Gali Nagaraja

The number of unemployed people in France has risen to over three million for the first time since 1999, according to the labour ministry’s latest statistics.

According to the ministry’s monthly report, 23,900 more unemployed people entered the sluggish domestic labour market, up 0.8 percent compared to July, registering the 16th consecutive monthly rise. Last month, the total number of jobless stood at more than three million, a record high in 13 years, Xinhua reported.

On a yearly basis, the figure jumped by 9.2 percent.

The railways took responsibility for the train-bus collision that killed eight people in Bihar, Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa said here Thursday, a day after the tragedy.

“The accident which took place Wednesday was a sad incident and the railways is taking responsibility,” Muniyappa told journalists here.

Muniyappa, who arrived here Wednesday night to meet the injured in the Patna Medical College and Hospital, said an inquiry had been ordered.

“It was unfortunate. The accident had taken place at a manned railway crossing,” he said.

Hailing a Supreme Court ruling that transgenders have the same basic rights as every citizen, a Pakistani daily Thursday said that for years the community had been ostracised socially and denied their rights to respectable jobs, property and inheritance.

An editorial in the Daily Times said that “the state of minorities in Pakistan, whether religious or otherwise, is dismal to say the least”.

In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry stated that transgender individuals have the same basic rights as every citizen of Pakistan.

Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corp (RIICO) has posted a record profit of Rs.473.44 crore for 2011-12, a rise of an impressive 67.8 percent over the previous year, the state’s development catalyst said in a statement.

The state government-run firm also recorded a sharp rise in income at Rs.1,029.88 crore, which was an increase of 41.7 percent over the previous year, as per the annual report tabled by company chairman Sunil Arora.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi Wednesday opposed military intervention in Syria to settle the prevailing crisis in the country.

Morsi said Egypt would support such efforts to prevent a catastrophe in Syria that would “rule out the danger of foreign military intervention”.

On Tuesday, the emir of Qatar called for Arab military intervention in Syria.

The Syrian conflict has claimed up to 20,000 lives according to estimates by various Syrian opposition groups. The UN estimates the toll at over 18,000 people but the Syrian authorities say 8,000 people were killed.

Ace shuttler and Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal will fly Kiran Mk II jet trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Friday at the IAF’s training academy at Dundigal in Andhra Pradesh.

Saina has been invited to visit the Air Force Academy, Dundigal on September 28 as a special guest for the closing ceremony of the Inter Squadron Sports Championship.

During the visit, she is scheduled to fly a sortie on the Kiran trainer aircraft, the IAF said in a release.

A school bus driver was arrested here Wednesday after he ran over a student killing him, a police official said.

Akshay Kumar, 7, a student of Class 2, died after coming under the front wheel of the bus. He died on the spot, said a police official. He was the only child of his parents.

The bus was carrying nearly 50 children to school Wednesday morning.

The incident took place in the campus of M.D. Senior Secondary School Khod in Pataudi sub-division, 25 km from here.

A Delhi court Wednesday issued a warrant for 26/11 key suspect Abu Jundal to be brought before it Sep 28.

The court issued the warrant after taking note of the charge sheet filed against Jundal by the Delhi Police crime branch before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vidya Prakash Sep 20.

“Abu Jundal taught Hindi and local languages spoken in Mumbai to the 10 terrorists who perpetrated the 26/11 Mumbai attacks,” said police in their charge sheet.

A crucial meeting of the state NCP ended here Wednesday after resolving that party chief Sharad Pawar would take a final decision on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and other party ministers’ resignations Tuesday.

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, uncle of Ajit Pawar, has been authorised by the state unit to pronounce his final verdict on these resignations. He will be in Mumbai Friday to hammer out a solution to the ongoing stalemate.

Close on the heels of the gang-rape of a teenaged Dalit girl by eight youths in Hisar district earlier this month, a married woman in Haryana’s Jind district has alleged that she was gang-raped at gun-point last Friday by three youths inside her house.

The victim, who is in her mid-30s and is the mother of two children, and her husband Wednesday threatened to commit suicide in front of the office of the superintendent of police (SP) here, alleging that the Haryana Police were deliberately not taking any action against the accused.

A day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar resigned from the Maharashtra government over corruption charges, inviting similar offers from other party ministers, the BJP Wednesday said it was indicative of the allies abandoning a sinking UPA ship.

India has once again pressed Pakistan to provide it with voice samples of the Mumbai terror suspects, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, to nail them for their involvement in the November 2008 carnage.

The demand was reiterated by Indian Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde when he met his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik at Bandos Island in the Maldives Tuesday on the sidelines of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meet, according to Indian officials.

A one-and-half-year-old child of a pavement dweller was allegedly raped in Kolkata’s Park Street area late Tuesday. The severely injured child has been admitted to hospital, police said Wednesday.

“We have received a complaint of the alleged rape of a one-and-half-year-old toddler. She is the child of a pavement dweller and was allegedly raped late Tuesday,” a police official of the Park Street police station said.

