Month: July 2010

Rajiv Gandhi no better than Sanjay: Kerala CM

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Thamarakkulam, July 04: After his ‘inadvertent’ comment against Rajiv Gandhi enraged Congress legislators in the state assembly, Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the late prime minister.

Speaking after inaugurating the Communist Party of India Marxist’s local committee office at Thamarakkulam, the veteran Marxist leader said Rajiv Gandhi was “no better than Sanjay Gandhi.”

The chief minister alleged that Rajiv Gandhi was responsible for allowing former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson flee the country after the Bhopal gas tragedy.

Pak govt should talk to Taliban: Sharif

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Islamabad, July 04: Pakistan’s main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said that the government should hold talks with the Taliban as part of its efforts to tackle the menace of terrorism.

“If Washington says it is prepared to talk to the Taliban who are willing to listen, then a similar initiative should also come from Islamabad. We should not only see what decision they (the Western countries) will make about our fate. We should decide our own fate,” said Sharif, the chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party and a two-time former premier.

Sena slams Pawar for favouring Indo-Pak matches in India

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Mumbai, July 04: The Shiv Sena has slammed Union Agriculture Minister and newly elected International Cricket Council (ICC) chief Sharad Pawar for favouring cricket matches with Pakistan on Indian soil.

The Sena, in an editorial comment in its mouthpiece ‘Saamna’ on Saturday, said though it had no option but congratulate Pawar for being the second Indian and the first Maharashtrian to head the ICC, it would oppose any move to invite Pakistani cricketers to play in India.

Cameron Diaz wants to live on a farm!

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London, July 04: Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz is considering taking a break from the spotlight for a year so that she can live on a farm.

‘I’ve always been on the move. So what I’d love to do is spend a whole year in one place, on a farm. I’d get to raise my own crops and livestock and for once just see how life is cultivated,’ contactmusic.com quoted Diaz as saying.

Petraeus to take control of Afghan NATO forces Sunday

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Kabul, July 04: US General David Petraeus was to take command of NATO forces in Afghanistan Sunday after calling for a ‘unity of effort’ among US civilian and military officials.

The four-star general will take over from General Stanley McChrystal, who was relieved of command for disparaging remarks about White House leadership of the US mission in a media profile.

Petraeus told guests at the US embassy in Kabul on Saturday that ‘cooperation is not optional,’ according to The Washington Post.

Jolie’s daughter wants her to chop off her hair

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London, July 04: Angelina Jolie’s younger daughter Shiloh wants the actress to cut her hair short and is already giving her mother style advice.

“Shiloh wanted me to get my hair cut short,” starpulse.com quoted Jolie as saying.

Angelina is considering quitting acting for good because she’s much happier in her role as a mother and a humanitarian.

—–IANS

Three tenders shortlisted for YSR Park in Hyderabad

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Hyderabad, July 04: Three tenders were today shortlisted by the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet Committee for the proposed ‘YSR Memorial Park’ on the shore of Hussain Sagar lake in the city.

The final tender will be finalised at a meeting with Chief Minister K Rosaiah.

The Chief Minister will lay the foundation stone of the proposed park on September 2, an official release said here.

——–Agencies

Analysis: Al-Qaida Ties Obstacle To Afghan Peace

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Islamabad, July 04: Afghan President Hamid Karzai is using old friends and new allies to try to bring some of the fiercest Taliban to the negotiating table, although their links to al-Qaida might scuttle any deal.

Pakistan is trying to broker a deal between the Afghan government and the Haqqani group, one of the most violent Taliban factions led by veteran rebel leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, according to Afghan parliamentarians and Pakistani analysts.

Steps to solve drainage problem: Mayor

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Hyderabad, July 04: Hyderabad Mayor Banda Kartika Reddy on Saturday said that all steps are being taken to solve the problem of overflowing drains in the city.

Talking to media persons during a padyatra in Tarnaka division of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the Mayor said that she would soon call a meeting of the Ward Committee members and chalk out measures to solve the problem.

She said that the problem of overflowing drainage in Tarnaka Division would be solved after a Ward Committee meeting.

Govt working behind the scenes to harm TRS: KCR

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Hyderabad, July 04: Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday said that the suo moto case against party MP Vijayashanti was booked based on the reports published in a leading English daily.

Talking to media persons at the Telangana Bhavan, KCR accused the government of working behind the scenes to malign the TRS.

Village pradhan seeks reconsideration of FIR against Bachchan

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Barabanki, July 04: The Gram Pradhan of Daulatpur Raj Kumari today moved a local court asking it to reconsider her application seeking an FIR against Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and others for not fulfilling his promise of setting up a college in the village. The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate had turned down her plea last month due to lack of evidence.

BCCI ratifies charges against Lalit Modi

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Mumbai, July 04: The noose tightened around Lalit Modi as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ratified the charges against the suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman at its Special General Meeting here Saturday.

The board is also likely to file a criminal case against Modi, who was charged on several counts ranging from financial irregularities to bid-rigging as chairman of the cash-rich IPL, for embezzlement of Rs.1,200-Rs.1,500 crore.

Dhoni to wed tonight

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Dehradun, July 04: Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will tie the knot with childhood friend Sakshi Singh Rawat in a hush-hush ceremony at a farmhouse about 40km from here tonight.

The 28-year-old wicket-keeper batsman got engaged to Sakshi, a 23-year-old hotel management student, at a private ceremony last night.

