Month: August 2010

Saudi Arabia halts plan to ban BlackBerry after deal

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London, August 07: Saudi Arabia and BlackBerry have reached a deal to avert a ban on the smartphone’s messenger service, a move that could have wide-ranging implications for several other countries including India.

The agreement, which involves placing a BlackBerry server inside Saudi Arabia, would allow the government to monitor users’ messages and allay official fears the service could be used for criminal purposes, the Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

A Saudi regulatory official said tests were now under way to determine how to install a BlackBerry server inside the country.

FIR cannot be encyclopaedia of incident: Apex court

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New Delhi, August 07: The Supreme Court has said that a first information report (FIR) was not an “encyclopaedia” that would contain the minutest details of an incident and it was not necessary to mention therein all the evidence on which the prosecution proposes to rely during the trial.

Categories Uncategorised

Chavan speaks to Abdullah over cloudburst, assures help

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Mumbai, August 07: Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan today spoke to his Jammu and Kashmir counterpart Omar Abdullah and assured to provide all help to victims devastated by the cloudburst in Leh region which claimed at least 130 lives.

“Chavan expressed sorrow and concern for the natural calamity and promised Abdullah to provide whatever help needed to the victims,” a release from the CM office said.

The Maharashtra government has also started helplines for tourists stuck in Leh after the calamity and appealed the relatives to contact on the following numbers.

Categories Uncategorised

Top designers to showcase in multi-city fashion tour

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Chandigarh, August 07: Top designers like Neeta Lulla, Raghavendra Rathore, Asmita Marwah, Ashish Soni and Vikram Phadnis will showcase their work at the 6th edition of Seagram’s multi-city fashion tour, which kicked off here today.

In Chandigarh, Rathore, Shantanu and Nikhil, Rahul and Gunjan, Asmita, Mandira Wirk and Lulla will showcase their collections over the two-day fashion extravaganza.

The fashion tour will later travel to other cities including Hyderabad (Aug 13-14), Delhi (Aug 20-22), Mumbai (Sep 3-5), Kolkata (Sep 11-12) and Bangalore (Sep 25-26).

Four injured as students go on rampage on board train

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Etawah, August 07: Four passengers, including three armymen, were injured today when some students went on the rampage on board Delhi-bound Muri Express and indulged in heavy brick batting at Rura railway station.

The trouble started when some students boarded S-3 and S-4 coaches of the train as it left Kanpur railway station and picked up a scuffle with passengers by forcibly trying to occupy the reserved seats, police sources said.

BJP to take out ‘Nyaya March’ on August 13

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Lucknow, August 07: The BJP today decided to launch a state-wide agitation against ‘anti-people’ policies of the Centre and BSP government in Uttar Pradesh, a party spokesman said here.

In the first phase of the agitation the party has decided to take out ‘Nyaya March’ on August 13 to protest against CBI’s alleged conspiracy against Gujarat government and misuse of the agency by the Congress, he said.

Rights of children should be protected: Justice Kabir

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Kochi, August 07: Describing children as “national assets”, a senior Supreme Court judge today asked social and legal service authorities to work together in ensuring that the rights of the child are protected.

“Though there are enough enactments and legislations protecting the rights of Child, they were not being properly implemented,” Justice Altamas Kabir said in his address at a two-day regional conference on ‘Rights of Children and Role of Legal Services Authority’.

Dalits lynching case: 7 held guilty, 19 acquitted

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Jhajjar (Haryana), August 07: A court here today convicted seven persons guilty for the killing of five Scheduled Caste men at Dulina village here eight years ago but acquitted 19 others in the case.

Additional District Judge A K Jain held Pradhan, Om Prakash Kablana, Shishu Pal Malik, Ranbir Malhan, Jagbir Malhan, Satbir Singh Rathi, Ramesh Surha and Sube Singh, all residents of Kaloi village in this district, guilty of the lynching of the Dalits on the night of October 15, 2002.

