News

MPs condemn attacks on Indian students abroad

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Hyderabad, June 11: Congress MP from Nizamabad Madhu Yaskhi Goud has said that all the Parliamentarians from Andhra Pradesh have strongly aired their concern at the increasing attacks on Indian students including the Telugus studying abroad.

Mr. Goud said that the very fact that the Indian Government summoned the Australian High Commissioner and admonished him for the continuing racial attacks on Indian students showed the concern of the Parliament.
Meet Union Minister

‘True colours’ of YSR exposed: KCR

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Hyderabad, June 11: Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K. Chandrasekhar Rao said that the ‘true colours of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’ were exposed by his ‘anti-Telangana’ remarks in the Assembly on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters after reviewing the party’s performance in the elections at the party office here, Mr. Rao came down heavily on Dr. Reddy for hurting the sentiments of the Telangana people. Dr. Reddy spoke in a manner demeaning his stature and the people would teach him a fitting lesson.
‘Deep anguish’

Racial assaults on six Indians in Canada

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Toronto, June 11: Close on the heels of Indians being attacked in Australia, six members of the community were racially assaulted by a group of young Canadians while playing tennis on the outskirts of Vancouver.

Police have arrested four Canadians, including a woman, in connection with the assault for shouting racial slurs at and robbing a group of tennis players in Aldergrove on Friday last.

The four — all in their teens — have been charged with robbery, assault with a weapon and uttering threats.

Has President Ahmadinejad finally met his match in Mrs Mousavi?

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Tehran, June 11: She has become one of the most high-profile figures in one of the most exciting Iranian election campaigns – and she is not even running for office. It would be easy to downplay the importance of Zahra Rahnavard as a creation of the Western media seeking an exotic angle. Married to opposition candidate Mirhossein Mousavi, she has even been dubbed Iran’s Michelle Obama.

Dhoni has every reason to be angry

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Mumbai, June 11: If Saeed Mirza has seen images of a finger-wagging Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the press conference the other night, he would believe that there is no one better than the Indian captain to play the lead role if his 1980 classic Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai was to be remade today.

26/11: 10-year-old girl identifies Ajmal ‘Kasab’

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Mumbai, June 11: A child who was badly injured in the Mumbai terror attacks deposed before the Special Sessions Court on Wednesday.

Ten-year-old Devika Rotawar entered the witness box on crutches. She told the court that she was shot in her right leg and that she had seen the attackers.

She identified the lone surviving gunman Mohammad Ajmal Amir ‘Kasab’ in court.

The little girl said that on November 26, 2008, she was waiting at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) with her father and brother. The trio was waiting to board a train to Pune.

Tech Student Syed Haris Ahmed convicted on terrorism charges

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Georgia, June 11: A federal judge found former Georgia Tech student Syed Haris Ahmed guilty Wednesday of conspiring to provide material support to terrorism in the United States and abroad.

Ahmed, 24, could face 15 years in prison. Sentencing has been deferred until after the August 3 trial of Ahmed’s alleged co-conspirator, Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, who is expected to face the same charges.

U.S. District Judge William Duffey announced his verdict in federal court in Atlanta. The judge scheduled a hearing Thursday to reveal his findings.

BJP must become a current party: Jaswant

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New Delhi, June 11: Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh has called for making it a ‘current party’ and admitted that it had failed to effectively convey its message to the masses, leading to its election debacle.

‘There is a need for ideological distillation of thought. The BJP has to be a current party. It can’t be a party of yesterday. I think there’s lack of clarity on what Hindutva means,’ the former central minister told the NDTV news channel in an interview Wednesday.

CBI launches nationwide anti-corruption drive

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New Delhi, June 11: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday launched a “countrywide campaign to curb corruption”, conducted searches across the country and registered 67 cases, an official said. The premier investigating agency registered 67 cases against officials of government departments, including the Income Tax Department, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Doordarshan and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

India is an ‘absolutely critical country’ for US

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Washington, June 11: US President Barack Obama has despatched a personal letter to New Delhi making it clear that India is “an absolutely critical country” with which Washington is keen to work, a top official has said.

US Undersecretary of State William Burns, who is in New Delhi to make the first high level contact with the Manmohan Singh government since its return to power, would be delivering the “presidential letter”, the envoy, Richard Holbrooke, told reporters Wednesday without providing details on the contents.

4 more suspected swine flu cases in city

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Hyderabad, June 11: Four more suspected cases of swine flu were reported at the AP General and Chest Hospital on Wednesday.

Among the four suspects is a six-year-old girl, who came from New York on June 6 along with her parents. The second case reported is that of a 53-year-old woman, who went for a wedding to Boston and returned to the city on June 6. The third case is that of a 24-year-old student, who came to the city from Melbourne on June 8, while the fourth case is of an 18-year-old, who landed in the city on June 8.

Robbery in retired bank manager’s house

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Hyderabd, June 11: Armed robbers looted Rs 2 lakh cash and 25 tolas of gold jewellery from a family at Hayathnagar on Wednesday morning.

Two of the four robbers entered the house of a retired cooperative bank manager, Sambasiva Rao at Lakshma Reddy Colony of Hayathnagar on Wednesday morning in the guise of paying advance amount for a room in his house they had agreed to take on rent. Sambasiva Rao, 70, and his wife Vijaya Vani, 60, were present in the house at that time.

OU degree pass percentage shows decline

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Hyderabad, June 11: The overall pass percentage in the Osmania University degree final year showed a slight decline compared to last year, results of
which were announced here on Wednesday.

