Month: March 2010

All set for celestial wedding today

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Bhadrachalam, March 24: All set for a celestial wedding of Lord Rama with his consort Sita in the temple town of Bhadrachalam tomorrow. The temple and its surroundings wore a festive look.

Elaborate arrangements have been made for the Kalyanotsavam of Lord Rama and thousands of devotees have already started thronging the town from this morning.

More than one lakh devotees are expected to witness the celestial wedding of the presiding deity tomorrow between 10 a.m. and 12 noon. The stadium has been renovated at a cost of Rs 1.30 crore to accommodate 20,000 more persons.

Egypt bans international Internet voice calls

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Cairo, March 24: Egypt has banned international calls made through mobile Internet connections, one of Egypt’s top three mobile phone operators said on Tuesday, which would include internet Skype calls.

“The National Telecom Regulatory Authority issued a decision to stop VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and we stopped it on Saturday,” Vodafone Egypt’s external affairs director Khaled Hegazy said.

The ban applies to Egypt’s three mobile operators, Vodafone, Mobinil and Etisalat.

Bin Laden family pleads for refuge

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Riyadh, March 24: Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s son issued a plea Tuesday for some country to accept members of his family seeking to leave Iran, where they have been held under house arrest since 2001.

After two of Omar bin Laden’s siblings were released by Tehran to Syria in the past three months, he and his wife Zaina issued a statement pleading for a refuge for their other family members still in Iran, mentioning specifically Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

“The Iranian government has nowhere to send Omar’s other siblings,” they wrote.

Watchdog urges Saudi to free Shiite dissident

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Riyadh, March 24: Human Rights Watch called on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to free Shiite activist Munir Jassas, saying that no charges had been pressed five months after his detention by domestic intelligence agents.

Jassas was arrested on November 7 last year after posting on internet websites a series of calls for protests over the government’s treatment of Shiites, the New York-based watchdog said.

Shiites make up about 10 percent of the population of the Sunni Muslim kingdom.

Saudi says dismantled 101-strong Qaeda cell

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Riyadh, March 24: Saudi Arabia has broken up three Al-Qaeda cells operating in the kingdom, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.

One cell consisted of 101 people, and two smaller cells were made up of six men each.

The large cell comprised 47 Saudis and 51 Yemenis, as well as a Somali, a Bangladeshi and a Eritrean, said a statement read out on state television.

The two smaller groups were made up of 11 Saudis and a Yemeni.

The group was preparing to perpretrate “acts of terror” in the kingdom, the ministry added.

Clients exit Knowledge Park of UoH

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Hyderabad, March 24: A day after the University of Hyderabad put on hold the controversial Knowledge and Innovation Park (KIP), some of the project’s anchor clients have backed out of it.

The city-based Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, a bulk drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients and formulations company, and Alexandria, a US-based lab space provider, said they were pulling out of KIP both because of the delay in its execution and the controversy over the land issue.

Woman musician to perform at temple festivities

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Khammam, March 24: Music plays an important role in Sriramanavami celebrations at Bhadrachalam. This time, a woman musician, Y Lakshmi is going to join the temple musicians to serve the Lord from Suprabhata Seva to Pavalimpu Seva through her music.

For the first time in the temple’s history, a woman musician is performing during the festivities. Though she has been playing music for the last three years, the temple authorities regularised her services last year.

Kolkata fire: Caretakers arrested

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Kolkata, March 24: The death toll in the Stephen Court building inferno here rose to 24 Wednesday as firefighters discovered more charred bodies and police arrested two caretakers of the century-old heritage structure that everyone now admits was a tragedy waiting to happen.

Amid charges of collusion by civic authorities that allowed two illegal floors to be added to the iconic building in the city’s heart, authorities said 10 people who were in the complex when flames consumed it Tuesday afternoon remained missing.

Rosaiah assures action against perpetrators of attack on daily

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Hyderabad, March 24: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah today strongly condemned attack on the offices of Telugu newspaper Andhra Jyothy and its television channel and promised to take stern action against perpetrators.

“Already cases have been booked and some persons involved in the attacks have been taken into custody,” the Chief Minister told reporters in his chambers in state assembly.

‘Killings will not affect anti-Maoist operation’

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Bhubaneswar, March 24: Terming the killing of three security personnel in Gajapati as “very tragic”, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said it would not have any impact on the impending anti-Maoist operation in the state.

“It will not affect the anti-Maoist joint operation in the state,” Patnaik told reporters here and condemned the killing.

The state police along with CRPF have already launched combing operation in Gajapati district to nab the ultras involved in the incident, he said.

B’desh becomes first South Asian nation to join ICC

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United Nations, March 24: Bangladesh has become the first country in South Asia to join the International Criminal Court based in The Hague.

The Statute will enter into force for Bangladesh on June 1, 2010, bringing the total number of States Parties to the Rome Statute to 111.

“The government of Bangladesh ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” the ICC said in a statement.

Brazil urges negotiations, not Iran sanctions

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Rio De Janeiro, March 24: Brazil on Tuesday again urged the international community to negotiate with Iran rather than seek to apply sanctions over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program.

“Brazil still sees space to negotiate on the agreement proposed by the IAEA,” Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said after talks in Rio de Janeiro with International Atomic Energy Agency head Yukiya Amano.

“Once this agreement is accepted — if it is — there will be a better climate, a better ambience,” said Amorim.

