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Shutdown in Telangana over suicides for separate state

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A daylong shutdown began across Andhra Pradesh’s Telangana region Tuesday following a call by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to protest the central government’s insensitivity towards the demand for a separate state, which is driving youth to commit suicide.

Shops and business establishments remained closed in most parts of Telangana, which comprises 10 districts including Hyderabad.

State-owned Road Transport Corporation (RTC) buses were plying as usual as the TRS has exempted the bus transport service from the shutdown in view of the ongoing Class 10 examination.

Anna Hazare losing relevance: Bal Thackeray

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Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray Tuesday questioned the relevance of the anti-corruption crusade by veteran activist Anna Hazare and his team members.

In an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna, Thackeray said that for the first time since Hazare’s “flop show” in Mumbai in December last year, Team Anna had again featured in the news.

Andhra government to start conservation work on Mecca Masjid

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The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to start chemical conservation and preservation work on the historic Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad.

The work is to be carried out at a cost of Rs.37.62 lakh and is expected to be completed before the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan this year. “Muslims will be able to witness and enjoy the historical monument in its new glaring and fascinating form,” said Minorities Welfare Minister Mohammed Ahmedullah.

Tunisian Islamists step up demand for Islamic state

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Thousands of Tunisian Islamists took to the streets on Sunday to step up their demands for the creation of an Islamic state in one of the most secular Arab nations.

About 8,000 conservative Salafi Islamists filled the capital’s Habib Bourguiba Avenue, a focal point of the 2011 revolution that sparked uprisings across the Arab world.

Waving black flags, they shouted slogans demanding that Islamic law, or sharia, be defined as the main source of legislation in Tunisia’s new constitution.

Man shot dead in fight at wedding

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A 26-year-old man was killed and two others were injured in a fight between two groups at a marriage ceremony in north Delhi, police said Sunday.

“The incident was reported in the marriage ceremony of Sajid in Jahangir Puri area when Sajan and his father Dilshad had an altercation over the DJ with Sahibul, which turned into a brawl,” said a police officer.

Sahibul, 25, opened fire at the two, killing Sajan and injuring Dilshad, 56.

The two were taken to a hospital where Sajan was declared dead and Dilshad treated and pronounced out of danger.

A coaching centre for the poor – inside a police station!

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Police’s role often doesn’t end with busting crime and jailing criminals. In a first of its kind initiative, Delhi Police has begun a coaching centre for students from economically weaker sections, particularly Muslims, to help them prepare for competitive examinations.

The centre housed in the Jamia Nagar police station will provide free tutoring for competitive exams to students who cannot afford the high fees demanded by coaching centres. It is to start in May this year.

Iraqi woman Shaima Alawadi dies after brutal racist attack in US

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A 32-year-old woman from Iraq who was found severely beaten next to a threatening note saying ‘go back to your country’ died yesterday. Shaima Alawadi was taken off life support three days after being attacked with a tire iron, according to Hanif Mohebi, director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

‘The family is in shock at the moment. They’re still trying to deal with what happened,’ Mr Mohebi said.

Suicides no solution to any issue

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Stating that suicides were not a solution to the Telangana issue, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has urged the youth not to lose their golden future by undergoing emotions.

Speaking to the media before emplaning for Visakhapatnam, Kiran said that suicides were not a solution to any issue. The Centre would take a decision at appropriate time on the issue, he added. The Centre was aware of the sentiment and aspirations of people of Telangana, he added.

I hope an Indian breaks my records: Sachin

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India’s batting legend Sachin Tendulkar Sunday said it would be tough to predict when and who will break his record of 100 international centuries but hoped to see an Indian surpassing it.

“I don’t know. I don’t think you can predict that (whether it will be surpassed). I guess all the records are meant to be broken but I hope it’s an Indian,” said Tendulkar during a felicitation programme here to commemorate his 100th international ton that he achieved during the recently held Asia Cup.

Muslims protest for Kazmi’s release

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Muslim organisations in the city on Sunday held a protest here demanding release of journalist Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi who has been arrested for his alleged role in the February 13 bombing of an Israeli diplomat car.

The agitators led by the Muslim welfare organization ‘Idara-e-Faizul Islam’, staged a peaceful protest in front of town hall carrying banners and shouting slogans demanding immediate release of Kazmi.

Tension at Telangana student’s funeral procession

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The suicide of a student for separate statehood to Telangana has brought the issue back into focus with a shutdown being observed Sunday in Warangal district amid tension and some groups calling for a two-day protest.

Tension prevailed in Warangal town Sunday during the funeral procession of MBA student Bhojya Naik, who immolated himself Saturday to protest the delay in carving out Telangana state.

Jayalalithaa writes to Andhra CM, seeks release of water

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has written to her Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Kiran Kumar Reddy seeking release of four tmcft of water from Kandaleru reservoir due for the months of January-April.