This year the overall pass percentage for the final year is 54.46. From a total of 59,073 students who had appeared for the examination, only 32,173 students could make the grade.

YSR has hurt feelings of Telangana people: KCR

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Hyderabad, June 11: Reacting sharply to the remarks made by chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in his reply to the governor’s address in the Assembly, TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao said on Wednesday that the Telangana people will teach YSR and the Congress a lesson in the coming days.

Chiru debut in filmy style

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Hyderabad, June 11: In a speech more appropriate for light, sound and action, Prajarajyam president Chiranjeevi said the Congress can rule the state for as long as it wants, provided it looks after the welfare of the people.

Speaking on the motion of thanks to the governor’s address, Chiranjeevi said the PRP is with the Congress as long as it ensures the welfare of the people by coming out with sound policies. “You can rule as long as you want. Happy. Claps, claps. But the day you ignore their welfare, we will take over,” he said in his maiden speech in the Assembly on Wednesday.

Gandhi junior docs go on strike

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Hyderabd, June 11: Junior doctors at the Gandhi Hospital resorted to a flash strike on Wednesday as relatives of a pregnant woman
who died in the hospital at 2 am went on the rampage, alleging medical negligence.

The AP Junior Doctor’s Association (APJUDA) boycotted the out-patient department, elective surgeries and ward duties demanding action against the unruly elements.

Zaheer takes four wickets as India thrash Ireland

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Nottingham, June 11:Zaheer Khan claimed four wickets as India routed Ireland by eight wickets in the concluding Group A match of the World Twenty20 at Trent Bridge here Wednesday.

Zaheer (4-19), who is coming back from a shoulder injury, ripped through the Irish top order, taking three wickets from just seven balls to restrict Ireland to 112 for eight in the rain-shortened 18-over-a-side match.

Chasing the meagre total, Gautam Gambhir (37) and Rohit Sharma (52 not out) batted with caution, adding 77 runs from 65 balls for the opening wicket.

Judicial remand of Raju, others extended till June 24

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Hyderabad, June 11: The judicial remand of former Satyam Computer Chairman B Ramalinga Raju has been extended for another two weeks in the multi-crore accounting fraud at the IT company.

The XIV Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate extended the judicial remand of Raju by 14 days till June 24, after their remand ended on Wednesday.

The remand of Satyam’s former MD Rama Raju and ex CFO V Srinivas, former auditors of Price Waterhouse S Gopalakrishnan and T Srinivas and three former Satyam employees has also been extended till June 24.

Israel fears Hezbollah may get US arms for Lebanon

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Jerusalem, June 10 Israel fears that some US military aid to Lebanon may fall into the hands of Hezbollah, the Shia militia with which it fought a war three years ago, Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday.

‘When it comes to Lebanon… we have not much appreciated the delivery of American arms these past months,’ Barak told public radio. ‘We fear that a part of this materiel falls into the hands of Hezbollah.’

Barak’s comments came after a pro-Western coalition defeated a Hezbollah-led alliance in a parliamentary election in neighbouring Lebanon on Sunday.

Prabhakaran was tortured before being killed, says report

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New Delhi, June 10: Tamil Tigers leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was tortured by the Sri Lankan military before being killed, a leading human rights body said in a report released Wednesday.

The University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR) quoted high-level military sources as saying that Prabhakaran was tortured in the presence of ‘a Tamil government politician and a general’.

The torture, it said, took place probably at the headquarters of the army’s 53 Division, which battled the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) before crushing it last month.

YSR wants private schools’ fee structure monitored

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Hyderabad, June 10: The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to separate primary and secondary education, post two separate Secretaries and create two Directorates.

The primary education will cover classes I to V besides pre-primary and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) while secondary education will include class VI to X and be till XII (higher secondary).

Death toll in Pakistan hotel blast rises to 16

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Islamabad, June 10: The death toll from a suicide car bombing at a luxury hotel in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar rose Wednesday to 16, which included two foreign UN officials and a Spanish national, while up to 60 people were injured, a police official said.

Three suicide attackers in a pickup truck entered the Pearl Continental Hotel late Tuesday after shooting the security guards and rammed the explosives-laden vehicle into its main building.

TDP MLA faults Naidu

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Hyderabad, June 10: The Legislative Assembly on Tuesday was agog with rumours that TDP MLA from Kovur in Nellore district, N Prasanna Kumar Reddy, was
contemplating to quit Telugu Desam and join Congress.

The rumour spread like wild fire as Prasanna Kumar distributed a letter which he said he had written to party president N Chandrababu Naidu. In the letter, Reddy has advised Naidu to be wary of `chamchas’ and `buffoons’ who had “surrounded him and giving wrong advice leading to hasty decisions on important issues.”

Protests continue in Shopian

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Srinagar, June 10: Normal life remained paralysed in Shopian district of south Kashmir for the 11th day today in protest against the alleged rape and murder of two women of the town, but there were no incidents of violence reported.

All shops and business establishments, banks, government offices, educational institutions remained closed and all modes of transport remained off the road in Shopian, 52 kms from here, official sources said here.

Patients’ deaths lead to protests at Gandhi, NIMS

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Hyderabad, June 10: Alleged negligence of doctors at two city hospitals led to the death of two patients sparking protests by the family members. In the first incident, an auto driver from Neredmet, who got admitted to the Gandhi General Hospital died of alleged negligence of the doctors. The auto driver, Krishna Murthy (35), fell off a bed in an inebriated condition late on Tuesday night. Krishna Murthy was shifted to the Gandhi Hospital where the doctors asked his wife, Susheela, to pay Rs 500 for a CT scan.