The wedding is also expected to be a private affair with only very close family members and friends, including Dhoni’s teammates Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra, among those attending.

They lied and deceived us

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In January 1991, we went to war in the Middle East against Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s dictator who was our ally during the Iran-Iraq war. A border dispute between Kuwait and Iraq broke out after our State Department gave a green light to Hussein’s invasion.

‘Maoist’ killed with Azad was journalist: Maoists

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Hyderabad, July 04:The Communist Party of India-Maoist Saturday claimed that the man killed along with top Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad in an alleged gun battle with police in Andhra Pradesh was a freelance journalist but police said he was a Maoist.

According to the outlawed outfit, Hem Chandra Pandey, a native of Dewaltal village in Uttarakhand, was killed along with Azad.

Al-Qaeda ties obstacle to Afghan peace: Analysis

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Islamabad, July 03: Afghan President Hamid Karzai is using old friends and new allies to try to bring some of the fiercest Taliban to the negotiating table, although their links to al-Qaeda might scuttle any deal.

Pakistan is trying to broker a deal between the Afghan government and the Haqqani group, one of the most violent Taliban factions led by veteran rebel leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, according to Afghan parliamentarians and Pakistani analysts.

12 arrested over Pak Sufi shrine blasts

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Lahore, July 03: Pakistani law enforcement agencies have arrested 12 suspects in connection with the twin suicide bombings at a famous Sufi shrine in Lahore and recovered sophisticated weapons and explosives from them, an official said today.

The suspects included “suicide bombers and their handlers,” a Punjab government spokesperson said. “They are key members of a number of gangs involved in major incidents of terrorism in the province,” the spokesman said.

At least 220 dead in oil explosion in Congo: UN

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Kinshasa, July 03: A fuel tanker flipped over and exploded into flames in eastern Congo overnight, killing at least 220 villagers and wounding more than 100 — many of whom had rushed to siphon leaking liquid from the vehicle illegally, the UN and local officials said on Saturday.

The truck was transporting fuel when it overturned at high speed late Friday near the village of Sange, around 20 miles (30 kilometres) north of the town of Uvira near the Burundi border. Sange is located between Uvira and the Congolese provincial capital, Bukavu, further to the north.

Cong MLA held for inflammatory speech

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Hyderabad, July 03: Police had to face a torrid time when they tried to produce Congress Member of Legislative Assembly from Sangareddy, Thurpu Jayaprakash Reddy in Court following his arrest earlier in the day on charges of making an inflammatory speech.

The Congress MLA’s followers gathered around the van in which he was brought to court and stopped the police from opening the van’s doors.

The police finally managed to bring Mr Jayaprakash Reddy out of the van after much pushing and jostling.

Vijayashanti gets bail

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Hyderabad, July 03: Telangana Rashtra Samithi MP Vijayshanti was on Saturday granted bail by a city Court, hours after she was arrested on charges of making an inflammatory speech.

The Nampally Court had ordered the MP to 14-day Judicial remand following her arrest. She was shifted to Chanchalguda Women’s Jail after the remand order.

Her lawyers filed a bail application on the grounds that the TRS MP had undergone a surgery twenty days earlier. The Court then granted bail for the film actress-turned-politician.

Azad body for city? cops on full alert

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Hyderabad, July 3 (NSS): The city police remained alert with receipt of the information that the family members of slain Naxalite leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad were planning to bring his body to Hyderabad from Mancherial in Adilabad district for last rites.

Though there was no accurate information that the kin of the slain Naxalite leader were residing in Hyderabad, the police have credible information that they were living in the city for several years. Actually, the native place of the bereaved family was reported to be Krishna district.

Iranians remember Flight 655 victims

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Tehran, July 03: Iran will mark the 22nd anniversary of a US missile attack on an Iranian passenger airliner over the Persian Gulf, commemorating those killed by laying flowers at the site of the tragic incident.

On July 3, 1988, the guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes launched two SM-2MR surface-to-air missiles, downing Iran Air Flight 655 destined for Dubai. All 290 passengers onboard were killed, 66 of whom were children.

World power call for talks with Tehran

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Tehran, July 03: Major world powers have called for a new round of talks with Tehran on its nuclear program, despite a recent UN Security Council resolution against the Islamic Republic.

Senior US diplomat William Burns on Friday traveled to Brussels for talks with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the EU on the next approach on Iran, the US State Department said.

“They restated the offer to meet with Iran for discussions on the nuclear issue and stressed the door remains open to Iran,” AFP quoted State Department spokesman Mark Toner as saying on Friday.

Iran slams French support for MKO

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Tehran, July 03: Days after France permitted the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) to stage a demonstration in a Paris suburb, the Iranian envoy to France criticizes the country for supporting the terrorist group.

In an interview with Radio Courtoisie of France, Iran’s Ambassador to Paris Mehdi Mir-Aboutalebi questioned the French government’s claim of support for human rights.

“While it claims to be an advocate of human rights, France supports MKO members who have appalling criminal records,” IRIB qouted Mir-Aboutalebi as saying in the interview on Friday.

Fight for Telangana will continue: Vijayashanthi

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Hyderabad, July 03: Film actor and TRS Lok Sabha member from Medak, Vijayashanthi on Friday declared that the state government had conspired to arrest her with false cases as the ruling Congress was bound to be defeated in the present by-elections in the Telangana region.