Month: May 2010

City to host TD Mahanadu

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Hyderabad, May 02: Almost 15 years after the death of NT Rama Rao, “Telugu Vijayam’’ at Gandipet in the city will again see yellow fever.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) politburo, which met here today, decided to convene its three-day annual conclave, the Mahanadu, at the Telugu Vijayam to send out message that the party was abiding by the ideals of the late NTR. This is also in line with party chief Chandrababu Naidu’s recently initiated process of firming up family ties.

120 die every year in sub-jails

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Hyderabad, May 02: A doctor is made available to a prisoner lodged in a sub-jail once every 15 days. In case the prisoner is sick and wants medical attention, he has no option but to wait for 15 days.

Ajmer blast mastermind in Gujarat

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Jaipur, May 02: An Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Rajasthan Police has been sent to Gujarat to track down the mastermind of the 2007 Ajmer Dargah Sharif bombing, police sources said here Sunday.

According to ATS sources, interrogation of Devendra Gupta, the first suspect to be arrested for the blast, revealed that the mastermind was based in Gujarat.

“After interrogating Devendra Gupta, we have strong reasons to believe that the mastermind of the blast lives in Gujarat. Gupta has revealed his name too,” an ATS official said.

Mobile phones seized from prison cell

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Madurai, May 02: Officials of the central prison here have seized mobile phones from cells of four inmates.

The seizure of four mobile phones was made during the ongoing surprise checks in the prison, which began on Friday, official sources said here today.

Tamil Nadu government had last week instructed jail authorities to conduct surprise checks in prison cells and take strict action against inmates found in possession of narcotic substances or communication gadgets.

His fate undecided, Soren gets back to work

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Ranchi, May 02: With his fate still hanging in the balance, Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren Sunday went back to work by clearing files in his office and inspecting a road.

“Guruji (Shibu Soren) inspected an under-construction four-lane road at Pijthoria (outskirts of Ranchi). He also attended his office,” Safiq Ansari, Soren’s press advisor, told IANS.

A day after a marathon meeting in New Delhi between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and allies on forming an alternative government ended in a stalemate, Soren went back to his official duties.

Teacher gets 30 years jail for sexually abusing girls

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Kozhikode (Kerala), May 02: A court here has sentenced a 39-year-old government primary teacher to imprisonment for 30 years for sexually abusing girl students at a school in Pulliavu.

Despite being sentenced to a total of 30 years in jail under various cases, A.K. Haridasan, now under suspension, will spend 16 years behind bars as the punishment for his different offences will run concurrently.

No room for criminals in BSP: Mayawati

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Lucknow, May 02: In an apparent attempt to re-build her party’s image, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Sunday blamed the opposition for “infiltrating” criminals into the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Having already taken a decision to expel as many as 500 activists on account of their criminal antecedents, Mayawati told a press conference here Sunday morning that more expulsions would follow on the same lines.

Flight diverted after explosive claim

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Taipei, May 02: A flight from the Taiwanese capital to the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai was diverted to a nearby Chinese airport after a passenger told cabin crew his luggage contained explosives. Chen said the plane was on the ground in Hangzhou for about four hours before continuing onto Shanghai. The plane was carefully checked and nothing was found .

Spokesman Bruce Chen says the plane landed safely Saturday in the Chinese city of Hangzhou and Chinese authorities took the passenger away for questioning

Maoist insurgent killed in encounter

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Kanker, May 02: A uniformed Maoist insurgent was shot dead by a patrolling team of the Border Security Force (BSF) during an encounter with members of a ‘Military Dalam’ in the Parsat jungle area of the district this morning.

”A joint anti-naxal operation is being conducted in the Koyasali Beda police station limits in which an insurgent was shot dead and a gun recovered from him,” Superintendent of Police Ajay Yadav said.

He said there were also some women members of the Dalam involved in the firing during the encounter.

—Agencies

Samajwadi Party leader Shardanand Anchal passes away

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Ballia, May 02: Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former state Minister Shardanand Anchal died here today following a massive heart attack.

According to family members, the leader complained of chest pain at Belsa Road railway station here when he was on his way to his residence nearby. He was immediately rushed to Mau for treatment, but he died on way to the hospital.

The SP leader had represented Siar Assembly constituency in Ballia district for four times. He was Minister of State for Cooperatives during the Mulayam Singh’s regime in Uttar Pradesh. He is survived by three son.

BCCI Working Committee endorses charges against Modi

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Mumbai, May 02: Lalit Modi’s alleged financial irregularities dominated the discussion in today’s BCCI Working Committee meeting, during which the members “agreed” with the charges levelled against the suspended IPL Commissioner.

During the hour-long deliberation at its headquarters, BCCI President Shashank Manohar explained to the 22 members of the committee just why it was important to suspend Modi from all IPL and Board posts.

“All the members agreed upon the charges against Modi,” a source told PTI.

Australia to go in without specialist spinner against Pakistan

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Gros Islet (St.Lucia), May 02: Australia are likely to drop specialist spinner Nathan Hauritz on a slow deck at the Beausejor Cricket Ground when they open their World Twenty20 campaign against defending champions Pakistan here Sunday.

Hauritz was unimpressive during the two practice matches and went wicketless. But if he is left out, Australia would be the only side in the tournament not fielding a specialist spinner.

SP leader Shardanand Anchal passes away

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Ballia, May 02: A senior Samajwadi Party leader and former minister Shardanand Anchal passed away today after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was 65.

Anchal, who had arrived here this morning to attend a convention of party workers, complaint of chest pain after de-boarding the train and died on way to Mau for medical treatment, party sources said.

