Month: June 2009

BJP will be wiped out from North East: APCC

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Itanagar, June 27: Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) today claimed that the BJP would be ‘erased’ from northeastern States, including Arunachal Pradesh, in the coming Assembly elections. Addressing a press meet here in Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, APCC spokesperson Nabam Rebia said the Congress party had captured both the Parliamentary seats, Arunachal East and West in the Parliamentary elections held in May. In the coming Assembly election, he hoped to capture all the 60-Assembly seats in the state.

Two village development officers suspended

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Pratapgarh, June 27 : Two village development officers of the distrcit have been suspended with immediate effect on the charge of misappropriation of funds in Indira Vikas scheme.

District Magistrate Balkar Singh ordered for the suspension and directed to lodge the case against two Gram Panchayat development officers.

Iran’s Guardian Council offers Moussavi a deal

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Tehran, June 27:Iran’s Guardian Council has offered opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi a deal to settle the dispute over alleged fraud in the June 12 presidential election.
Council spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei said a special committee would be formed to review the disputed election results that gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a controversial victory.

The council also called on Moussavi and fellow defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi to send representatives within 24 hours to join the committee.

Coming soon: Sweet melon with a difference!

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Washington, June 27: People smell them, thump them and eyeball their shape. But ultimately, it is sweetness and a sense of healthy eating which prompt one to buy a melon.

And, now plant breeders now have a better chance to pinpoint such traits for new varieties — thanks to scientists who have mapped the melon genome with hundreds of DNA markers, the ‘Journal of American Society of Horticultural Sciences’ reported in its latest edition.

Teenaged girl commits suicide in Kashmir

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Srinagar, June 27: A teenaged girl committed suicide in the Kashmir valley where three people, including a soldier, also ended their lives during past 24 hours.

Official sources said here today that Jabeena Bano consumed some poisonous substance in his Dargam Pattan house. She was immediately rushed to hospital where she was declared brought dead. It was not immediately known why she took this extreme step.

YSR’s plans bottled water, community farming

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Hyderabad, June 27: The Andhra Pradesh government plans to supply bottled drinking water to all its villages and introduce community farming for better returns to farmers.

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on Friday announced that the water supply scheme would be launched on Aug 15, Independence Day, in all villages that don’t have protected and piped water supply.

In his inaugural address at the two-day conference of district collectors, the chief minister asked the officials to prepare details of the water supply scheme for each district.

BCCI to finalise schedule on July 1

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New Delhi, June 27: The domestic and international schedule at home for the coming season will be finalised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) when its Tours Programmes and Fixtures Committee meets here on July 1.

“This is the first meeting of the committee since it was formed,” said one of the members of the panel headed by BCCI Vice-President Lalit Modi.

The Aussies are to play a best-of-seven ODI series, in October-November, which will be followed by a full tour by Sri Lanka, comprising three Tests and five ODIs, in November-December.

Fall-out in January built team-spirit: Pietersen

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London, June 27: It’s been barely six months since Kevin Pietersen was unceremoniously dumped as the England captain after his email to the ECB seeking the removal of the-then coach Peter Moores was leaked to the media.

However, Pietersen believes that the fall-out that happened then, helped players let out some of their frustrations and has now ensured that the dressing room is a much happier place.

Minor fire in Mumbai’s Taj Mahal hotel

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Mumbai, June 27: A minor fire engulfed the upper floors of the heritage building of the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel here Saturday afternoon, fire brigade officials said. No casualties were reported.

“We have sent four fire tenders and eight water tankers to battle the blaze. Efforts are on in full swing to control the fire. We are awaiting more information,” the official said.

The hotel was one of the main targets during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Pandith will play leading role in engaging Muslims: Clinton

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Washington, June 27: United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Farah Pandith will play a “leading role” in engaging Muslims across the world in her new capacity as Special Representative to Muslim Communities.

Ms. Pandith, a Kashmiri-origin Muslim woman, was appointed by Clinton as the US Special Representative to Muslim Communities early this week. This is part of the Obama Administration’s effort to reach out to the Muslim communities across the world.

Australian vocational education – big draw for Indians – under review

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Melbourne, June 27: The Australian government is conducting an audit of its rapidly burgeoning vocational sector, one of the biggest education providers for Indian students but which is also widely believed to be misused for gaining permanent residency (PR) status.

Policymakers and educationists believe that the over 1,000 vocational institutes in the country, of which 400 alone are in Victoria state, have become moneymaking machines, many of whom compromise on the quality of education by hiring agents who are given hefty commissions.

Michael Jackson’s body given to family

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Mumbai, June 27: Coroner Investigator Jerry McKibben says Jackson’s body was returned to the singer’s family Friday night. No funeral plans have been announced.

The coroner’s office, which has completed its autopsy, says there are no signs of foul play or trauma, but determining the cause of death will require further tests that will take six to eight weeks.

Michael Jackson insisted that his concert promoter’s payroll include his personal physician, a financially troubled cardiologist who was with the entertainer when he collapsed.

Lanka to host India, New Zealand in ODI tri-series in Aug

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Colombo, June 27: India and New Zealand will fly out to Sri Lanka to play a tri-nation ODI series in August this year, ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said the tournament, which would be an unscheduled one in the Sri Lankan cricket calendar, is expected to take place from August 4 or 6. The agreement was reached among the Sri Lankan, Indian and New Zealand officials during their representatives’ visit to London for the ICC meeting this week.

