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Heavy rains lash Guj, Over 850 families in Junagadh shifted

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Rajkot/Ahmedabad, July 16: Over 850 families in Veraval and Mangrol talukas of Junagadh were shifted to safer and higher places following incessant rains for the past couple of days, district officials said today.

Relief camps have been set up for the displaced families where food packets and other necessary items were being distributed, they said, adding that water in many parts of Mangrol and Veraval have started receding since today morning.

Mother seeks justice for jailed son

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Ranchi, July 16: Bhajan Singh was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment in a murder case when he was just 14. His term ended last year, but he is not yet a free man, Singh’s mother said as she appealed for justice in the Janata Durbar of Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibte Razi.

Yasoda Devi, 65, a resident of Budmu village of Kake block of Ranchi on Wednesday appealed to the governor at his first such public interaction for the release of her son.

Yasoda was one of the thousands who came to the governor’s Janata Durbar seeking redressal of their grievances.

BT to revert 2,000 call centre jobs from India to UK

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London, July 16: BT chief executive Ian Livingston has announced that the company will revert at least 2,000 call centre jobs from India back to Britain.

The company has a significant presence in India where the telecom major has a customer service staff of 11,000 employees.

At the group’s annual meeting Livingston was asked by an investor when the group will close call centres in India.

Livingston disclosed the plans to revert jobs in his response to the question.

However, BT said the move had nothing to do with the quality of service offered in India.

Attack on Rita Bahuguna Joshi

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(UPCC chief’s arrest triggers uproar in Parliament)
New Delhi, July 16: The issue of arrest of Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi over her alleged anti-Mayawati remarks on Thursday created uproar in Parliament leading to adjournment of the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) and the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian Parliament) for an hour.

Higher fuel prices push inflation up to minus 1.21 pc

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New Delhi, July 16: Driven by higher prices of fuel items like petrol and diesel, inflation rose marginally to (-)1.21 per cent for the week ended July 4 against (-)1.55 per cent in the previous week.

At the same time, prices of food articles like cereals, pulses, spices, and fruit and vegetables also remained firm.

The wholesale price index during the corresponding week a year ago was as high as 12.19 per cent.

English Proficiency Course for women

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Hyderabad, July 16: English Language Teaching Center, Osmania University College for Women, Koti, will be conducting a Proficiency Course in English for women.

Dr K Sunita Aiyanna, coordinator of the Center, in a pressnote here on Wednesday, stated that woman candidates who have passed SSC are eligible for admission into the two-and-a-month course. The duration of the course is 100 hours and the classes will be conducted from 11 am to 1 pm and 3.30 pm to 5.30 pm from Monday to Friday.

Sri Lankan Army has nearly 65,000 deserters at large

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Colombo, July 16: The Sri Lankan army is grappling with the problem of ‘deserters’ with the number swelling to around 65,000, while 2,000 are in different prison.

There are around 65,000 army deserters at large while 2,000 are in prison, Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Law Reforms Suhada Gamlath said.

Once an army deserter is captured he is produced for a Court Martial and usually sentenced to an imprisonment not exceeding one year.

Nicole Kidman was strange: Rubina Ali

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London, July 16: ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ child star Rubina Ali describes Hollywood superstar Nicole Kidman as “strange” in her autobiography.

The nine-year-old girl, who has become one of the youngest person to publish her autobiography, ‘Slumgirl Dreaming: Journey to the Stars’, reveals how Kidman, who was in India to shoot for a commercial recently, was afraid to come out of her trailer.

Rubina played a small child enchanted with Nicole’s Indian princess character in the soft drink advertisement.

Coming soon: A grapefruit pill to fight obesity!

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London, July 16: Tart and tangy with an underlying sweetness, grapefruit has a juiciness which rivals that of the ever popular orange and sparkles with many of the same health promoting benefits.

And, now researchers are on track to develop a pill from a chemical compound in grapefruit, which they claim would help obese people shed the flab and diabetics control their blood sugar levels.

Lancashire Univ confers fellowship on Ganguly

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London, July 16: Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly added another feather to his cap when he was awarded an honorary fellowship by the University of Central Lancashire.

Ganguly, who retired from international cricket late last year after playing 113 Tests and 311 ODIs, was conferred the fellowship for his “unparalleled determination coupled with grit and talent”.

BSP demands apology from Sonia for Rita’s remarks

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New Delhi, July 16: The BSP today stepped up its campaign against Rita Bahuguna Joshi by demanding an apology from Congress president Sonia Gandhi for the UPCC chief’s alleged derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Mayawati.

BSP national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra steered clear of questions whether his party would withdraw support to the Congress-led coalition at the Centre.

Hearing Of Saeed Case, Pak Govt Seeks Adjounment

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Islamabad, July 16: The Pakistan government has requested the Supreme Court to suspend the hearing of the detention of Jamaat-ud-Daawa (JuD) chief Hafeez Mohammad Saeed for a week.

It cited the unavailability of Attorney General, Sardar Latif Khosa as the reason for the request, the Dawn reports.

Mayawati Avoid Personal Vendetta Urged By Center

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New Delhi, July 16: The Congress Party and UPA Government at the center has urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati to avoid settling political and personal scores through the through the nation’s courts.

However, it said the issue between UP Congress Committee Chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Mayawati is a matter both had to settle themselves.