Anchal was elected to the state assembly for the first time in 1985 on Lok Dal ticket from Siar here.

A four-time MLA, he was minister of state during Mulayam Singh Yadav’s regime and has held many important portfolios.

At ‘Infinni-Tea’, get ready for tea tablets

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New Delhi, May 02: Delegates at an inter-governmental meet here will be served tea tablets developed by the world’s oldest tea research station based at Jorhat in Assam.

The Tea Research Association (TRA) of Tocklai is celebrating its centenary from tomorrow.

The inaugural programme will be held in Jorhat from where the focus will shift to the national capital with “Infinni-Tea”, a conference focussing on climate change, sustainability and the future of tea besides an inter-governmental meet.

Jessica Simpson back to dating

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London, May 02: Singer-turned-actress Jessica Simpson says she has moved on from her split with Tony Romo and is back to dating.

The blonde beauty told US chat show hostess Ellen DeGeneres she’s been “mingling” with other guys for the past few weeks, reports thesun.co.uk.

“I’m single. I mingle around very privately. I have ways in and out of my house and certain places that I go that are private just so I can have a normal life,” she said.

Palestinian leader says to meet Obama in Washington

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Palestinian, May 02: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he will go to Washington this month to meet U.S. President Barack Obama in an effort to advance the Middle East peace process.

“They invited us in an attempt to push the peace process forward,” Abbas said in an interview published in the Palestinian newspaper al-Ayyam on Sunday.

Abbas’s last meeting with Obama was in September at the United Nations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also attended that meeting — part of Obama’s efforts to get the peace process moving again.

DMK against Raja stepping down: Karunanidhi

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New Delhi, May 02: DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Sunday indicated that his party will not accept the opposition’s demand for the resignation of Telecom Minister A. Raja over the 2G spectrum-allocation controversy.

‘I have not come here to convey good news to you people,’ he said when asked by reporters about the opposition’s demand for Raja’s ouster.

Iran develops new air defense system

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Tehran, May 02: Iran’s defense minister says the country has developed a new artillery system that can fire 4,000 shells per minute, allowing it to target cruise missiles.

Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi told Fars news agency on Sunday that Iran’s defense ministry experts are working on different defensive projects to produce short-range, mid-range and long-range air defense systems.

The minister further explained that the new system can also confront other threats that fly at low altitudes.

“The system will be officially unveiled in the near future,” he added.

Sensex Sheds 135 Pts During The Week

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Mumbai, May 02: Sensex Sheds 135 Pts During The WeekThe BSE Sensex lost 135.49 points during the week to mark its closure at 17,558.71 on Friday.

Likewise, the broad-based Nifty eased by 26.10 points to close the week at 5,278. The market remained optimistic during three out of five trading sessions during the week.

The European debt crisis spread after S & P cut down its credit rankings on Greece and Portugal.

S Korea vows retaliation for ‘Cheonan’

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Seoul, May 02: South Korea vows retaliation for the sinking of a navy ship which was broken in half after an unexplained blast hit it near the maritime border with North Korea.

On a KBS television program broadcast nationwide Sunday, South Korean defense minister Kim Tae-Young stated that “those responsible for killing our soldiers must pay the price.”

Last month’s incident, in which 46 sailors were killed, occurred near the disputed maritime border between North and South Korean territorial waters.

“Retaliation — in whatever form it is — must be done,” he added.

Graeme Smith’s brittle hands

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St Lucia, May 02: The ICC World Twenty20, besides representing an opportunity for Graeme Smith to captain South Africa to their first major trophy in 12 years, is also a chance for Smith to complete his first limited-overs series in 2010.

He has started three such series, including the World Twenty20, and pulled out of two with a problem that he can’t seem to shake: lower arm and hand injuries.

Gaga fears love will drain music out of her

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London, May 02: Pop star Lady Gaga is worried she won’t be able to write music if she falls in love.

“Love is about danger, always. Love jumps off cliffs, love is irrational. It keeps you alive and it destroys you. The search for love provides nourishment for the artistic soul. I’m afraid that as soon as you really find love, there won’t be anything left to write songs about,” aceshowbiz.com quoted Gaga as saying.

“But maybe I’ll fall in love with a person who is my perfect muse,” she added.

The 24-year-old is happy being on her own because her career is her priority right now.

I-T goes all out against IPL; past record abysmal

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New Delhi, May 02: Although the Income Tax Department is going all out to nab tax evaders in the high profile IPL-related cases, its past record shows that the agency managed to secure prosecution in barely 15 per cent of the cases.

Going by this low prosecution rate, suspended IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and the franchisees he is said to have favoured, may not have much to worry about in the immediate future. That is assuming all the investigations against them result in chargesheets prosecutable in court.

New York’s Times Square evacuated after bomb scare

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Albany, May 02: Thousands of tourists, residents and theatre-goers were evacuated by police from the heart of Times Square here today on suspicion that a parked vehicle contained a bomb.

Police closed down a section of Times Square around 6:30 pm local time last evening (4:00 am IST today) after receiving reports about smoke coming out of a car parked in the crowded area

A suspicious package containing explosives was reported to be found in the car. A bomb squad was sent to the scene but the package did not explode.

CID fears Nithyananda will have the last laugh

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Bangalore, May 02: The Criminal Investigation Department feels that Nithyananda Swamy, who was caught on camera with Tamil film actress Ranjitha, will technically go free on legal grounds.

According to sources, the CDs having the visuals of Nithyananda and Ranjitha do not conclusively prove the charges against him.

Though the visuals imply the duo were in a ‘romantic mood,’ they certainly do not prove rape charges against the swamy. An investigating officer said the CDs have the same visuals which were flashed by the media.