faheem Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has conveyed to the Indian government his desire to visit the Sufi shrine of Ajmer Sharif in India this month, official sources here said.
The visit is expected to take place around April 8, official sources said.
The request was received by the Indian external affairs ministry a couple of days ago and the government is considering it, the sources said.
The revived Telangana statehood agitation has taken a new turn with a spate of suicides being reported from across the region despite political parties pleading with the youth not to resort to such a drastic step.
In the latest instance, a tribal youth attempted suicide in Nalgonda district, while another youth in the city succumbed to burns yesterday after battling for life for three days. In all as many as five incidents of suicide have been reported during the week.
The CBI Saturday told a Delhi court hearing a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar that police kept their eyes closed during the carnage.
While advancing the final arguments, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) counsel R.S. Cheema said: “This was a case where the police acted in a pre-planned manner and every policemen was keeping his eyes closed.”
Cheema told Additional Sessions Judge J.R. Aryan that 150 complaints were made regarding the riot related incidents but only five cases were registered by police.
YSR Congress party Saturday termed as “fraudulent” the charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in an alleged illegal assets case against its leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.
The party alleged that it was done in a hurry to prevent bail for Vijay Sai Reddy, and said it is exploring legal options to challenge the charge sheet.
The Centre today said it will convene a meeting of political parties of Andhra Pradesh to discuss Telangana issue only when it gets the views from all of them and appealed to youngsters not to take their own lives for the cause.
Home Minister P Chidambaram said four political parties in Andhra Pradesh – Congress, TDP, MIM and YSR Congress – are yet to make up their mind about their stand on Telangana.
It is not a carnival in the truest sense, but the four-day defence exposition in progress at the Pragati Maidan, India’s major trade exhibition venue, is attracting both young and old, with love for all things military.
The biennial exposition, said to be the largest in Asia, is in only in its seventh edition, and it mainly focuses on land and naval military systems, be it the hard, rugged weapons and vehicles, to the soft and trendier electronics and communications equipment.
Hacker group Anonymous has rubbished the media report that said it planned to take down the entire internet on Saturday.
“What is this #OperationGlobalBlackout nonsense? I thought we settled this back in February? It won’t happen. Stop asking us about it! >.<," the group's account (@youranonnews) tweeted on March 29. Another account, (@AnonymousIRC), added, "Dear Netizens, Internet will remain online. And to the death we will defend it. Always. Sail strong and do not get distracted by trolls."
Sultana’s Dream a science-fiction was first published in 1905 making it probably the first Indian sci-fi work. It is a short story written by Roquia Sakhawat Hussain. Begum Roquia was born in 1880 at Rangpur which is now in Bangladesh.
In an effort to prevent child marriages, the administration of Bharatpur district in Rajasthan has made it mandatory for the date of birth of the groom and bride to be printed on the wedding invitation card, an official said Saturday.
Many child marriage cases are reported on Akshaya Tritiya in Bharatpur, about 180 km from here.
A teenager immolated himself in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region after his parents failed to provide him with new clothes to wear during his examinations.
Though his age was not disclosed, Kamran was a ninth grade student in Shabqadar town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Dawn reported Saturday.
Neighbours in Samnath area claimed that Kamran had asked his parents to buy him new clothes ahead of his examinations but his poor parents could not afford to do so.
Disheartened by his family’s poverty, Kamran sprinkled petrol and set himself ablaze, they said.
It’s that time of the year again. IPL time. This fifth edition of the IPL seems to have a renewed interest among the populace. I mean, for some reason the average cricket fan seems to be excited once more and is looking forward to an exciting IPL season 5.
There are certain cricket snobs who claim to enjoy only test cricket but I think there is something in the IPL for everyone. Super cricket, retired greats no longer playing international cricket, youngsters looking to make a mark, and of course the larger than life team owners who lend a healthy dose of glamour.
When Akhilesh Yadav took the reins of the country’s most populous state on March 15, the problems he would face as Uttar Pradesh’s youngest chief minister were quite evident. Not the least among them, a ticklish one—of living in the shadow of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. A veteran at grassroots politics, the older Yadav still has steam in him.
Jalandhar girl Vanya Mishra was Friday crowned Pantaloons Femina Miss India (PFMI) World 2012 title at a gala event here.
She will represent India at the global pageant later this year.
Rochelle Maria Rao from Chennai won the title of Miss India International, while Prachi Mishra from Pune is Miss India Earth.
Israel’s military may have negotiated access to strategically placed air bases in Azerbaijan that could be used in an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, US officials have said.