The UPCC has demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the entire episode, as it has no faith in state investigating agencies.

Juidicial Custody Of Shiney Ahuja Ends Today

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Mumbai, July 16: The judicial custody of Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja, who was arrested for allegedly raping his domestic maid, ends today.

On July 2, Ahuja was remanded to judicial custody till today by a local Mumbai court.
The DNA test report of Ahuja confirmed that he sexually assaulted the victim. Earlier, medical reports had confirmed that Ahuja’’s maid was indeed raped.

The actor has been charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 376 with rape, along with wrongful restraint and intimidation.

RS adjourns after uproar over UPCC chief’s remarks

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New Delhi, July 16: BSP and Samajwadi Party members today forced adjournment of the Rajya Sabha for an hour over alleged inflammatory remarks made by Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi.

Soon after the House mourned the death of former member G Vijaya Mohan Reddy, BSP and SP members sprang to their feet seeking suspension of the Question Hour to discuss alleged anti-women remarks by Joshi at a rally in Moradabad.

Joshi was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police after making the remarks.

College girl abducted

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Moga, July 16: A girl was allegedly abducted by four persons, one of whom was known to the victim, from Dannuwala village here, police said today.

A case has been filed against four persons, including prime accused Pardeep Singh, on a complaint filed by the victim’s mother.

The girl, who studies in a college at Abohar, was abducted yesterday.

Victim’s mother in her complaint had alleged that Singh had abducted and raped her daughter in May and since then is evading arrest.

She also alleged that Singh had earlier been threatening the family and wanted to extort money from them.

New Indo-US strategic partnership to have six pillars: Clinton

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Washington, July 16: The new Indo-US strategic partnership to be launched in New Delhi next week during US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit has six pillars which include foreign policy, health, education, agriculture and economy.

On the eve of her departure for India, with Mumbai being her first stopover, the US Secretary of State said this would be the “most wide-ranging” strategic dialogue ever between the two countries.

Space shuttle Endeavour hit by part of fuel tank insulation

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Washington, July 16: Several pieces of insulation broke free from the space shuttle Endeavour’s external fuel tank when it took off and at least one piece hit the orbiter.

Three heat-resistant tiles on the shuttle’s underside were affected, but the damage during Wednesday’s launch was superficial, the associate administrator for space operations William H Gerstenmaier said.

The crew would check the shuttle after arrival at the International Space Station.

Burnt house, 14 days in jail for Rita Bahuguna Joshi

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Lucknow, July 16: Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi was today sent to Moradabad jail on 14 days’ judicial custody on a charge of insulting Chief Minister Mayawati, after members of the state’s ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) set fire to Joshi’s home here late on Wednesday night. The Congress described the incident as “state sponsored vandalism”.

Militants planned to attack Sri Lanka team on March 1: Report

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Karanchi, July 16: In a startling revelation, the Pakistan interior ministry investigation into the Lahore terror attack claims that the militants had planned to strike on the Sri Lankan cricket team on March 1 instead of March 3.

According to the investigation report submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports, the militants wanted to strike on the first day of the Lahore Test i.e. March 1, but had to do away with their plan as the Sri Lankan team bus had already left the liberty roundabout near the Gaddafi stadium, the place of the attack.

Gambhir replaces Yousuf in ICC test rankings

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New Delhi, July 16: Gautam Gambhir became the number one batsman, replacing Pakistani run-machine Mohammad Yousuf in the latest ICC Test Player rankings issued on Wednesday.

Incidentally, Gambhir reached the top when the ODI batting chart is also led by an Indian, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Yousuf, who had returned to the batting table last week in number one position after his century in the first Test at Galle, flopped in the second Test to drop to fifth position. Accordingly, Gambhir became the sixth India batsman to lead the batting table in this version of the game.

Madrassa reform proposal evokes mixed response

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New Delhi, July 16: Should the education imparted at madrassas be broad-based to include subjects like English, maths, science and computers to make it employment oriented? The proposal by Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal has not found favour with madrassa authorities, though it has been welcomed by many Muslim intellectuals.

Rita Bahuguna Joshi in jail for 14 days

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Lucknow, July 16: Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi was Thursday sent to Moradabad jail on 14 days’ judicial custody on a charge of insulting Chief Minister Mayawati, after members of the state’s ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) set fire to Joshi’s home here late Wednesday night.

Around the time her house was under attack, Joshi was arrested in Ghaziabad en route to New Delhi. She was charged under the Scheduled caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Mayawati.

Operation Sarah: How the Prime Minister’s wife is rebranding herself

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London, July 16: When Gordon Brown sat down at a press conference at the G8 summit in Italy last week and solemnly pronounced that allegations of phone-hacking by The News of the World constituted a “very serious” matter, he may not have given much thought as to who exactly will be editing that newspaper’s magazine, Fabulous, this weekend.

China Carrying Out ‘Refugee Espionage’ to Keep An Eye On Uighur’s Abroad

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Dalarna, July 15: The arrest of a Uighur exile in Sweden on charges of ‘refugee espionage’ last month, suggests how far China may extend to keep an eye on the ethnic group, which it believes is a threat to the nation.

The Swedish Security Police, earlier on June 4, had arrested Babur Mehsut, a Uighur exile and naturalized Swedish citizen.