The quantum of punishment would be pronounced by the court on Monday.

Blast in Assam market, no casualty

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Goalpara, August 07: Unidentified extremists Friday exploded a bomb in a market close to the SP office here, officials said.

However, no one was injured as the market was closed at 8.00 pm, they said.

The blast took place at 10.50 pm at Bapuji Nagar market and about 50 mts away from the office of the Superintendent of Police.

Though there is no specific information about the outfit behind the blast, both ULFA and NDFB are active in the area, police said.

30 students injured as school bus rams into tree

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Lucknow, August 07: At least 30 students were injured, three of them critically, when their school bus rammed into a tree in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district Saturday afternoon, police said.

The accident took place in the Khurja Dehat area when the bus carrying the students of the Azad Public School spun out of control and ploughed into the roadside tree.

“All the injured have been admitted to a hospital where the condition of three is stated to be critical,” police inspector Ajay Agarwal told reporters in Bulandshahr, some 400 km from here.

Govt to clear integrated action plan for Naxal-hit districts soon

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New Delhi, August 07: The government will soon approve an integrated action plan, including a financial aid of Rs 13,742 crore, for infrastructural development in Naxal-hit districts in the country.

The plan spread over a period of three years will aim at development of infrastructure and facilities like drinking water, electricity, roads, sanitation and health services.

Besides, it will envisage continuous efforts to improve governance like implementation of Panchayats Extension (to Schedule Areas) Act of 1996 (PESA) so as to give the tribals the right to use minor forest produce.

Babu’s TTD padayatra personal vendetta: Ponguleti

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Hyderabad, Aug 07: Alleging that Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu is getting more desperate with each passing day, AICC secretary Ponguleti Sudhakar on Saturday said that the former chief minister is flogging ‘dead horses’.

Mr Sudhakar said that the former chief minister was raising the Babli Irrigation Project and the irregularities in TTD issues since he had nothing substantial to target the government with.

Utter lies & twists of ministers puzzle ‘t’ state advocates

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Hyderabad, August 07: The assertion of the 16 ministers from the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions in their representation to the Justice B N Srikrishna Committee on Friday that “asking for a separate Telangana State on the grounds of self-respect and self-rule is equivalent to waging a war against the Indian Union” came as a rude shock to the pro-Telangana advocates, who feel that the pro-united state forces are stretching the matter too far.

J&K crisis: Geelani rejects talks offer, Mirwaiz silent

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Srinagar, August 07: The offer of “quiet dialogue” by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has not gone down too well with separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir with hardline leader Syed Ali Geelani rejecting it, saying it was an attempt to “discredit him” as he had not softened his stand.

Current account deficit likely to be 2.7 percent of GDP: Rangarajan

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Hyderabad, August 07: India’s current account deficit this fiscal is expected to be 2.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and capital inflows are likely to be around $73 billion, said C. Rangarajan, chairman of prime minister’s economic advisory council, Saturday.

“This (capital inflows) will go to cover the current account deficit and add to reserves of a modest sum of $31 billion. Thus, with a moderate surplus on the capital account after meeting the current account deficit, the exchange rate variations will stay within an acceptable range,” he said.

US offers two drones to Pak military

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Islamabad, August 07: The US has offered the Pakistani military two drone surveillance systems to help improve its reconnaissance capability.

The ScanEagle and Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle systems have been offered to Pakistan, US Under Secretary of Defence Michele Flournoy said briefing a group of journalists at the US embassy here after a meeting of the bilateral Defence Consultative Group.

Pakistan had made a request for surveillance systems to reinforce its counter-insurgency efforts.

UAE sets up panel to sight Ramadan moon

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Abu Dhabi, August 07: UAE Justice Minister Hadef Jouan Al Dhahiri has set up a panel to sight the crescent moon that marks the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.

Senior judiciary officials, religious counsellors and astronomical society members are included in the panel, the justice ministry said Saturday.

