Gali Nagaraja

India, China to resume army exercises from next year

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India and China are expected to resume their bilateral military exercises from next year and a decision in this regard is likely to be taken during the five-day visit of Chinese Defence Minister Gen Liang Guanglie.

During Gen Liang’s visit starting Monday next week, the two sides will discuss about having more Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) and ways of strengthening their military ties, a senior official of the Defence Ministry said here.

Poor show in parliament again – but it was not like this earlier

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As another parliament session nears its end marred by continuous holdups and with little work done, the 15th Lok Sabha will go down as one that has lost over a quarter of its time to disruptions.

With around 100 bills pending before parliament, including some over 20 years old, there is very little chance of the 15th Lok Sabha, whose term ends in less than two years, getting much work done.

Iran-Russia ties key to ‘regional, global peace’

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Iran and Russia have common views on a large number of international issues and closer bilateral ties between them will facilitate regional and international peace and stability, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani has said.

“The two countries share many interests and common views in international fields that can serve as a basis for constructive cooperation between Tehran and Moscow,” Larijani was cited by Press TV.

He was speaking during a meeting with Konstantin Shuvalov, the Russian presidential representative at the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), in Tehran.

15 killed in Syria car bombing

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At least 15 people were killed in Syria Saturday when a booby-trapped car exploded at a restive suburb of Damascus in the evening, Xinhua reported.

It was the third car bomb blast hitting the country in a single day.

The car went off near a mosque in the Sbaineh suburb, reported state-run SANA news agency, adding that 15 civilians had been killed. The area is dominated by Palestinian refugees.

Earlier in the day, an explosive device ripped through an army officer’s car in the Damascus’s Rukn Addien district, killing the officer and injuring others, the state media said.

RGV ready to scare audience with ‘Bhoot Returns’

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Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who introduced a new age of horror films with Ajay Devgn-starrer “Bhoot”, is all set to roll out its sequel “Bhoot Returns”.

After the success of the first part released in 2003, Varma was keen on making a sequel to be titled “Bhoot 2” and it was registered by producer Nitin Manmohan’s company.

At that time, Varma and Nitin were together. However, after they parted ways, the latter announced “Bhoot 2” with Vikram Bhatt as the director.

Hyderabad student’s family says he is innocent

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The family of a city student who was arrested by the Bangalore police Friday in an alleged terror plot has claimed that he is innocent.

Kausar Begum, mother of Mohammed Ubaidru Rehman, said he had no links with any terror outfit or anybody from Bangalore.

She told reporters that the police were trying to implicate him in a false case as the family is related to Moulana Naseeruddin, a cleric who was arrested by Gujarat police in connection with the murder of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya.

Moulana Naseeruddin spent six years in a Gujarat jail and was acquitted.

Nadiadwala replaces Kunder as ‘Kick’ director

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Just a day after the release of his latest film “Joker”, Shirish Kunder announced Saturday that he is no longer on board as the director of Salman Khan-starrer “Kick”. The movie’s producer Sajid Nadiadwala will step behind the camera for it now.

“Sajid Nadiadwala will be directing ‘Kick’. He had originally envisioned the project and I feel he is the best person to bring it to life,” tweeted Kunder.

“Kick” is the Hindi remake of a 2009 Telugu film of the same name.

Kajol has always been lucky for me: Karan Johar

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Kajol is a must have for filmmaker Karan Johar in all his films because he feels his close friend is lucky for him. No wonder the actress features in a cameo in the song “Disco deewane” in Johar’s forthcoming film “Student of The Year” (SOTY).

“Kajol is in the disco song and she has danced with the boys (Siddharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan). Kajol’s presence is very important for me. She has been there in every film of mine and she has always been lucky,” the 40-year-old said here.

Girl committed suicide after being sexually abused

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(Siasat News)The death case of an SSC student two weeks back took a serious turn after forensic reports confirmed that the girl had been sexually assaulted before death.

Police initially suspected Kanakaraju to be the culprit since the girl received the last call from his cell hone but he committed suicide two days after appearing before the police by jumping into the local tank.

The case got a new turn when forensic report claim that the girl was sexually abused just few hours before her suicide.

Pakistan beat Australia by seven wickets

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Australia lost the second One Day International (ODI) against Pakistan by seven wickets at Sheikh Zayed Stadium here.

After winning the toss and batting first, Australia made 248/9 with Mike Hussey top-scoring with 61. George Bailey contributed with a handy 39 and skipper Michael Clarke made 37 Friday.

In reply, Pakistan eased to 249 in 43.4 overs losing only three wickets as Australian bowlers struggled to contain Nasir Jamshed (97) and Azhar Ali (59 not out) who batted beautifully.

Australia’s bowlers fought to control a damp ball with heavy dew around the ground.

Four women kidnapped from rescue home in Hyderabad

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Unidentified men attacked a rescue home and kidnapped four trafficked women at Ramanthapur area here early Saturday, police said.

A group of eight men barged into ‘Ujjawala’ rescue home after breaking open the doors and took away four women after beating up the inmates and damaging the furniture.

The other inmates of the rescue home, run by the state government with the support of an NGO, told police that two of the women were from Kolkata, one Bangladeshi and another from Mumbai.

Three held for trying to kidnap a girl on University of Hyderabad campus

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(Siasat News)The Cyberabad Police on Friday arrested three, who tried to kidnap an M.Tech student on the campus of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Thursday night.

The victim was returning to the hostel after the rehearsals for college function when the five mens entered campus and tried to pull her inside the car in which they were. Once she cried for help, the student on the campus rushed to help her, they caught three of the five culprits and also damaged the car.