“No arrest has been made so far. She has been admitted to a city hospital with serious injuries,” the official added.

—-IANS

Maoist insurgents shot and injured a police constable at a bus stand in Sukma town in Chhattisgarh, police officials said Wednesday.

“Pritam Singh Rajput was seriously injured when Maoist insurgents fleeing from Sukma bus stand to escape arrest fired at him. He received three gunshot wounds in the abdomen and leg,” said Sukma Collector Abhishek Sandilya.

The incident occurred at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening when a police team rushed to the bus stand after receiving information that three Maoist insurgents were waiting there to board a bus.

A number of NGOs and local parties Wednesday began an indefinite blockade of the national highway connecting Silchar of southern Assam with Mizoram to protest against alleged harassment of non-Mizos, leaving commuters stranded on either side.

The NH-306 (formerly NH 54) is the only surface communication link between land-locked Mizoram and the rest of India.

The road blockade was called by All Barak Youth Students’ Association (ABYSA) in association with some local non-political parties, and a number of clubs and social organisations.

The Uttar Pradesh Police has decided to set up anti-obscene call cells in all districts of the state in an effort to curb vulgar SMSes and calls on mobile phones belonging to girls and women, a police official said Wednesday.

Director General of Police (DGP) A.C. Sharma has directed all district police chiefs to set up an anti-obscene call cell in their respective districts to handle complaints of vulgar SMSes and calls on mobile phones.

Sri Lanka, which is expecting more than a million foreign visitors by the end of 2012, has set up a think tank for the development of tourism in the country, an official said Wednesday.

The Centre for Research and Sustainability Studies in Tourism (CRST) will gather information, analyze and disseminate data for better decision-making in the tourism industry, Dileep Mudadeniya, co-founder of the centre, told Xinhua.

Despite a rule prohibiting prisoners from going out of jail to tie the nuptial knot, the Bombay High Court has ordered release of a convict on parole for seven days to enable him solemnise his marriage.

Justices P.V. Hardas and M.L. Tahiliyani said, “It is true that as per Rule 19 relating to the release of prisoners on parole and furlough, the petitioner is not entitled to seek parole on the ground of his own marriage, yet we allow his plea in view of peculiar circumstances”.

Mr. Anurag Sharma, Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad told with full confidence that the Ganesh Procession will pass of peacefully on 29th September with the help of the people. He sought the corporation from the public.

Central Organization of Ahl-e-Sunnath-wo-Jamaat’s Secretary informs that a protest meeting will be arranged today after Isha prayer inside Darga Shareef Quadri Bagh Amberpet. Maulana Syed Shah Mohammed Qubool Pasha Shuttari will preside over the meeting. Maulana Syed Shah Akber Nizamuddin, Emir of Jamia Nizamiah and Musfti Khaleel Ahmed will address the gathering.

—-Siasat News

Muslims Girls’ Association will organize a lecture on “How to perform Hajj?” at Khaja Manision Function Hall, Masab Tank Hyderabad at 11 a.m. on Thursday, 27th September for ladies and girls.

Mr. Rafiuddin will explain various phases of Hajj with the help of a film projector.

All the girls and ladies who intend to perform Hajj this year are requested to attend this lecture.

—-Siasat News

A protest meeting was organized by All India Minorities’ Welfare Association under the chairmanship of Syed Shamshad Quadri on 23rd September at its head office at Happy Homes Heights, Rajender Nagar to agitate against the objectionable and blasphemous film produced by the Jewish producer Basil.

The speakers condemned the attempt of the producer and said that the Muslims can tolerate anything but the blasphemies against their prophet (PBUH). America and other western countries make such attempts from time to time, which hurt the sentiments of the Muslims.

China’s first aircraft carrier, which was commissioned Tuesday, is an important element in “comprehensive rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”, said a state-run Chinese daily amid an ongoing row with Japan over a group of islands.

An Op-Ed article in Global Times Wednesday said that besides improving the navy’s combat capabilities in distant waters, an aircraft carrier can also bring other benefits.

An independent ethics committee set-up by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) to investigate match-fixing claims will be submitting its reports later this week.

ZIFA early this year suspended more than 90 players and three board members on allegations of match-fixing following seemingly dubious games played in Asia between 2007 and 2009, reports Xinhua.

The suspensions saw most of the senior team players being sidelined, pending the outcome of investigations by the independent ethics committee.

Bihar plans to plant six crore saplings over the next five years to increase its green cover from 9.79 to 15 percent, an official said Wednesday.

“It is an ambitious scheme and a part of the government’s drive for ‘Harit Bihar'(Green Bihar campaign),” an official of the forest department told IANS.

Under the scheme, 3.6 crore popular saplings and 2.4 crore other varieties will be planted.

Farmers and locals will be paid Rs.15 for every tree they plant in the first year and Rs.10 each the next two years.