Iraq provincial chiefs back Maliki recount call

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Iraq, March 24: Ten powerful local politicians, all backers of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, demanded a manual recount on Thursday from Iraq’s March 7 election as hundreds of supporters took to the streets.

The country’s election commission has already rebuffed a recount demand from the incumbent premier himself over the weekend, when he said it was needed to maintain stability and ward off violence.

Libya frees 214 Islamists opposition prisoners

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Tripoli, March 24: Libya has freed 214 Islamists from prison, including three top figures of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, the son of Libyan leader Moamer Gathafi said on Tuesday.

“Today, the Libyan state announces the liberation of 214 prisoners from different Islamist groups among which are 34 members of the LIFG, including the three leaders of the group” — top boss Abdelhakim Belhaj, military chief, Khaled Shrif and ideological official Sami Saadi, Seif al-Islam told a press conference in the Libyan capital Tripoli.

BJP accuses US of double standards on Headley

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New Delhi/Indore, March 24: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday accused the US of double standards over Mumbai terror suspect David Headley and said he should be brought to India for interrogation.

BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay told reporters in Indore: “Headley, whose actions led to 26/11 and other terrorist attacks in India, is our culprit and therefore he should be interrogated in this country.”

Tarun Vijay said that US was adopting double standard on terrorism.

SBI plans Rs 15,000-cr rights issue in Q3 of FY11

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Mumbai, March 24: Country’s largest lender State Bank has decided to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore through a rights issue in the third quarter of the next fiscal and will seek government nod for this as early as next month, a top SBI official said.

“We will do that (approach the government for rights issue) after the close of this financial year. If we go by current estimates, we may require to go (for the rights issue) in the third quarter of the next financial year. The amount will be between Rs 10,000 and 15,000 crore,” the official told PTI here today.

–Agencies

Tanker overturns, 3 killed

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Faridkot, March 24: Three people were killed and seven injured when an oil tanker overturned and burst into flames which engulfed five vehicles on Mukatsar-Ferozepur road here today.

The tanker, on way to Ferozpur, overturned near Sadiq Nagar and caught fire, police said.

The fire also engulfed five vehicles — two motorcycles, a truck, a jeep and a car — gutting them completely, they said.

Three people, including a woman, were killed and seven injured, two of them seriously, in the accident, police said.

–Agencies

Food inflation may transmit to non-food items: FM

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Chandigarh, March 24: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said inflation may spread to non-food items over a period, although food prices have started coming down.

“Though the food prices have started coming down, the concerted pressure of headline inflation arising from high food prices entails the risk of getting transmitted over time to other non-food items,” Mukherjee said at the inaugural ceremony of Exim bank branch here.

Six new power plants to come up in Rajasthan : Gehlot

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Jaipur, March 24: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot today said his government is pursuing a target of setting up six new power plants over the next five years in a bid to make the state self-sufficient in the power sector.

Inaugurating a hybrid 132 kv sub-station at SMS stadium here, Gehlot said the state government has set itself a target of launching six new power plants over the next five years and the process has already started.

IPL will do billion dollar business this year: Modi

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New Delhi, March 24: Indian Premier League would generate a revenue of USD one billion this season, thanks to huge fan following across the globe, attracting a large number of advertisers, its Commissioner Lalit Modi said today.

“The tournament is still on and we have not reached the final number… Yes, it will be more than a billion dollar (about Rs 4,700 crore) this season … last season we did USD 450 million.

Home Ministry official missing

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New Delhi, March 24: A Home Ministry official has gone missing from the national capital this afternoon after he left home for withdrawing money from an ATM in west Delhi.

K V Singh, who works as Under Secretary with the relief and rehabilitation section of the Ministry, went missing after he left his Vikaspuri residence to withdraw money from an ATM at around 12 noon.

Singh, who is slated to retire on March 31, was supposed to leave for Kerala this evening along with his family for a holiday.

Mamata alleges police suppressing fire toll

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Kolkata, March 24: Amid conflicting claims today over the number of persons who went missing in the fire at the heritage building here, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today accused West Bengal government of suppressing the death toll in the incident.

“Government was suppressing the actual deaths starting from Nandigram to Stephen Court incident”, Banerjee told reporters but did not specify the number of deaths in the fire.

Six Bangladeshi intruders arrested

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Shillong, March 24: The BSF today apprehended six Bangladeshi infiltrators at Bholaganj in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.

The intruders, all from Sunamganj, were apprehended along the international border, BSF sources said.

Taka 600, Indian currency of Rs 215, sharp-edged weapons and two mobile phones were seized from them, the sources added.

–Agencies

No progress seen as Netanyahu, Obama meet

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Washington, March 24: Talks between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu failed to produce signs of an end to a dispute over illegal Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories that the Israeli premier said could stall the Middle East peace process for a year.

While the Netanyahu’s office said the two rounds of talks had unfolded in a “good atmosphere”, the leaders unusually did not appear before the cameras while the White House stayed silent about the meetings.

Hamas to execute suspected Israeli spies in Gaza

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Gaza City, March 24: The democratically elected Hamas movement in Israeli-besieged Gaza said on Wednesday it would soon begin executing people convicted of spying for Israel despite objections from human rights groups.

“The death penalty will be implemented for (Israeli) agents who have been sentenced to death, regardless of the position of rights groups that reject these kinds of sentences,” Hamas interior minister Fathi Hammad said.

“The near future will witness the carrying out of the death sentences,” he said in a statement.