Month: July 2010

Poll panel warns TRS chief over ‘provocative’ statements

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Hyderabad, July 23: Election Commission today expressed strong displeasure over the “provocative” statements made by TRS President K Chandrasekhara Rao during the campaign for the July 27 by-elections to 12 Assembly seats in Telangana.

“The EC was not satisfied with his explanation regarding these statements and is of the view that he, as a responsible political leader, should not have made such statements in public, which can aggravate existing differences between different sections of the society,” Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer I V Subba Rao told reporters here.

PM’s panel forecasts 4.5 pc growth for agri sector for FY11

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New Delhi, July 23: The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council today pegged the farm sector growth rate at 4.5 per cent for 2010-11 fiscal on the expectation of a strong rebound in foodgrains output on the back of good monsoon.

The agriculture and allied sectors grew by mere 0.2 per cent in last fiscal due to a widespread drought which caused a 16 million tonnes or nearly seven per cent dip in foodgrains production from a record of 234.47 million tonnes in 2008-09.

India and US sign Counter Terrorism Initiative

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New Delhi, July 23: India and the US today signed a Counter Terrorism Initiative that includes steps to check financing of terror activities, joint probe in cases of bomb blasts besides cooperation in cyber and border security.

“Today, with the formal signing of the initiative, we take several significant steps forward against terrorism,” US ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer, who signed the agreement along with Home Secretary G K Pillai, told reporters here.

Man held for helping ISI agent get Indian passport

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New Delhi, July 23: A 60-year-old man, carrying a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head, was arrested here for allegedly helping an ISI agent in acquiring an Indian passport, police said today.

The arrested has been identified as Nafees Ahmed, a resident of Lucknow.

Ahmed, who managed to hoodwink police for last eight months, had allegedly helped Abdul Jabbar, a Pak national whom police claimed was an ISI agent, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Shibesh Singh said.

Ahmed was arrested from near Patiala Courts here on July 19 when he came there to meet someone.

Awareness camp on socio-economic empowerment of women

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New Delhi, July 23: Minister of State for Women and Child development Krishna Tirath today inaugurated an awareness camp on socio-economic empowerment of women here.

The one-day awareness camp was organised by the ministry in collaboration with the Central Social Welfare Board, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh and Food and Nutrition Board at Dilli Haat, Pitampura.

The camp included several stalls which disseminated information about the programmes of the CSWB, loan schemes of Rashtriya Mahila Kosh and demonstration and display by Food and Nutrition Board on low-cost nutritive recipes.

Court seeks proof of identity from settlers

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Shillong, July 23: The Gauhati High Court today asked settlers in the area where the Meghalaya government proposed to carry out a demolition drive to prove their identity and ordered maintenance of status quo till August 5.

A Shillong bench of the court comprising Justices T K Singh and Hrishikesh Roy asked the petitioner, Greater Iew Polo Welfare Association, to prove the identity of the settlers in the area.

The court also asked the Meghalaya government to file its affidavit within seven days, government counsel Ranjan Mukherjee said.

Sehwag retains No.1 spot in ICC Test rankings

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Dubai, July 23: India may have flopped in the opening cricket Test against Sri Lanka but opener Virender Sehwag held on to the number one spot, while Sachin Tendulkar gained a place to be seventh in the latest ICC rankings for batsmen issued today.

Sehwag, who scored 109 and 31 in the Test which India lost by 10 wickets, has opened up a 14-point gap over second-placed Kumar Sangakkara.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s iconic off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who spent a record 214 Tests and 1,711 days in the number-one spot, retired from Test cricket at the third spot in the bowling chart.

Sohrab case: CBI chargesheets Gujarat HM Amit Shah, may face arrest

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Gandhinagar, July 23: In a big blow to the BJP government in Gujarat, junior Home Minister Amit Shah, a close aide of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, was today charged with murder by CBI in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case and may face arrest after he was denied anticipatory bail.

Shah, who has not been seen in public for several days and skipped Cabinet meetings and office, also failed to appear before the CBI earlier in the day for questioning for the second time in two days following summons issued twice, the deadline for which expired at 1 PM.

Salman and Aishwarya’s story on demand

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Mumbai, July 23: Aishwarya Rai is not just one of the most beautiful ladies but also the Bachchan Bahu and has always managed to make news whether it’s her career, relationships or marriage with Abhishek Bachchan.

According to the sources, one of the websites conducted a poll where there were actors opposites Ash and it was to select who looked best with her. The results won’t shock many as most of them loved their pair and maximum number was achieved by Salman and Ash Jodi.

TDP walks out from all-party meeting over Babli

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Hyderabad, July 23: The Telugu Desam Party on Friday staged a walkout from the all-party meeting called by Chief Minister K Rosaiah over illegal constructions on river Godavari by the Maharashtra government as part of the Babli project after being told that only one member from each political party was invited to attend the meeting.

CBI hunts for Amit Shah, BJP cries foul

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New Delhi, July 23: Gujarat Minister Amit Shah has moved for anticipatory bail after the CBI on Friday rejected his request to give him more time to explain evidence allegedly linking him to the 2005 killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a fake encounter.

Shah’s lawyer Mitish Amin, who went to the CBI office in Gandhinagar after the minister was summoned twice, said he had requested the agency to give his client more time and a questionnaire.

Farah takes share in Katrina’s earning

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Mumbai, July 23: Recently, we heard that Katrina Kaif is doing an item song for the film Tees Maar Khan. In the item song, the actress will be seen in a sexy ghagra choli about which Farah is very confident.

