Month: November 2009

3,500 students to participate in Children’s Science Congress

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Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 29 (IANS) With the aim of ‘catching them young’, the Kerala government will invite around 3,500 school students to attend the Children’s Science Congress (CSC) here in January and listen to eminent scientists speak.

The Children’s Science Congress will be held alongside the 97th edition of the Indian Science Congress (ISC). The ISC is being hosted by the Indian Space Research Organisation and the University of Kerala. The state government has sanctioned Rs.3.50 crore for the event.

Senior IAS officer commits suicide in UP

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Lucknow, November 29: A senior IAS officer allegedly committed suicide at his official residence here by shooting himself early today, police sources said.

Principal Secretary (Housing) Harjinder Raj Singh shot himself with his licenced weapon in the wee hours of the day at his house on Vikramaditya Marg, they said.

Senior police officers and district administration officials have reached the spot and started an inquiry into the incident.

The reason behind the suicide could not be ascertained as yet, police said adding that it was looking into all possible angles.

–Agencies

India a win away from topping Test Championship table

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Mumbai, November 29:A win against Sri Lanka in the third and the final Test starting here Wednesday will propel India to the top spot in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Test Championship table.

India lead the series 1-0 and if they manage to wrap up the series 2-0 they will get 124 rating points that will push South Africa (122) to the second place followed by Australia (116) and Sri Lanka (115).

FBI team coming to Delhi to reveal Headley links

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Port of Spain, November 29: A high-level FBI team will be coming to Delhi within a week with new information to unravel the terror plot hatched by David Coleman Headley and Tahawuur Rana and their links to the Mumbai carnage, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan said here.

The decision of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to come to India followed intensive discussions between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama in Washington Tuesday.

JK Gujjars demand separate DD channel for Gojri

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Jammu, November 29: An organisation in Jammu and Kashmir today demanded an exclusive Doordarshan channel in Gojri language, alleging the language was not represented in the daily broadcasts of the public broadcaster.

“We are demanding an all exclusive Doordarshan channel for Gojri language keeping in mind the aspirations of the Gujjars in Jammu and Kashmir,” Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation secretary Javaid Rahi told reporters here.

‘LeT asked Mumbai attackers to kill politicians, foreigners’

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Lahore, November 29: Ajmal Kasab and nine other terrorists who attacked Mumbai last year were in constant touch with top LeT commanders in Pakistan during the strikes and received instructions to kill ”political leaders, foreigners and prominent personalities of India.”

This was stated in the six-page chargesheet filed against the seven suspects in custody in Pakistan, including “mastermind” of the attacks Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who is also the LeT’s operations chief, and the terror group’s communications expert Zarar Shah.

British angry at far-right leader’s choice for climate summit

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London, November 29:Politicians and scientists have expressed outrage after the leader of the far-right British National Party (BNP) was selected to represent the European Parliament at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen next week.

Nick Griffin, who last week described climate change campaigners as “cranks”, confirmed Saturday that he would attend as the representative of the parliament’s environmental committee, The Observer newspaper reported Sunday.

Smita in Congress will weaken communal forces: NCP

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New Delhi, November 29:The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Sunday welcomed Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray’s daughter-in-law Smita’s move to join the Congress, saying such a move will “weaken communal forces”.

“If she has a realisation that she was at a wrong place, if she comes to the secular framework, it should be welcomed,” NCP general secretary Tariq Anwar told IANS.

The NCP is the alliance partner of the Congress in Maharashtra and the two parties won a majority in last month’s assembly elections.

Anti-Naxal offensive to be intelligence-based: PC

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New Delhi, November 29: Home Minister P Chidambarm today said the upcoming multi-state coordinated offensive against the Naxals will be intelligence-based and the forces will have to adopt the tactics implemented by them while tackling militancy and insurgency in other parts of the country.

Young couple end life under train

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Jhajjar, November 29: A young couple committed suicide by jumping before a moving train on the Rohtak-Delhi railway line here Saturday, police said here today.

The deceased have been identified as Ravi, a resident of Mirchi village in Hisar district and Neha, resident of Najafgarh in Delhi.

Both were classmate and pursuing B.Tech from an engineering institute located in Gurgaon district, police said.

Chidambaram’s statements don’t match actions: Jaitley

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Ranchi, November 29: Union Home Minister P Chidambaram’s strong statements against Maoists are not reflected on the ground and the Centre has failed to curb the menace, BJP leader Arun Jaitley said today.

“I have followed Chidambaramji’s statements during the last three/four months … But action don’t reflect on the ground … Naxalism has increased in the last five years,” Jaitely told a news conference here.

“Though the Centre has run out of ideas to control Maoists, it objects when states come up with strategies to deal with it. Chhattisgarh is one such example,” he said.

Build consensus for Ram temple: Joshi

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Varanasi, November 29: Indicted by the Liberhan Commission on Ayodhya demolition, senior BJP leader and local MP Murli Manohar Joshi today said a consensus should be built on construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya.

“It is the ripe time that people of all the religions, classes, parties, regions and sects come together and create a consensus on the issue of building a grand Ram temple at the birth place of lord Ram in Ayodhya,” Joshi demanded here in a press conference.

India fastest growing mobile market in South Asia

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Dubai, November 29: India is one of the fastest growing mobile market in South Asia with a huge potential for growth amongst the rural population, an industry analyst has said.