The unconfirmed report in Foreign Policy magazine suggested deepening co-operation between Israel and the Caucasian republic, which shares a border with Iran. It said that Israel and Azerbaijan secured a $1.6bn arms deal in February, which included the pledged sale of drones and anti-aircraft missile systems to Baku.
With a Comptroller and Auditor General of India report alleging financial irregularities worth thousands of crores of rupees by the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat, the Congress Friday trained its guns at the Bharatiya Janata Party and said “loot in state feeds the party’s central leadership”.
“The BJP tolerates Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as he feeds the party’s central leadership by indulging in corruption,” leader of the opposition in Gujarat assembly Shakti Sinh Gohil told reporters here.
The Bheemili Court in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday postponed hearing to April 16 on a case implicating Anushka and others for buying a piece of land in Madhurawada from people with fake documents.
Anushka, along with top Tollywood director S S Rajamouli’s wife Rama and others, had reportedly bought a piece of land in Madhurawada in 2010, which allegedly belonged to an NRI.
The NRI, whose name is Lingamurthy, went to the court for help. Anushka was asked to attend the court earlier to resolve the issue but she approached the High Court against personal appearence, it is said.
CBI sleuths have questioned the suspended and jailed IAS officer Srilakshmi in the Chanchalguda Jail, in connection with the illegal assets case against Kadapa MP and YSR Congress party chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
It may be mentioned here that the CBI recently obtained permission of the CBI Special Judge’s Court to question Srilakshmi arrested in Obulapuram Mining irregularities case, in connection with Jagan assets case also. The CBI also obtained permission from the court to question V D Raja Gopal, another accused in the OMC case, in the jail.
Are you a die hard Katrina Kaif fan? A limited range of collectible bottles inspired by the actress has been launched and fans can get a chance to own them by winning a contest.
The bottles have been launched as part of a campaign by beverage brand Slice, endorsed by Katrina.
These bottles are not just for everybody to buy, and neither do they contain any beverage inside. These are collectible bottles, only to be won by her fanatic fans, by participating in the ‘Katrina Ka Number, Crown Ke Under’ programme.
Osama bin Laden spent nine years on the run in Pakistan after the September 11 attacks, during which time he moved among five safe houses and fathered four children, at least two of whom were born in a government hospital, his youngest wife has told Pakistani investigators.
Osama bin Laden’s three widows are under house arrest in Islamabad, and they and two children face prosecution.
37% of toilets in the capital’s government schools are “very dirty” and in “subhuman” condition, a survey done by the NGO CRY has revealed.
The study by Child Rights and You (CRY) Thursday said 318 toilets were scrutinised in 44 schools across the city and the situation was the worst in schools in the northwest, northeast and outer districts of Delhi.
Interestingly, the survey revealed that 15 percent of the toilets in all the schools were reserved for staff and were much cleaner.
A sub-inspector and a constable of Uttar Pradesh police were shot at and critically wounded inside a police station by a drunken youth here early Friday, police said.
Sub-inspector Devendra Singh was shot at twice in the head by a youth at the Naubasta police station where he is the station officer. He was rushed to the Regency Hospital where he is battling for life, police spokesman said.
The constable injured in the firing is in serious condition but out of danger.
Helen of Troy has nothing on Poonam Pandey. Helen’s face might have launched a thousand ships but our Poonam’s pics, morphed or real, have launched hundreds of thousands of tweets. Now she can add the dubious claim of sparking communal unrest to her already extensive resume.
Until he became a burning sensation in the international media, the story of Jamphel Yeshi, 27, was no different from the few million Tibetans who live today in what Chinese leaders call a Socialist Haven or China’s Tibet. He was one of those 10,000 odd young Tibetans who could smuggle themselves out of Tibet in recent years in search of better education or to find some breathing space for their suffocated souls.
: Indonesia is preparing to ban the mini-skirt under its tough anti-pornography laws ‘because they make men do things’. The Muslim country’s powerful religious affairs minister said that one of the considerations in its review of what could be considered pornographic would be ‘when someone wears a skirt above the knee’.
Minister Suryadharma Ali started a war against the mini-skirt almost as soon as he was appointed to run Indonesia’s new anti-porn task force earlier this month.
Nallapureddy Prasanna Kumar Reddy, elected from YSR Congress Party was administered oath by Speaker Nadendla Manohar in Andhra Pradesh Assembly today.
Mr Reddy was elected from Kovur Assembly Constituency in Nellore District in the by-polls held on March 18.
The strength of YSR Congress Party in the house has risen to two.