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Congress worker killed in Tripura, shutdown called

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Agartala, July 27: A Congress party worker was killed and another injured as clashes between ruling Left Front and opposition Congress activists, which started before the July 20 panchayat (village council) elections, continued in parts of the state, police said Monday.

Both the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Congress had given separate calls for a shutdown Monday in south Tripura’s district headquarter Udaipur — where the incident took place — crippling normal life.

Revolutionary Guard tightens hold in Iran crisis

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Cairo, July 27: The Revolutionary Guard tightened its already powerful hold over Iran during the post-election turmoil, raising alarm among some Iranians that it is transforming the Islamic Republic into a military state.

The elite force and an affiliated volunteer militia, the Basij, led the crackdown against street protesters who claim mass fraud in the June 12 election after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner in a landslide. At least 20 protesters have been killed in clashes and hundreds detained.

The Revolutionary Guard weighed in at key moments of the crisis.

Snake recovered from Orissa assembly

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Bhubaneswar, July 25: The snake that had sneaked into the Orissa assembly Thursday was Saturday recovered from near the seat of the leader of opposition in the house.

“The snake was found coiled under a chair. An employee raised an alarm when the assembly session was over,” said Suvendu Mallick, a snake catcher, who recovered the reptile.

The assembly was forced to suspend its proceedings Thursday after the snake was spotted by the staff inside the house.

Snake catchers, security personnel and forest officials went into frantic search throughout the day to recover the reptile.

Wrong asset disclosure will be seen as misconduct: Chief justice

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Chennai, July 25: Under a proposed law making it mandatory for high court and Supreme Court judges to disclose their assets, declaring false information will be considered misconduct, Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan said here Saturday.

“Failure to declare the assets or declaring false asset details will be considered as misconduct on the judges’ part and can be a ground for their removal from service,” the chief justice said.

He was interacting with reporters after inaugurating a guest house for judges.

SIT to submit progress report of inquiry against Modi

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Ahmedabad, July 25: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is likely to submit a progress report on the preliminary probe on a complaint against Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 62 others in connection with 2002 Gujarat riots in a couple of days, SIT sources said.

The SIT, constituted by the Supreme Court to investigate the Godhra train carnage case and eight other post-Godhra riot cases, was also directed by the SC to examine the complaint by Zakia Jaffery and submit report in three months.

No change to hajj quotas with flu curbs

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Riyadh, July 25: Saudi Arabia is likely to ban the elderly and children from the hajj this year to limit the risk of swine flu, but this will not change country quotas for the pilgrimage, a health official said.

Dr. Khaled Marghlani, spokesman for the Saudi health ministry, said the government is expected to implement recommendations to block people older than 65 and younger than 12 from the hajj made at Wednesday’s emergency Arab health ministers meeting in Cairo.

But national quotas for the annual pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina would not change, he told AFP.

Bush aides considered using troops within the US

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New York, July 25: Former US president George W Bush’s government considered using American troops to arrest a group of terror suspects in what would have been an unprecedented deployment of the military within the country.

Top advisers of Bush, including vice-president Dick Cheney, in 2002 strongly urged that the military be used to apprehend men who were suspected of plotting with al-Qaeda.

The terror suspects, who were hiding in Buffalo, a suburb of New York City, later came to be known as the Lackawanna Six, The New York Times reported citing former administration officials.

No allaince with TDP for local polls: Chiranjeevi

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Hyderabad, July 22: Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) chief Chiranjeevi on Wednesday ruled out any truck with Telugu Desam Party for the forthcoming elections to the
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

“We have not yet taken any decision on alliances for the GHMC polls. But there will not be any tie-up with the principal Opposition TDP,” Chiranjeevi said.

“Right now we are concentrating only on selection of party candidates for the GHMC elections. We will release the list of contesting candidates in the next two days,” he said.

NHRC gives clean chit to Delhi police in Batla encounter case

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New Delhi, July 22: National Human Rights Commission on Wednesday gave clean chit to Delhi police in Batla House encounter case. “We are clearly of the opinion that having regard to the material placed before us, it cannot be said that there has been any violation of human rights by action of the police”, the NHRC said in its 30 page report on the encounter in September last year. The action taken by police in which two persons died “is fully protected by law,” said the NHRC.

Pakistan’s Musharraf told to appear in court

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Islamabad, July 22: Pakistan’s top court has summoned former President Pervez Musharraf to explain his 2007 firing of several dozen independent-minded judges. Wednesday’s court notice allows Musharraf to send a lawyer in his place.

The case, brought up in petitions challenging Musharraf’s imposition of emergency rule and firing of the judges that year, could lay the groundwork for future action — even a trial — against the one-time military ruler.

Love blossoms: Sarkozy, Bruni spend 660 pounds on flowers!

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London, July 22: For France’s First Couple, 660 pounds seem to be a meagre amount — Nicolas Sarkozy and his ladylove Carla Bruni spend the money everyday to buy flowers for each other.

The extraordinary sum was revealed in a public audit of the presidential accounts for 2008 — Sarkozy’s first full year in office, during which he made Bruni his third wife. In fact, the figures were part of the first state audit of French leader’s spending since the reign of Louis XVI.