The verification committee affiliated with the Abu Dhabi Judiciary Department will follow up the sighting of the moon in the central, eastern and western regions of the emirate.

The committee will meet Tuesday evening at the judiciary department headquarters.

–IANS

26/11 case: Pak prosecutors seek voice samples of suspects

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Islamabad, August 07: Pakistani prosecutors today filed an application before an anti-terrorism court seeking voice samples of LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects in the Mumbai attack case, the proceedings of which were adjourned for three weeks.

The case was put off till August 28 as Judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan was on leave for personal reasons.

Sources said the judge of the Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court had taken leave as his sister was unwell and had been hospitalised.

Seat-sharing to be a thorny affair in poll-bound Bihar

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Patna, August 07: With Bihar Assembly elections fast approaching, ruling NDA partners and Opposition RJD-LJP alliance are likely to find the issue of seat-sharing a thorny affair with major partners eyeing the lion’s share.

Other parties like the Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party have decided to go it alone in all the 243 seats.

The Samajwadi Party and Left parties — CPI-ML(L), CPI, and CPI-M — are yet to decide the number of seats they would contest either alone or in alliance.

Sohrab fake encounter case: Amit Shah in CBI custody

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Ahmedabad, August 07: The CBI today took custody of former minister Amit Shah after the Gujarat High Court accepted the agency’s plea for his two-day remand in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

The central investigating agency team accompanied by doctors reached the Sabarmati jail here early this morning and took Shah into custody after a routine medical check up.

The High Court had yesterday, setting aside a lower court order, remanded the former Minister of State for Home in two-day CBI custody, beginning today and rejected a plea for videography of his questioning.

Government ensures food for rats: Karat

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Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), August 07: Slamming the ruling United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA) food management policies, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat Saturday said the government was ensuring food for rats by allowing stocks to rot.

“The FCI (Food Corporation of India) godowns have 60 million tonnes of foodgrain. Stocks are overflowing and allowed to rot. What they are ensuring is food safety for rats,” Karat said while inaugurating the extended central committee meeting of the party here.

Ratan Tata is ‘Businessman of the Decade’

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Mumbai, August 07: Ratan Tata is the “personification of honesty, integrity and inspiring leadership”, is how Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan described the industrialist while conferring him with the Businessman of the Decade Award.

After giving the award on behalf of the Federation of Indo-Israeli Chambers of Commerce here Friday night, Sankaranarayanan praised Tata for putting the nation first and upholding ethics and trusteeship in busineses. He also said the Tata Group touched the life of every Indian in some way.

Shilpa Shetty, Malaika best item girls: Salman

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New Delhi, August 07: Bollywood star Salman Khan, who has gyrated to sizzling number “Munni Badnaam” with his sister-in-law Malaika Arora Khan in “Dabangg”, says apart from her only actress Shilpa Shetty can be counted among the best item girls in the industry.

“Shilpa Shetty is very good in item numbers,” Salman told reporters on being asked which actress according to him gives competition to Malaika as far as item numbers are concerned.

Conflict between monetary, fiscal policies exaggerated: Rangarajan

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Hyderabad, August 07: Economic Advisory Council chairman C. Rangarajan Saturday said the conflicts between fiscal policy and monetary policy were exaggerated but called for coordination between the two.

“I think monetary policy has its own role to play. There has to be some coordination between monetary policy and fiscal policy,” Rangarajan told reporters here.

Half a million Malaysians banned from leaving country

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Kuala Lumpur, August 07: About half a million Malaysians have been banned from leaving the country.

The 424,653 persons have been blacklisted mainly for defaulting in tax payments, not paying educational loans and also for being declared bankrupts.

Those blacklisted include high profile individuals carrying titles of Tan Sri, Datuk Seri and Datuk.

The Insolvency Department has the bulk of those blacklisted, with 196,473 persons (46%) declared bankrupt;

The blacklist comes from 13 government agencies, which also includes the Inland Revenue Board and the Immigration Department;