“As you are aware, a quantity of 4 tmcft of water is due from January to April for the augmentation of drinking water supply to Chennai, as per the Krishna water agreement,” she said in a letter to him on Saturday.

CBI Recovers Murder Weapon in Shehla Masood Case

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The CBI today said that the weapon used in the murder of RTI Activist Shehla Masood has been recovered at the instance of Saqib Ali who is accused of hiring contract killers to murder her.

A CBI spokesperson said in New Delhi that the weapon, a country-made bullet, was recovered at the instance of Ali alias ‘danger’ and has been since sent for forensic examination.

Changes in marriage law welcome, says women

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The government’s move to make divorce a quicker process has been largely welcomed as a long overdue step though some women activists and lawyers have voiced doubts over doing away with the six month cooling off period.

The common strain among the women was that law should move along with changing times and there should not be any mechanical import of western ideas.

“I welcome it. Divorce should be made easier and the laws should keep pace with the changing times,” Rekha Palli, a Supreme Court lawyer, told IANS.

US senator working on bill to allow more visas to Indians

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Amid Indian IT firms’ concerns over restrictive US visa policies for their employees, a top American senator has assured that he is working on a bipartisan bill that will reform immigration laws and allow more Indians to come to America.

Influential US Senator from New York Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid met Indian-American hotelier and Chairman of Indian-American Democrats Sant Singh Chatwal at his Manhattan hotel here on Friday.

About 70 percent of India is poor

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Debunking the government’s claim that the number of poor in India has come down, a top adviser has claimed that around 70 percent of the country’s 1.2 billion population is poor, and stressed the need for a multi-dimensional assessment of poverty.

“The government claim that poverty has come down is not valid… there is a need for a multi-dimensional assessment of poverty as around 70 percent of the population is poor,” National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena told IANS in an interview.

When Vidya Balan mirrored Sunny Leone

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Mumbai: American porn star Sunny Leone couldn’t have dreamt that her stint on ‘Bigg Boss’ would win her a role in mainstream Bollywood cinema. And the actress is currently in India to realise her dream – become an actress of the top league.

Sunny is leaving no stone unturned to get her Hindi accent and command over the language corrected. She is doing all possible things to ensure her performance in Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Jism 2’ stands out and helps her find a permanent seat in the Hindi filmdom.

Pakistani Taliban now training Frenchmen?

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Dozens of French Muslims are training with the Taliban in northwestern Pakistan, raising fears of future attacks following the shooting deaths of seven people in southern France allegedly by a man who spent time in the region, Pakistani intelligence officials said today.

Authorities are investigating whether Mohamed Merah, the Frenchman of Algerian descent who is suspected of killing three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three French
paratroopers in Toulouse this month, was among the training group, the officials said.

After UP, power at Centre is our next target: Mulayam

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A day after speaking of the possibility of early Lok Sabha elections, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday asked workers to prepare for grabbing power at the Centre.

“After the victory in the 2012 assembly elections, our next target is grabbing (power) at Delhi in the next Lok Sabha elections for which all workers would have to start preparations from now”, Yadav said addressing SP workers at the party headquarters here.

Anna lacks scientific ideas to end corruption: Justice Katju

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Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju on Saturday said anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare lacks scientific ideas which are needed to solve the problem of graft.

The PCI chairman also took a dig at the media for “hyping” up the issues such as the 100th century of Sachin Tendulkar, retirement of Rahul Dravid, pregnancy of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and death of film star Dev Anand.

Nargis Fakhri And Shahid Kapoor Living Together?

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Nargis Fakhri has moved into Shahid Kapoor’s Versova flat and lived there for five or six days. A leading media channel quoted a neighborhood source, “Two weeks ago, Nargis stayed over at his place for five to six days. It appears the duo have become more and more familiar and comfortable with each other.”

Severe malnutrition among migrant Gotti Koya children

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Over four years after the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) order, a number of Gotti Koya tribe children who migrated from conflict zone of Chhattisgarh to villages in Warangal district continue to suffer from severe malnutrition and lack of access to safe drinking water and education.

Saleh ‘must stand trial for killings’

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Tens of thousands protested across the country yesterday, demanding that their former President be put on trial.

Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down last month in a deal that protected him from prosecution, but he is still in Yemen. The government has said at least 2,000 people have been killed in a year of turmoil. Protesters want the immunity deal cancelled so that Mr Saleh and his relatives can be put on trial for the killings.

Mr Saleh was expected to leave Yemen, but critics say he is still interfering in the government.

British man jailed for biting wife’s nose

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An elderly teacher in Britain has been jailed for biting off his wife’s nose during a quarrel.

Nicholas Gough, 59, attacked his 52-year-old wife Lynne after drinking a bottle of wine.

He swore at his wife and held her down on the floor. Gough then sank his teeth into the end of her nose, leaving her face pouring with blood.

But after the attack, Gough tried to persuade his wife to blame the injury on their dog.

The wife instead reported him to the police and he was jailed for five years at the Wolverhampton Crown Court.

—IANS