Kerala police nab key terror suspect

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Kochi, July 22: The Kerala police Wednesday claimed to have arrested a top bomb-making expert and busted a terrorist gang active in the state since 2004.

Manoj Abraham, Kochi Police Commissioner said Abdul Halim is an expert in making time bombs.

“He has confessed to his role in the twin bomb blasts that took place in Kozhikode in 2006 and he also played a role in the Bangalore blast that took place last year. We are also finding out if he had any role in the Collectorate blast here that took place early this month,” said Abraham.

Iran’s parliament pressures Ahmadinejad over vice president pick

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Tehran, July 22: Iran’s parliament has increased pressure on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over his controversial appointment of his first vice president, Fars news agency reported Wednesday.

The parliament wants Ahmadinejad to sack his new appointment, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly ordered the president to do so.

Iran’s parliament pressures Ahmadinejad over vice president pick

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Tehran, July 22: Iran’s parliament has increased pressure on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over his controversial appointment of his first vice president, Fars news agency reported Wednesday.

The parliament wants Ahmadinejad to sack his new appointment, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly ordered the president to do so.

Nepal PM breaks eclipse taboo

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Kathmandu, July 22: Nepal’s new Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Wednesday took the lead in watching the much-acclaimed longest solar eclipse of the century, breaking an old taboo that in the past forbade Nepalis from venturing out during the phenomenon.

Two coaches of Golden Temple express burnt

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Amritsar, July 22: Two air-conditioned coaches of the Golden Temple express train were badly damaged Wednesday after they caught fire, railway officials said here.

The coaches, which did not have any passengers, were at the Amritsar railway station when the incident took place. There was no human casualty.

Railway police officials said the cause of the fire was still unknown and they were investigating the matter.

The train runs between Amritsar and Mumbai.

–Agencies

Uproar in Parliament over military pact with US

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New Delhi, July 22: Under attack from the Opposition for “compromising” national sovereignty by agreeing to allow US inspection of military installations, the government on Tuesday asserted it has not bargained India’s interest by going in for the End-User Monitoring Agreement with America.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said “nobody should have anxiety” about the national interest being “surrendered”. However, he said the government has to keep negotiating and “bargaining” if India wants high-end defence technology and equipment.

Air India board to be recast within a month: Patel

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New Delhi, July 22: Promising to recast the board of Air India in a month, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Wednesday said the government cannot help the cash-strapped national carrier “beyond a point” and asked it to change its work culture.

“Air India will be restructured financially, organisationally. I am very sure it will start making profits soon and we will silence all the critics,” Patel told reporters on the margins of an aviation industry conference.

Swine flu tally 322, 16 labs to be upgraded for virus testing

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New Delhi, July 22: Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Wednesday said that there are 322 cases of swine flu in India, a sizable number of which were “imported cases” from the US. He said the government is upgrading 16 more laboratories to tackle the virus.

“So far we have 322 cases of influenza A (H1N1) in the country, of which 256 cases are imported cases. Currently we have two labs to test the virus and the government is upgrading 16 more labs to tackle the problem,” Azad told the Lok Sabha during question hour.

Himalaya to launch food products in north India

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New Delhi, July 22: Himachal Pradesh-based farm produce exports major Himalaya International is entering the markets in north India, including the national capital, with a wide range of products including ethnic sweets, mushrooms made of imported spawn, and fortified milk, yogurt and cottage cheese.

“We will launch the same, premium all natural sweets that we market in North America, packed in our plant. Our products are good value for the Indian consumers too,” said managing director of the company Manmohan Malik.

Proof of RAW involvement in terror acts given to India: Pakistan paper

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Islamabad, July 22: Pakistan says it has handed over to India evidence of the involvement of its external spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in terrorist activities in this country, including the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore and on a police academy on the outskirts of the city earlier this year.

Andhra High Court stays state funding of Christian pilgrimage

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Hyderabad, July 22: The Andhra Pradesh High Court Wednesday stayed a state government order providing financial assistance to Christians for pilgrimage to Bethlehem, Jerusalem and other places connected with the life of Jesus Christ.

While staying the order issued last year, a division bench headed by Chief Justice A.R. Dave ruled that the government should not spend public money for any pilgrimage.

The court order came on a public interest litigation challenging the constitutional validity of the order issued by the minorities welfare department July 21 last year.

Shaukathullah Ghori sent to 15-day Police remand in Gujarat

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Hyderabad, July 21: Shaukatullah, who was arrested from the Hyderabad airport, along with his brother financed the LeT and HuJI to target the state Special POTA Judge Jyotsnaben Yagnik on Monday remanded 43-year-old Akshardham attack accused Shaukatullah Ghori to 15 days police custody.

Experts hope eclipse will unlock clues about sun

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Bangkok, July 21: Millions of people across Asia will witness the longest total solar eclipse that will happen this century, as vast swaths of India and China, the entire city of Shanghai and southern Japanese islands are plunged into darkness on Wednesday for about five minutes.

Streams of amateur star-gazers and scientists are traveling long distances to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event.