed of Iran vote count called suspicious

Cairo, June 16: How do you count almost 40 million handwritten paper ballots in a matter of hours and declare a winner? That’s a key question in Iran’s disputed presidential election.

International polling experts and Iran analysts said the speed of the vote count, coupled with a lack of detailed election data normally released by officials, was fueling suspicion around President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s landslide victory.

Palestinian dismay, US and EU cautious on Netanyahu

Ramallah, June 16: Palestinians voiced dismay on Monday over terms Benjamin Netanyahu set for a peace deal but the Israeli leader won guarded approval in Washington and Brussels for at least accepting Palestinian statehood.

In a speech on Sunday, Netanyahu responded to weeks of US pressure by endorsing for the first time establishment of a Palestinian state, on condition Israel received international guarantees in advance that the new nation would be demilitarised.

Indian women reach semi-final of T20 World Cup

Taunton, June 16: India booked a semi-final berth in the women’s Twenty20 World Cup after humbling Sri Lanka by five wickets in a rain-marred pool B
match, on Monday.

Poonam Raut hit a patient 30 off 41 balls, while Mithali Raj cracked an unbeaten 22-ball 32 to help India romp home after restricting the Lankans to a paltry 94 for six in a rain-reduced 18 overs per side match at County Ground here.

Chasing 95 to win, openers Poonam and Anjum Chopra (11) made a watchful start scoring 27 in the first seven overs before the latter was sent packing by Udeshika Prabodani.

Motorists Rent Tyres to Pass Registration Renewal Test

Dubai, June 16: Hundreds of motorists across Dubai and Sharjah have been caught renting tyres to avoid the cost of buying new ones to pass vehicle tests for renewal of registration.

More than 2,000 trucks and cars across the two emirates were found with unsafe tyres between April and June as part of a nationwide inspection campaign by the Ministry of Interior. The motorists were found to be renting tyres for two hours to use them to pass the vehicle testing required for registration renewal.

England crash out from T20 World Cup

London, June 16 (IANS) Composed unbeaten knocks from Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul took West Indies to the semi-final of the World Twenty20 and shut the door on hosts England with a five-wicket win, via the Duckworth Lewis method, in a rain affected game at The Oval here Monday.
England, despite getting a good start, lost their way once again in the second half of the innings but still managed to post 161 for six in 20 overs after Ravi Bopara hit 55 off 47 balls and Kevin Pietersen scored a fluent 31 (19).

Positive signs from Israel, but settlements must stop: Obama

Washington, June 16: US President Barack Obama said Monday there was some “positive movement” towards peace after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recognised the Palestinians’ right to an independent state.
But Obama made clear he would not back down from his demand that Israel stop all settlement activity, a key disagreement that remains between the two long-time allies.

In a major policy speech Sunday, Netanyahu for the first time backed the creation of a Palestinian state, which had been another key source of tension between Obama’s administration and Israel.

Chennai hospital registers second pregnancy from frozen egg

Chennai, June 16: Nearly a year after they delivered the country’s first baby born out of frozen oocyte (egg), city-based GG Hospital has touched another milestone, with a second woman conceiving through the procedure. And this time, it is twins. Doctors at GG Hospitals say that they have now moved on to a “sophisticated” rapid freeze technology after which they thawed the eggs, and injected it with a prepared sperm before implanting it in the uterus.

Five die in road accidents

Hyderabad, June 16: Five persons died and two suffered injuries in three separate road accidents in city on Monday.

Ch Ravinder, 36, a private employee of Domalguda and Shaik Saleem, 26, a sales executive with Kotak Mahindra from Chirag Ali Lane in Abids died on the spot when the two-wheeler they were riding hit a road divider at Chinnatokata in Tadbun on Monday morning. Saleem’s brother, Ankush, who was also pillion-riding, suffered minor injuries in the incident, Bowenpally SI A Satyanarayana said.

BJP, PRP flay govt move to weed out bogus ration cards

Hyderabad, June 16: The government’s move to weed out bogus ration cards has come in for sharp criticism from the BJP and the PRP.

At separate press conferences on Monday, the parties questioned the rationale behind the exercise soon after the elections and asked the government to explain the reasons behind the hastiness to weed out 35 lakh `bogus ration cards’ in the state.

Kasab breaks down after watching 26/11 attack photos

Mumbai, June 16: Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist involved the terror attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, broke down in court after photographs of the crime were shown to him.

He, however, told the judge that he was feeling unwell.

Sebastian D’Souza, a photojournalist, on Monday identified Kasab in a special court hearing as one of the persons who had opened fire inside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on November 26 and provided photographs to support his evidence.

He placed 100 photographs that he had shot on the night of November 26 before the court.

CM wants Centre to take over state roads

Hyderabad, June 16: The cash-strapped state government is unlikely to give priority to the road sector this year. Instead, it wants to convert over 2,539 kms of state highways into national highways.

This would save the state government about Rs 400 crore per annum. Chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy wrote a letter to the ministry of surface transport asking it to consider the proposal favourably. The chief minister proposes to take up the issue with the Centre during his visit to New Delhi on Thursday.

Toll free helpline for swine flu

Hyderabad, June 16: The state medical and health department on Monday set up a toll free information centre for H1N1 influenza (swine flu) to provide
information on the disease, medication and treatment.

Banks cannot do real estate business: HC

Hyderabad, June 16: Wondering how a bank could buy and sell land like a real estate dealer, justice Goda Raghuram of the A P High Court on Monday said he would a issue notice to the RBI asking it to explain how such things were being allowed ignoring the Banking Regulation Act barring banks from engaging in other activities.

Contaminated water in Amberpet area

Hyderabad, June 16: Residents of Patelnagar at Amberpet have been getting contaminated drinking water for the past 10 days.

With the residents bringing it to the notice of public representatives, officials rushed to the place to carry out tests to check the water samples for contamination.

Water board officials said there are 2,000 water connections in the locality with water being supplied from two sources–Adikmet and Shivam reservoirs–everyday.

Water Board officials and representatives of the Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) rushed to Patelnagar and carried out tests.

4 collectors transferred

Hyderabad, June 16: The state government on Monday transferred four collectors, appointed seven new collectors and shifted 5 joint collectors.

Medak collector Piyush Chawla has been posted to Krishna district while N Sridhar, collector of Krishna, has been transferred to Warangal. B Janardhan Reddy, the Warangal collector, has been shifted to Anantapur. Nizamabad collector B Ramanjaneyulu has been transferred to Guntur.