News

Mom’s kiss killed 11-day-old

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London, February 28: An 11-day-old baby girl died after her mother unwittingly infected her with the virus which causes cold sores, probably through a kiss or breastfeeding, a coroner ruled.
An inquest on Thursday found newborn Jennifer Schofield died from Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV). Her mother Ruth, 35, probably caught it late into her pregnancy, the coroner said, most likely for the first time in her life, meaning she had not developed immunity and nor had her child.

The virus attacked the baby’s major organs and she died within days.

Court orders Andhra ACB to file case against CM

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Hyderabad, February 28: The Anti-Corruption Bureau here has been ordered to register a case against Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, irrigation minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah and nine others for alleged misappropriation of public funds.
In a case related to the controversial Yellampalli irrigation project, a special court of the Bureau directed the ACB Director General on Friday to conduct a detailed investigation into the allegations and submit a report to it by March 26.

Reaching 10,000 run mark means a lot, says Kallis

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New South Wales, February 28: South African cricketer Jacques Kallis has become the eighth player to join Test cricket’ 10,000-run club in the first Test against Australia at Wanderers.
‘It’s really important I think,’ Kallis said after Australia made 466 and South Africa went to stumps at 3-85 in reply, including 27 from Kallis.

‘Looking back at the career when I started if someone had said that I would have got 10,000 Test runs, I would have taken that with both hands and I probably wouldn’t have believed them.

Controversial question on Azamgarh scrapped

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Lucknow, February 28: A controversial question on Azamgarh’s alleged links with terror has been scrapped from the Uttar Pradesh civil services preliminary examination following objections from the Ulema Council, it was announced Saturday.
The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission said in a statement: ‘After giving thought to the objections from a certain community, the question has been scrapped.’

The commission has also blacklisted the person who set the question, the statement said.

Anonymous letter threatens terror strikes in Uttar Pradesh

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Lucknow, February 27: Days after a caller from Pakistan warned of terror strikes in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, the police have received an anonymous letter naming sites where the attacks would take place, an official said Friday.

‘We received the letter Thursday night from a local journalist, who got a call on his mobile phone to collect the letter placed near a pole outside City Palace shopping complex in Saharanpur,’ district police chief Amit Chandra told IANS over phone.

Sania jumps 12 places to 75 in tennis rankings

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New Delhi, February 24: Sania Mirza leafrogged 12 places to be at 75th position in Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) charts while Somdev Devvarman climbed four rungs to be at 150th in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings on Monday.

Sania has made a stupendous comeback after being sidelined by a wrist injury much of last year, first winning the Australian Open mixed doubles title with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi and then reaching the Pattaya Open final.

Playing conditions hold the key: Dhoni

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Christchurch, February 25: “The Rockstars of Cricket are coming,” read the banner at the AMI Stadium — three shadowy figures, set against a backdrop of orange, purple, and blue, strumming bat-shaped guitars.

New Zealand Cricket, which will earn $25 million in television rights from India’s tour, certainly didn’t hold back in selling its affluent and popular visitors.

Flintoff confident of IPL participation

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Barbados, February 24: Andrew Flintoff has said he has no plans to pull out of the Indian Premier League in April, despite England’s concerns over the hip injury that has already forced him to miss Thursday’s fourth Test against West Indies in Barbados.

Meet the man who said Jai Ho

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Mysore, February 24: Jai Ho, these two words are on everyone’s lips today. The man who said these words is Vijay Prakash from Mysore. “It is with the grace of Goddess Chamundeshwari that the song won an Oscar and I am proud to be a co-singer.

I am grateful to my father, mother and brother for their unstinted support,” an emotional Vijay Prakash told TOI after Jai Ho won the Oscar.

Fiza seeks Sonia’s intervention

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Chandigarh, February 25: A day after former Haryana deputy chief minister Chander Mohan alias Chand Mohammed denied disowning her,

wife Fiza demanded on Tuesday that Congress president Sonia Gandhi take action against the Kalka Congress MLA “for running down the dignity of a woman”.

In a brief fax sent to Mohali Police from the UK on Monday, Chand, son of former chief minister Bhajan Lal, categorically denied changing his Islamic faith and abandoning Fiza.

Haryana hurry for auction bid to bypass new norms

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New Delhi, February 24: The Haryana government hurrying to auction off what it calls the”remaining stones” of Khori Jamalpur and Sirohi may be a bid to bypass a new set of guidelines that Haryana officials agreed to during a meeting with the central empowered committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court.

These are now under consideration of SC and will probably be taken up

during the hearings in the matter between March 18-20.

The state government, at a meeting with the CEC and the Forest Survey of India on January 7,

Boards have nothing new to offer

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Ahmedabad, February 24: The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board declared its plan of action on Monday to curtail invigilators from any misconduct for the forthcoming class X and XII exams beginning from March 17.

Obama wants to watch Slumdog Millionaire

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Washington, February 25: After receiving accolades worldwide and sweeping Oscars, Slumdog Millionaire, the feel good film about a Mumbai tea boy, has now caught the fancy of US president Barack Obama.