According to Lavanya Palani Batcha, Industry Analyst for ICT Practice at Frost & Sullivan, South Asia and Middle East, the mobile value-added services (VAS) market is set to grow at a strong CAGR of 16.6 per cent from 2008 to 2015.

Katrina kaif visits Ajmer in Burkha

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Ajmer, November 29: The bedesi babe has understood that prayers have great strength. Ever since Katrina Kaif visited Ajmer-e-Sharif dargah with Salman’s sister Alvira to pray for Salman’s release from the Jaipur jail, she has been a strict believer of the God and makes sure that he visits the dargah to seek the blessing of God before any new releases.

Four women devotees killed, 14 injured in road accident

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Jalandhar, November 29: Four women died and 14 others were injured today when a mini bus carrying them to a religious congregation collided with a truck on the national highway near Pathankot chowk, police said here.

Police said the impact of the collision so severe that four devotees were killed on the spot. All the injured were shifted to nearby hospitals, where condition of some was stated to be critical.

The deceased were identified as Asha, Banso, Santosh and Preety. All the passengers were from Ludhiana.

Three die due to food poisoning in Kolkata

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Kolkata, November 29: Three persons died and six others fell ill due to food poisoning in the city today, police said.

Police broke open the door of a house at Park Circus area in south Kolkata and found four members of a family lying on the floor in an unconscious state with vomit spread all over.

They were rushed to National Medical College and Hospital where two of them died. The condition of the other two is critical, they said.

FBI to share details of Headley, Rana network with India

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On Board PM’s Special Aircraft, November 29: India is expected to get information about the plans and network of LeT operatives David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana next week when a high-level FBI team visits New Delhi with ”all details” of their probe.

National Security Adviser M K Narayanan said US President Barack Obama has told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that he was seized of the case related to Headley and Rana, who were arrested by the FBI on the charges of plotting attacks in India at the behest of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Army busts militant hideout in J-K

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Jammu, November 29: Army today busted a militant hideout and recovered from it a cache of arms and ammunition in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Acting on a tip off, troops of Rastriya Rifles launched a search operation in Nikan forest belt of Reasi district, 90 Kms from here, and busted a hideout, defence officials said.

Troops recovered one UBGL, two shells and 21 bullets of 303 ammunition, they said, adding that militants had escaped from the spot.

–Agencies

Five involved in loot, murder arrested from Kota

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Jaipur, November 29: Kota police today arrested five persons allegedly involved in a murder and loot incident near here and recovered a weapon, cartridges and some stolen jewellery from them, officials said.

Around 20 armed assailants had on Friday last ransacked two jewellery shops and allegedly shot dead a shop owner before decamping with jewellery. They also allegedly attacked some other people in the town while escaping from Rawatbhata town in Chittorgarh district.

Shah Rukh Khan All Set To Build Stadium in Dubai

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Mumbai, November 29: Shah Rukh Khan is in no mood to let his cricket venture ‘Kolkata Knight Riders’ bite the dust.

His fortunes in the game of cricket might be on a major decline but that hasn’t deterred him to any extent.

The actor is all set to come up with a cricket stadium in Dubai. According to reports, SRK apparently plans to open a cricketing stadium in Dubai. The actor is said to have some land in Dubai and he’s planning to develop that into a huge stadium soon. He is believed to be teaming up with some UAE based developers.

Liberhan Commission report politically motivated: BJP

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Patna, November 29: The BJP today termed the Justice M S Liberhan Commission as politically motivated and charged the Congress with providing the “cushion” for demolition of the controversial structure at Ayodhaya .

Continuing the tirade against Justice Liberhan Commission and the ATR tabled in Parliament recently, state BJP President and a member of parliament Radha Mohan Singh alleged that the findings of the Commission were “perverse and illfounded”.

Maoists blow up railway station

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Ranchi/Jamshedpur, November 29: Two persons were killed in an explosion triggered by Maoists, who also blasted a railway station, uprooted tracks and blew up panchayat and school buildings during their two-day Jharkhand bandh, which began today.

Two persons were killed and five others injured in a blast triggered by Maoists at Amjore village in East Singhbhum district, DSP (PCR) Dinesh Oraon said, adding that the injured were rushed to M G M Hospital in Jamshedpur.

FBI team coming to Delhi to reveal Headley links

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Port of Spain, November 29:A high-level FBI team will be coming to Delhi within a week with new information to unravel the terror plot hatched by David Coleman Headley and Tahawuur Rana and their links to the Mumbai carnage, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan said here.

The decision of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to come to India followed intensive discussions between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama in Washington Tuesday.

Telangana tense as TRS chief to go on fast for statehood

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Hyderabad, November 29: Telangana region was tense today ahead of the proposed fast-unto-death by Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) President and former Union Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, demanding immediate grant of statehood for the region.

KCR is scheduled to start his fast on Sunday in his home town Siddipet in Medak district, about 110 kms from here.

Alleging that the State government was using repressive methods to thwart his proposed agitation, Chandrasekhar Rao warned Chief Minister K Rosaiah that he would be held responsible for any eventuality.

Afghan border police kill 27 militants

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Kabul, November 29: Afghan police backed by NATO air support has killed at least 27 Taliban-linked militants in clashes near the border with Pakistan.

Afghan border police said Sunday that the violence broke out after militants stormed police outposts in the Tani district of the country’s Khost province.

Police then launched a counter-attack backed with NATO air support. Afghan officials also claim that one Chechnyan militant was captured in the clashes.