Month: September 2009

RJD activists seek Guv intervention to check price rise

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Lucknow, September 30: Activists of Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) today staged a demonstration in front of Vidhan Bhawan demanding Governor’s intervention to check price rise and take action against those involved in corrupt practices.

Led by RJD State President Ashok Singh and a number of women activists, the protesters alleged that the state government had failed to check hoarders, due to which prices of essential commodities have reached its peak.

They handed over a memorandum to Governor B L Joshi.
–PTI

Yuvraj’s replacement for Challenger Trophy named

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New Delhi, September 30: Nursing a hand injury that forced him out of the ongoing Champions Trophy, Yuvraj Singh was today replaced by Ameya Shrikhande in the India Red squad for the Challenger Trophy cricket tournament scheduled from October 8 to 11 in Nagpur.

Yuvraj was supposed to captain the side and the BCCI said a new skipper would be named soon.

Apart from this, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will replace an injured Irfan Pathan in the Rest of India side that will play Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai in the Irani Cup game in Nagpur from October 1 to 5, the BCCI said in a statement.

Three CPI-M activists killed by Maoists

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West Bengal, September 30: Three Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists were shot dead by suspected Maoist guerrillas in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district, police said Wednesday.

‘We’ve information that bodies of three CPI-M activists were found near Kadashol forest area this morning. We’ve not recovered the bodies yet but we’ve sent our force to the spot,’ West Bengal Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Surajit Kar Purokayastha told IANS.

Gujjars seek Bharat Ratna for girl who killed militant

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Srinagar, September 30: An 18-year-old Muslim woman who killed a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist after snatching his gun deserves the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, Gujjar leaders in Jammu and Kashmir say.

The Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, an organisation of nomadic tribes, has urged President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram to honour Rukhsana with Bharat Ratna.

‘Rukhsana should be honoured with the highest gallantry award,’ the letter said.

Gujarat govt slams fresh affidavit in Ishrat case

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Ahmedabad, September 30: Slamming the Centre for filing an additional affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan case, the Gujarat Government called the move as double speak aimed at policy of appeasement and vote bank politics.

“On several occasions, the UPA government had said that the job of the Central intelligence was to provide inputs while providing security at the ground level was the job of the respective state governments,” state government spokesperson Jaynarayan Vyas told PTI.

By filing the affidavit, the UPA government has taken an exactly opposite stand, he alleged.

Tata Tele-BSNL sign 15-year infra sharing deal

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New Delhi, September 30: Tata Teleservices today joined state-owned BSNL for sharing infrastructure across the nation, in a first such partnership that would help the private firm expand its GSM network expeditiously.

After signing the 15-year deal, Tata Tele said: “This is a moment of pride for us, as we have become the first private telecom operator to enter into such a strategically important agreement with BSNL, one that will allow us to expand our telecom footprint across the country much more quickly.”

TTSL, however, declined to give financial details of the deal.

Bopanna-Qureshi pair crashes out of Malaysian Open

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Kuala Lumpur, September 30: Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi squandered a one-set advantage to go down to the Russian-Czech pair of Igor Kunitsyn and Jaroslav Levinsky in the men’s doubles quarterfinals of Malaysian Open tennis tournament here today.

The wildcard Indo-Pakistani pair went down 6-2 6-7 (4) 11-13 in a contest lasting more than one and half hour.

Bopanna and Qureshi got off to a fabulous start, breaking their rivals twice to take the opening set in no time but things went haywire from there on and Kunitsyn and Levinsky bounced back.

Rahul finds himself on a sticky wicket

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New Delhi, September 30: Rahul Gandhi faced some uncomfortable questions when he went for an interactive session at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, the bastion of left-leaning students, on Tuesday.

“Opposition first”, said Rahul indicating towards some students who were holding black flags and shouting slogans to oppose his visit.

A student asked why the govt has given “huge subsidy” to corporate houses while the cost of higher education is going to increase according to the latest HRD circular.

Talukdar fourth in World Cup final

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Kolkata, September 30: The lone Indian entry in the Archery World Cup Final, Jayanta Talukdar, has returned empty-handed after a below-par performance in the men’s recurve section.

In the Champions of Champions leg held in Copenhagen on September 26, top-seeded Talukdar was upset by fourth seeded Marco Galiazzo of Italy 103-111 in the semifinal.

The Italian went on to clinch the gold medal beating Britain’s Simon Terry 112-108 in the final.

Second seeded Terry had beaten third seed Romain Girouille of France 112-108 in the other last-four tie.

Germany wants nuclear issue to be main theme of Iran talks

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Berlin, September 30: Germany wants Iran’s controversial nuclear programme be the main theme of the six-party talks with Tehran beginning in Geneva on Thursday, a government spokesman said.

“We can talk about other issues … but it has to be clear it is about the one theme that is worrying the international community,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner said on Wednesday.

German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said Berlin remained concerned at developments in Iran and the lack of cooperation shown by Teheran with the international community.

UN: 5 million poor HIV patients without medicine

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Geneva, September 30: The number of HIV/AIDS patients in poor and middle income countries receiving antiretroviral therapy increased last year by 36 per cent, United Nations agencies reported Wednesday.

In total, some 4 million people in the developing and emerging world were receiving the therapy by the close of 2008. That figure includes 45 per cent of HIV-positive pregnant women, who are seeking to prevent transmission to their children.

Sibal urges T.Nadu govt to start Navodaya schools

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Bangalore, September 30: The Union Minister of Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal on Wednesday requested the State Government to endorse the Navodaya System in Tamil Nadu at the earliest, to enable rural students to have access to quality higher education.