Yousuf, Razzaq to be awarded category A contract

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Karachi, June 27: The Pakistan cricket Board has decided to award category A central contracts to senior players Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq, who have made a return to the national team after resigning from the rebel Indian Cricket League.

Sources in the Board said PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt had approved the contracts for the two players, who leave with the national team for the Test tour of Sri Lanka today.

Michael Jackson death still unsolved after autopsy

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Mumbai, June 27: Doctors conducted an autopsy on the body of Michael Jackson on Friday but could not immediately determine what killed the “King of Pop,” amid reports he had been injected with a narcotic painkiller shortly before collapsing.

Jackson was in full cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived at his rented mansion in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon, with his personal physician trying desperately to revive him.

The 50-year-old pop superstar was rushed to nearby UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead without regaining consciousness.

Convict escapes from jail

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Lucknow, June 27: A convict, serving 10 years’ imprisonment for abducting a minor girl, escaped from Lucknow district jail where he was brought for trial, police said here today.

Kukku Kalia, lodged in Varanasi jail, was brought to a court here in connection with a murder case but gave policemen a slip while being taken to the lock up, they said.

Police said two constables — Jai Hind and Ramji Rao — who brought Kalia to the court, and a woman Ruby Kannaujiya, were arrested in this connection.

Younis ready to reverse T20 decision on public demand

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Lahore, June 27: With the pressure mounting on him to reverse the decision on his retirement from Twenty20 cricket, captain Younis Khan said he was ready to reconsider his decision in the interest of the nation.

Younis told Geo News that in the past he had accepted the captaincy on public demand and if the people still insisted him to continue as captain of Pakistan’s Twenty20 team he would be ready for this in the interest of his country.

India to become CTC free by year end

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Tiruchirapalli, June 27: India will become free of Carbon Tetra Chloride (CTC), an ozone depleting substance, by the year end, a NGO involved in implementing the National CTC phase-out plan has said.

Efforts had been taken to stop complete usage of CTC, used as a solvent and cleaning agent in various industries, and it would be totally phased out before December 31 this year, Susanta Deb, Field Consultant representing German NGO, GTZ-Proklima, that is implementing the phase-out plan in the country in coordination with the Government, told PTI here.

To Go Or Not To Go With Hindutva: BJP Muslim Member Debate

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New Delhi, June 27: An idea of the seriousness of the crisis faced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following its electoral setback can be gauged from the stirrings among its Muslim members.

Normally, they remain very much in the background, so much so that their presence in the party is often derisively described as an example of its tokenism towards the country’s multicultural ethos.

Woman DJ makes Lucknow rock to her fingers

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Lucknow, June 27 : Eagerly sought after by hotels and clubs where she sets the dance floor on fire, spinning music with her fingers, Lucknow’s Deepti Sadhwani overcame stiff opposition from her family to become Uttar Pradesh’s ‘first and only’ woman disc jockey (DJ).

A winner of several beauty pageants, 21-year-old Sadhwani chose DJing as a career just because she wanted to do something different and challenging that would set her apart from the crowd.

City police launches SMS facility for citizens

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Hyderabad, June 27: The city police has launched another facility for the citizens through which people can reach the police by just an SMS for immediate attention regarding traffic, crime, terror and harassment.

The entire software package was designed for the city police by a team of scientists in AP NIC, Hyderabad and the cell number 9010100100 was donated by the Idea Cellular company, according to a release issued yesterday.

Michael Jackson Death Spurs Spam, Viruses

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Washington, June 27: Less than 24 hours after Michael Jackson’s death, fraudsters are exploiting public interest with their attempts to spread spam and malware.

Security researchers say they’ve observed hundreds of cases of malicious messages masquerading as information about Jackson’s death. Some of them, they say, popped up within minutes of the news.

Avoiding these threats isn’t difficult, though: It’s just a matter of staying one step ahead. Here are some of the attackers’ tactics and what you can do to keep from falling victim.
Splunk for Federal Agencies: Download now

Delayed monsoon will ruin crops in West Bengal

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Kolkata, June 27 : West Bengal is fearing the adverse effect of a delayed monsoon, which may affect crops like paddy, jute and potato.

Normally, the monsoon lashes Himalayan and Gangetic West Bengal around the first week of June. But this year, the monsoon is yet to hit the state, even more than a fortnight after it usually sets in.

Though the met office has forecast monsoon rains within a few days, the farmers – already badly hit by cyclone Aila a month ago – are keeping their fingers crossed.

Teenager burnt to death for resisting rape

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Lucknow, June 27 : A 15-year-old Dalit girl was burnt to death by two young men after she resisted a rape attempt in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, police said Saturday.

Pinki, a resident of Kacchigarhi village in Muzaffarnagar, 350 km from state capital Lucknow, was set on fire by her neighbours Pramod and Praveen, in their early 20s, after they failed to rape her Thursday.

The girl received about 70 percent burn injuries and died Friday.

Love Aaj Kal music release

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Mumbai, June 27: The music already has had the audience humming it’s tune. The songs are on people’s lips.

The Love Aaj Kal fans can now own it. Yes, Saif Ali Khan and Dinesh Vijans Illuminati Films will officially release the music of Love Aaj Kal on Saturday, 27th June, on the sets of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa lil Champs, at Famous Studio, Mahalaxmi.

Present on the occassion will be its lead cast Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone along with director Imtiaz Ali.