Kashmir makes SRK relax, unwind after years

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Shooting for Yash Chopra’s yet untitled movie in this picturesque south Kashmir hill station seems to have helped Shah Rukh Khan unwind himself from an otherwise boring routine of lights and camera.

“Slept for 10 hours after a long time. God I feel rested… even my beard seems fresh,” Shah Rukh posted on his widely followed Twitter account Friday.

The superstar has over 2,700,000 people following his account on the micro-blogging site.

The otherwise sleep-starved King Khan appears to be thoroughly enjoying his first ever shooting schedule in the Valley.

Obama appoints Indian American to key administration post

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US President Barack Obama has announced to appoint eminent Indian American, Romesh Wadhwani, to a key administration post by making him board of trustees of the prestigious John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

In all Obama announced nine members on the board of trustees of the prestigious John F Kennedy Center.

“These dedicated men and women bring a wealth of experience and talent to their new roles and I am proud to have them serve in this Administration. I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come,” Obama said in a statement yesterday.

NRI held for demanding additional dowry

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(Siasat News)Begumpet Police on Friday arrested a man from his residence in Seetaphalmandi on the charge of dowry harassment case.

According to the police Santosh Raj, 32, came to Hyderabad from Australia to attend his father’s ceremony, was arrested based on the complaint given by his wife Srujana Santoshi, a B Tech graduate from Visakhapatnam.

BSF trooper hurt in Odisha mine blast

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A Border Security Force (BSF) trooper was injured Saturday in a land mine blast triggered by Maoists in Odisha’s Koraput district, police said.

The incident occurred in a forested area near Palur village, over 600 km from here, during a combing operation by the BSF.

“One BSF trooper has sustained minor injury. Others narrowly escaped the blast,” Superintendent of Police Avinash Kumar told IANS.

Maoists are active in more than half of the state and Koraput district is considered their strong hold.

—-IANS

170 unfit colleges enter on-going EAMCET counseling

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(Siasat News)Andhra Pradesh State Council for Higher Education has allowed nearly 170 colleges, with below par facilities and infrastructure in the on-going EAMCET counseling on the promise made by the managements of these colleges. They ensured that they would rectify the deficiencies within three months.

The officials did not disclose the names of their colleges fearing that students would not opt for the colleges during counseling.

Nearly 230,000 Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries: UN

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The number of registered Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey has reached nearly 230,000, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

“In Turkey, the (UN) Agency said that two more refugee camps — which together can host 23,000 refugees — have been opened in the last week to accommodate new arrivals,” Xinhua quoted UN spokesperson Farhan Haq as saying during a news briefing here.

“Another three sites which can host 10,000 refugees each are set to open next month,” he added.

UN chief calls for diplomatic solution to Iranian n-issue

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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon has regretted that Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are yet to reach agreement on resolving Iran ‘s nuclear issue, and pressed for a “diplomatic and negotiated solution” to the prolonged problem.

“It is regrettable that Iran has [is] yet to reach agreement with the IAEA on a plan to resolve all outstanding issues,” reported Xinhua citing Ban as saying in a statement issued here Friday.

The secretary-general made the statement in response to the latest quarterly report by the IAEA on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.

Defeated Goa poll candidate wants poll expenses back

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A defeated independent candidate who polled 625 votes in the March assembly polls has written to the Election Commission of India demanding his election expenses back.

Trajano D’Mello, a former general secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), wants the Rs.3 lakh-odd spent on his campaign returned because his poll campaign was specifically targeted by a local bureaucrat who was functioning under the Election Commission for the purpose of the election. And he also wants an apology from the bureaucrat.

SC orders retrial of Pakistani facing death in 1997 blast case

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Pakistan national Mohammad Hussain, given death sentence for complicity in a 1997 bomb blast case which had claimed four lives, today got a reprieve from the Supreme Court which ordered his fresh trial after setting aside his conviction and capital punishment. “The matter requires to be remanded for a de novo trial,” said a three-judge bench headed by Justice R M Lodha, while setting aside his conviction and punishment saying he was denied the assistance of a lawyer during his trial in the lower court.

Tsunami alert after 7.6 quake hits off Philippines

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A 7.6 earthquake hit off the Philippine coast today, triggering a tsunami warning for the eastern part of the archipelago and Indonesia, US seismologists said.

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a depth of 34 kilometres and hit at 8:47 pm (1817 IST), 139 kilometres east of the city of Sulangan on Samar island.

PM: ‘proper’ atmosphere needed for his Pak visit

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday underlined the need for a “proper atmosphere” before he visited Pakistan in deference to repeated invitations extended by its leadership. There should be a general feeling in India that Islamabad was doing all it could to deal with terrorism directed against New Delhi from Pakistani soil, he said adding that a crucial test of Pakistan’s sincerity would be the court trial in Rawalpindi of the seven persons charged with plotting the Mumbai massacre.

Zardari, Manmohan meeting a mere ritual: Pakistani daily

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Pakistan has to “dispel the impression that the procrastination of the Mumbai suspects’ trial is on purpose”, said a leading Pakistani daily that described President Asif Ali Zardari’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Tehran as a mere ritual.

“Had there been no meeting between Zardari and Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the NAM summit, it would have been the news of the day,” Dawn said Saturday in an editorial titled “Mere ritual”.

Iranian first n-plant running at ‘full capacity’

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Iran’s first nuclear power station has begun operating at full capacity, a Russian firm said Friday.

The plant’s launch in August 2010 prompted Israel and other nations to express fears the reactor could help Iran creat an atomic bomb. Tehran has denied the allegations, saying the facility was for peaceful power generation only.

The plant was connected to Iran’s electricity grid in September, 2011.