Mr. Sibal who was here to inaugurate the Central University of Tamil Nadu made the request to the Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and the Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. By starting Navodaya Vidyalayas, rural students will have opportunities to join universities of excellence, he said.

Shopian case: Court imposes ban on reporting investigation

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Srinagar, September 30: ammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday imposed a blanket ban on reporting the investigation part of Shopian rape and murder case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the case, should not reveal anything to the press, a division bench of the court comprising Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice Mohammed Yaqoob directed when the case came up for hearing.

Suspected US airstrike kills nine Taliban in Pakistan

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Islamabad, September 30: A suspected US missile strike targeted Taliban fighters on the move in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region Wednesday and killed at least nine militants, including foreigners, an intelligence official said.

Pilotless aircraft attacked and destroyed two vehicles carrying the Taliban in Naurak village near Mir Ali, one of the main towns of the district located close to the Afghan frontier.

Breast Cancer — a wake up call for Indian women

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New Delhi, September 30: Breast cancer, a dreaded disease has got deadlier for the modern woman who with her late marriage, unhealthy eating and growing weight is becoming vulnerable to the illness. Experts project breast cancer to strike approximately 2.5 lakh women in India by 2015.

“Breast cancer has overtaken cervical cancer to become the leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women living in metropolitan cities,” says the Indian Council of Medical Research which places incidence of the disease at 30 to 33 per 1,00,000 women in urban India.

Report: British intelligence says Iran designing nuclear warheads

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London, September 30: British intelligence services believe that Iran is working towards a nuclear warhead, the Financial Times reported Wednesday – one day ahead of a key meeting in Geneva on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

The Financial Times report said that British spies believe Iran has secretly been designing a nuclear warhead since late 2004 or early 2005,” in contrast to US assessments, which say Iran gave up weapons design work in 2003.

The paper said that the new British assessment implied that Iran was making faster-than-expected progress toward a nuclear weapon.

Honouring Urdu Litterateur in Life Time–A Unique & Rare Moment!

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Bhopal, September 30 (Pervez Bari): A litterateur being adored and eulogized in his life time for his literary pursuits and his overall personality when one is alive and kicking is a rare moment. It is certainly a break from the set tradition and trend of praising one to the skies after one is dead and gone.

Ishrat Jahan Updates

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Ahemdabad, September 30: The Ministry of Interior of the Union on Wednesday filed a revised statement at the High Court of Gujarat, clarifying its position in the event that the Ishrat Jahan.

According to reports, the statement clarifies that the information provided by the Center was a tip off and not validate the actions taken by the Gujarat government, which led to the death of 19 year old College Girl Gujarat and Jahan Ishrat Jahan three others.

In Gilgit 4 Killed And 8 Hurt In Firing

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Gilgit, September 30: At least four people were killed and eight wounded in shootings by unidentified persons in Gilgit on Wednesday.

Dead bodies and injured have been taken to hospitals.

Security has been intensified in the region in view of the presence of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Gilgit.

The forces have started patrolling in the area after the incident.
–Agenices

Yousuf Raza Gilani Links Political Maturity To Help End Sectarianism

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Gilgit, September 30: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday stressed the need to shun sectarianism in the country and said that the political maturity could help calm the divisions between the cross section of people.

I was talking to a delegation of members of the Pakistan Peoples Party, referring to the recent clashes in Gilgit that claimed lives.

Gilani said that sectarianism is not deployed at any cost and urged party members to play their role in the evolution of the peaceful situation in the region through political maturity.

Chief Minister Arunachal Pradesh Elected Unopposed To Assembly

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Itanagar, September 30: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu ruler and two other congressional candidates were declared elected unopposed, while a total of of 154 candidates left in the race for the remaining 57 seats in the Assembly after the withdrawal on Tuesday.

Along with Khandu (constituency Mukto), Tsewang Dhondup, MLA meeting of the city and debutant Tawang Jambey Tashi (Lumle), all belonging to the predominantly Buddhist Tawang district, were declared elected unanimously as nominations were filed against him.

Iran prepared for ‘long negotiations’ with world powers

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Tehran, September 30: Iran was prepared for long negotiations with the world powers, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday.

Iran is due to meet Thursday in Geneva with the representatives of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany for talks whose agenda was not yet clear because of differences between the two sides.

“We prefer to build up friendship and understanding (with the world powers) and are prepared for long negotiations,” Ahmadinejad said on state television.

Maradona asks God’s hand to save Argentina

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Washington, September 30: Argentina coach Diego Maradona has called on God’s hand to shield the South American country from World Cup elimination.

“The Beard (God) saved me many times, I hope he saves me this time too,” said Maradona, whose notorious ‘Hand of God’ goal during Argentina’s 1986 quarter-final against England is one of the most talked about at a World Cup.

Argentina are fifth in the South American group, in the berth for a playoff against the team finishing fourth in the CONCACAF region. The top four go through automatically.

Google working on “smart” plug-in hybrid charging

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Washington, September 30: Google is in the early stages of looking at ways to write software that would fully integrate plug-in hybrid vehicles to the power grid, minimize strain on the grid and help utilities manage vehicle charging load.

“We are doing some preliminary work,” said Dan Reicher, Google’s director of Climate Change and Energy Initiatives. “We have begun some work on smart charging of electric vehicles and how you would integrate large number of electric vehicles into the grid successfully.”

Kasab confessed voluntarily: Magistrate

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Mumbai, September 30: A city Magistrate today told the 26/11 trial court that prime accused Ajmal Amir Kasab had confessed before her voluntarily, his role in the terror attacks, saying he wanted others to draw inspiration from his confession.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rama Vijay Sawant Vagule said Kasab was produced before her on February 17 where he said he wanted to confess.

He was given 24 hours to reconsider if he wished to confess, she said.