So when Farah assured Katrina about the song doing well as soon as it hits the theater overwhelmed Katrina promised her a share of a certain percentage of her earning.

About the same Katz said that this is one of the raunchiest songs she has ever shot and also admits that Farah is extremely confident and also she has assured her that it would be the biggest hits of this year!

Rajasthan Govt urged to sack Waqf Board chairman

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Jaipur, July 23: The Rajasthan government has been urged to sack the state Waqf Board chairman and initiate action against the Board”s CEO and the Jaipur District Collector for allegedly promoting encroachment on a piece of land used for religious purposes here.

Halal Make-Up for Muslims

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London, July 23: A Muslim woman has launched Britain’s first ‘halal make-up’.

The range contains plant extracts and minerals instead of pig fat and alcohol, and is made with strict regards for Islamic laws.

“I wasn’t comfortable praying with make-up on not knowing what was in there. When I researched what was in make-up I found there were a lot of animal products,” The Daily Express quoted Samina Akhter as saying.

“I was shocked to find some even contained pig placenta. Many Muslim women like me have been frustrated by wanting to look good and follow their faith,” she added.

Sex on false promise of marriage not rape

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Mumbai, July 23: The Bombay High Court has ruled that sexual relationship with a woman on a false promise of marriage does not amount to rape.

Acquitting a Yavatmal man in a rape case, the single bench High Court here observed that sexual relationship after promising marriage and reneging on it does not amount to rape.

Justice Ambadas Joshi set aside the Yavatmal Session Court order convicting Sandip Rathod (now 42) under IPC section 376 (rape). The victim was allegedly 16 years old in 1996.

SKorea rejects NKorea”s demand for lifting UN sanctions

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Hanoi, July 23: South Korea has dismissed North Korea”s demand for the lifting of UN sanctions as a precondition for its return to the six-party talks on its nuclear programmes.”We cannot agree to this,” South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung Hwan quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying in Hanoi after a North Korean official said that while Pyongyang is willing to rejoin the stalled talks, sanctions on the country should be first lifted so that all members in the negotiations will be on an “equal footing.” Yu urged North Korea to take sincere denuclearisation steps if it want

Shah seeks time to appear before CBI, agency turns down plea

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Gandhinagar, July 23: Gujarat”s junior Home Minister Amit Shah, a close aide of Narendra Modi, today sought more time to appear before the CBI for questioning in connection with the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case but his plea was turned down by the probe agency.

One in 10 computers vulnerable to cyber attack

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London, July 23: A new report says that cyber criminals attack millions of computers every month and infect approximately 10 percent of them.

Cyber criminals are increasingly making use of “toolkits” – developed to methodically infect personal computers – so that illegally obtained information can be bought and sold.

Criminal servers were typically hosted in Ukraine – where more than a quarter were found – the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan, reports The Telegraph.

Kidney for Job, man duped

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Jamshedpur, July 23: Jobless, Sashikant Pathak (40) donated his kidney for a civil servant’s ailing son on the promise that his wife would be given a government job. Now Pathak, his wife Sunaina, and their two minor children are on a hunger strike before the Jharkhand governor’s house in Ranchi protesting the alleged breach of promise by the officer, who they say should be sent to jail.

Prisoner burnt police station & dies

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Dubai, July 23: A young prisoner died in a fire that broke out at the Ports police station in Dubai on Friday night.

A police source told Media that the 23-year-old Emirati prisoner, identified as Khalid and known as Soya, had died in the blaze that ripped through the police station in the middle of the night.

He said the man, being detained on drug charges, had set the building alight with the intention of committing suicide.

A total of 14 other prisoners were also being blamed for helping to start the fire.

An investigation into how the fire occurred is under way.

Naxals target private bus in Ch”garh; all passengers safe

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Raipur, July 23: Naxals intercepted a private bus in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh and evacuated all the 22 passengers on board before abandoning it near a village there, police said today.

The incident occurred late last night when a group of Maoists stopped the bus belonging to Tomar Travels near Mardadand village under Basaguda police limts and fled with the vehicle, Bijapur police officials told PTI. All the passengers are safe and unharmed, they said.

Video Shows Shahzad Meeting with Taliban Leader

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New York, July 23: Faisal Shahzad, the man behind the failed Times Square bombing plot, is seen in a new video footage along with Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, with the two shaking hands and hugging each other.

The Pakistani American had following his arrest claimed that he had met Mehsud and a host of other radical leaders but investigators had then said they were yet to verify his claims.

The video that has now emerged shows a man who appears to be Shahzad shaking hands with Mehsud and then embracing him.

TNA wrestlers love India

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Chandigarh, July 23: We`ve seen them on television screens, jousting with opponents, holding them in a vice like grip, writhing on the floor and breaking bones. Outside the ring, however, Total Nonstop Action`s (TNA) star wrestlers love their peace and even their fat-laced butter and tandoori chicken.

Why don’t you ask John about my engagement ring

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Mumbai, July 23: All that glitters on Bipasha Basu actually comes from her beau John Abraham. The sultry actress confesses that all the jewellery she has is gifted by her boyfriend.

“All the jewellery comes to me from John. He is my diamond supplier, ” Bipasha told reporters after the launch of a new ad campaign of Gili, the jewellery brand of Gitanjali, at Taj Lands End here.