Barack ObamaObama wants to watch British Director Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, which is made with a modest budget of USD 13 million and has so far grossed around USD 100 million.

Won’t allow terrorists to attack from safe havens

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Washington, February 25: Sending a strong message to Pakistan and Afghanistan, President Barack Obama on Wednesday asserted that terrorists will not be allowed to plot against the US from safe havens “half a world away”.

He also promised to forge a new and comprehensive strategy with US’ allies to defeat Al-Qaeda and combat extremism.

“With our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat Al-Qaeda and combat extremism,” Obama said in his maiden address to the joint session of the US Congress.

Mumbai attackers’ phones traced to Italy, US

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Rome, February 25: Militants behind last year’s attacks on Mumbai used cell phones that were activated in the United States and paid for with funds sent from Italy, an Italian newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Corriere della Sera daily said India sent the intelligence information to Italy and other countries so anti-terrorism investigators could attempt to expose any ties to the network behind the November assault that killed at least 179 people.

Islamabad acknowledged for the first time this month that the November assault was launched from, and partly planned in, Pakistan.

Day of reckoning has arrived, Obama tells Americans

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Washington, February 25: President Barack Obama has asked Americans to ‘confront boldly the challenges we face’, saying the ‘day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is here’.

‘Now is the time to act boldly and wisely – to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity,’ he said in his first speech Tuesday to a joint session of Congress.

Our foreign policy will have muscle: Advani

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New Delhi, February 24: The National Democratic Alliance, if elected to power, would pursue a “muscular foreign policy” that would preserve the country’s autonomy and secure its interests in the neighbourhood, Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani said here on Monday.

Mr. Advani was summing up the party’s view after a meeting with experts on foreign policy issues at his residence.

Thackeray refuses to meet Advani

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Mumbai, February 24: Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray refused to meet BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani here on Tuesday, sources said.

Advani is in Mumbai for a party function.

Sources also said that Advani wanted to meet Thackeray, but was refused a meeting with the Shiv Sena head

–Agencies

‘End factionalism in Congress’

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New Delhi, February 25: With elections around the corner, Congress President Sonia Gandhi Wednesday said there will be no problem within the party if factionalism ended.

“If factionalism comes to an end, there is no problem at all,” she said addressing party MPs in the last meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party of the 14th Lok Sabha, Union Minister Kapil Sibal said.

Gandhi said the party ran a coalition government successfully and asked the party MPs to spread the message of achievements of the government all across the country.

Pranab presents Interim Budget in Parliament

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New Delhi, February 16: Presenting the Interim Budget in the Parliament, acting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that the economy had maintained a growth between 7%-8% and per capita income had grown by 7.4% in the last 4 yrs. He also said that government was within striking distance of fiscal correction. He people of India had voted for change. He referred to the CMP of the UPA which he said was created to bring about this change.

Sebi team reaches hyderabad to enquire Raju

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Hyderabad, February 04: A team of officials from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) reached the Chanchalguda Central Jail here Wednesday to begin questioning Satyam Computer Services founder B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother B. Rama Raju over the Rs.70-billion accounting fraud.
Hyderabad, February 04: A team of officials from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) reached the Chanchalguda Central Jail here Wednesday to begin questioning Satyam Computer Services founder B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother B. Rama Raju over the Rs.70-billion accounting fraud.

India can give befitting reply to erring neighbours: Sonia

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“India’s identity in the world is that people of various religions and communities live here in harmony… Our neighbours want to weaken our strength and destroy unity and brotherhood. They are not aware that we can give a befitting reply,” Gandhi said addressing a public rally here.

All-time cricket greats based on an uncomplicated formula

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New Delhi, January 17: Greatness in any sport is not something that can be measured by numbers alone – thankfully so. But that’s not to say all statistical Greats Sachin Tendulkar & Rahul Dravid. methods of arriving at a list of all-time greats are completely valid or invalid. Rubbishing the methods used by the official ICC rankings is all very well, but could there have been a better list?

Obama says economy will worsen, even with stimulus

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New York, January 17:A nude picture of Madonna, taken when the queen of pop was a struggling dancer in New York in 1979, is expected to sell for at least $10,000, auction house Christie’s said Friday.

Madonna received $25 in payment for the modelling session, after answering a newspaper ad by photographer Lee Friedlander. The results of the session were published in Playboy magazine in 1985.

The full-frontal nude print, which is said to be the most revealing of the series, will be sold Feb 12 in New York, with many expecting Madonna herself to be among the high bidders.

Mumbai Police file case against terror ‘witness’

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Mumbai, January 17:Mumbai Police’s crime branch has registered an offence against Colaba Fishermen Colony resident Anita R. Uddaiya for attempting to mislead investigators in the Nov 26 terror attacks, a senior official said here Friday.

Mumbai, January 17:Mumbai Police’s crime branch has registered an offence against Colaba Fishermen Colony resident Anita R. Uddaiya for attempting to mislead investigators in the Nov 26 terror attacks, a senior official said here Friday.